Thursday marked the start of MLB’s offseason, and the Orioles didn’t waste any time getting to work — even if their first move was minor.

The Orioles on Thursday afternoon acquired outfielder Daz Cameron from the Athletics for cash, the clubs announced.

It’s a reunion of sorts for the Orioles and Cameron, who spent the 2023 campaign with Triple-A Norfolk. Cameron split his 2024 season between the minors and majors, hitting .200 with a .587 OPS in 66 games with the Athletics.

Elias and Cameron go way back to their days with the Houston Astros. Elias, then the Astros’ scouting director, was part of a front office that drafted Cameron with the 37th pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft.

The Cameron acquisition marks at least the ninth time Elias has brought an Astros draftee during his time in Houston (2012 to 2018) into the Orioles organization since taking over as Baltimore’s general manager in November 2018. The other players on that list are: Rio Ruiz, Brett Phillips, Jacob Nottingham, Ryan Hartman, Thomas Eshelman, Tony Kemp and J.D. Davis.

The Orioles first added Cameron in November 2022 as a waiver claim from the Detroit Tigers. The son of former MLB outfielder Mike Cameron elected free agency after a 2023 season in which he slashed .268/.346/.798 — good for a .798 OPS.

Daz Cameron, 27, has yet to reach the ceiling he showed as a prospect. He’s been a solid hitter in the minor leagues, including a .307 average and 1.001 OPS in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League (Triple-A) last year, but that’s yet to translate to the show. In short big league stints with the Tigers from 2020 to 2022 and this past season with the Athletics, Cameron, a right-handed hitter, owns a career .201 batting average with a .593 OPS.

However, Cameron still boasts plus speed and solid defensive ability in all three outfield spots, making him a possibility as a fifth outfielder despite his offensive struggles. He joins Heston Kjerstad, Colton Cowser and Cedric Mullins as the only outfielders on the Orioles’ 40-man roster now that the offseason has begun.

Outfielders Anthony Santander and Austin Slater were among eight Orioles players who elected free agency Thursday. Six of them — Corbin Burnes, Brooks Kriske, John Means, James McCann, John Means, Santander and Slater — earned the right after accruing enough service time and will be free agents as expected. Free agency begins Monday at 5 p.m.

Outfielder Daniel Johnson and reliever Burch Smith did so rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. Johnson, who took one at-bat for the Orioles in 2024, spent most of the year with Norfolk, hitting .259 with a .768 OPS. Smith joined the organization in June and posted a 5.74 ERA in 26 2/3 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen.

The Orioles have until 5 p.m. Monday to extend qualifying offers to any of their free agents. Santander and Burnes will likely receive the one-year, $21.05 million offer, and they’ll have until 4 p.m. Nov. 19 to decide whether to accept. Both players are expected to reject the offer, which would net the Orioles a compensatory pick in the 2025 draft for each if they sign with another team.

The Orioles have another looming deadline. They have five club options they must choose to exercise or not by Monday: designated hitter Eloy Jiménez ($16.5 million), right-hander Seranthony Domínguez ($8 million), first baseman Ryan O’Hearn ($8 million) and left-handers Danny Coulombe ($4 million) and Cionel Pérez ($2.2 million). If the Orioles choose not to exercise an option, the player will become a free agent, with the exception of Pérez, who is still eligible for arbitration. It’s virtually guaranteed the Orioles will forgo Jiménez’s expensive option, but it’s unclear how they’ll decide to handle the other four.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 667-942-3337 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.