DALLAS — The New York Yankees signed Max Fried for $218 million.

The Boston Red Sox traded for Garrett Crochet.

When are the Orioles going to join the fun?

MLB’s winter meetings ended Wednesday, and the Orioles aren’t leaving with a shiny new ace. The Yankees, despite losing out on the Juan Soto sweepstakes, are with Fried. So are the Red Sox, another one of Baltimore’s American League East foes, after their blockbuster trade with the Chicago White Sox.

Only one ace remains on the free agent market, and with the way the offseason is playing out, it’s hard to imagine the Orioles winning the Corbin Burnes sweepstakes. Burnes, who entered the offseason as baseball’s top available pitcher after a stellar first season in Baltimore, is expected to get more than the $218 million Fried received, and other clubs seem more willing than Baltimore to wantonly throw cash around this winter.

But the Orioles’ pursuit of an elite starting pitcher doesn’t begin and end with Burnes. And the way Mike Elias handles his first winter meetings and offseason under new owner David Rubenstein isn’t necessarily predictive of what the future will look like.It is not ideal for division foes to make significant upgrades as the Orioles make slight improvements by signing Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sánchez to replace Anthony Santander and James McCann. And the Orioles should make an aggressive push to keep Burnes in Baltimore.

But, if that doesn’t happen, the sky above Camden Yards will not fall, and the future of the organization will not be in peril. There are other ways than Burnes for the Orioles to upgrade their starting rotation, and Rubenstein and Elias deserve the benefit of the doubt this offseason before harsh judgments are made.

Rubenstein still isn’t even nine months into his tenure as Orioles owner. He proved he’s at least willing to spend more than his predecessor — a low bar, but one he cleared anyway — at the trade deadline when he gave the OK to acquire Zach Eflin and his $18 million salary in 2025.

Elias is in his seventh offseason as general manager, but it’s fair to view this as his first true winter after seemingly operating with one hand tied behind his back by John Angelos in his first six. He’s also taken a step this offseason — albeit a small one — by signing a free agent to a multiyear contract (O’Neill for $49.5 million over three years) for the first time in his tenure.

“We’ve done a lot of things leading to increased spending, and it’s been pretty continual the last few years, but this is another step forward,” Elias said Tuesday in the Orioles’ suite at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. “The rebuild, emerging from that, having all the infrastructure in place, the farm system in place — now we’re focusing on the major league payroll. We’re having winning seasons, the fans are coming back. But, obviously, the robust, new ownership group that’s taken over are extremely supportive.

“We were able to attack those needs [for O’Neill and Sánchez] pretty aggressively, and I credit [ownership’s] support in that. It’s something I hope we’ll see more and more and more of as the years go.”

These early steps likely won’t be enough to become a true World Series contender, but the offseason isn’t over.

The end of the winter meetings have a sense of finality to them, but 62 days still remain until pitchers and catcher report for spring training.

Another front-end starting pitcher in Jack Flaherty remains on the market after his excellent 2024 season. Sean Manaea or Nick Pivetta would both profile as a solid No. 3 starter behind Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez, while others such as Andrew Heaney or José Quintana would provide depth as No. 4-type starters.

“There’s 30 teams that would love to have [an ace], but there’s only so many of those guys out there,” manager Brandon Hyde said Tuesday. “If you don’t have that true No. 1 type of guy, you have guys that can improve also. I think Grayson’s got No. 1 stuff. Grayson could be that guy. Next year he takes that next step forward — I look for him to take a big step forward next year. We need to pick up the pieces.”

Those options, however, aren’t splashy. But the starters on the trade market are, and it’s not hard to imagine Elias going that route.

Last offseason, the Orioles needed starting pitching help. They didn’t pounce on anyone early. They went through the winter meetings without snagging one. Christmas, New Year’s and January all passed without a new arm. With two weeks until spring training, it appeared Elias wasn’t interested in adding a starting pitcher.

Then, just like that, the Orioles made one of the offseason’s biggest moves by acquiring Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers. It was one of the most significant trades in franchise history, and in hindsight, it might have been the move that made them a wild-card team.

Why can’t Elias do the same this winter?

Several topline starting pitchers appear available via trade, and the Orioles have the prospect depth — as well as MLB-caliber bats — to acquire one.

The following pitchers are reportedly on the trade market: Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez; Pittsburgh Pirates right-handers Mitch Keller and Jared Jones; Seattle Mariners ace Luis Castillo and right-hander Bryce Miller; Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Jordan Montgomery; St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray; Miami Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo; and Chicago Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon.

It is a fallacy to assume the teams that act first in free agency are better off for it simply because there’s more hoopla surrounding those moves.

The fact that the Yankees and Red Sox made big moves this week and the Orioles didn’t will be irrelevant so long as Elias addresses the weakness in his starting rotation at some point this offseason.

The Orioles need a stud starter. But it’s not Burnes or bust.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.