ORLANDO, Fla. — Looking purely at the most basic essence of baseball, runs scored and runs allowed, paints the picture of what went wrong in 2025 for the Orioles. They scored the 24th-most runs in baseball. They allowed the sixth-most runs in baseball.

What that signals is how it was a teamwide failure. The shortcomings don’t land at the feet of the pitching staff or lineup alone.

Baltimore’s offseason approach thus far — and the public messaging from president of baseball operations Mike Elias — reflects the realization that an addition to the rotation is not enough. There must be rotation additions, of course, but the lineup requires an injection of life, and the Orioles appear to be attempting the sort of large swings in that area that could lead to a revitalization.

The Orioles were firmly in the mix for designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, a source said, although multiple outlets reported that Schwarber opted to return to Philadelphia on a five-year, $150 million deal. According to The Athletic, the Orioles matched the Phillies’ offer.

Now, a second source said, Baltimore is expected to pivot their pursuit of a bat to first baseman Pete Alonso. The Orioles will face ample competition there, too.

The market is expected to move swiftly, the second source said, because multiple teams were in wait-and-see mode regarding Schwarber.

The Orioles are also pursuing the top of the starting pitching market, including the likes of Ranger Suárez and Michael King.

The two-pronged attack, targeting the lineup and rotation together, may not land the Orioles one of the game’s biggest names on the market. But it does show an aggression not seen from Baltimore under Elias.

“Yes, I think so,” Elias said when asked if there is payroll room for a large addition to the pitching staff and lineup, not one or the other. “You look at our payroll as it stands right now, and it’s still well below where we were at last year, and we’ll just consider opportunities as they come up and have those conversations with ownership. But we do have room for more moves, multiple more moves.”

The Orioles began the 2025 season with a $160 million payroll. According to FanGraphs, Baltimore has an estimated payroll of $118 million. That leaves roughly $42 million annually to be doled out to match the 2025 level, and at the GM meetings, Elias said Baltimore could even increase from the 2025 payroll figure.

“There’s a target zone we sort of ID as a sweet spot of what’s healthy for the ownership group, the organization,” Elias said last month in Las Vegas. “But what I can say is, it’s by no means tethered to the profits of the team. We’re trying to win, and this ownership group is willing to dip into the red considerably in order to do that.

“It doesn’t mean we want to do it in a profligate way that haunts us, but in the short term we recognize we’ve got a core who can use some supplementation and that wants to win and bounce back from what happened last year.”

Schwarber would have been the sort of middle-of-the-order thumper that could alleviate some of the pressure on Gunnar Henderson and others. Alonso also fits that mold. Alonso, 31, is a priority for the Orioles and others.

He’s coming off a season in which he hit 38 homers with a .272 average and an .871 OPS.

When asked directly whether the Orioles were meeting with Alonso at the winter meetings, agent Scott Boras said, “You can expect that a lot of teams want to spend time with Pete.” Boras added that Elias is intent on adding players this winter to elevate the talent level on the roster and remain in “regular communication.”

How Alonso might fit into Baltimore’s lineup is another curious hurdle, but that’s less of a concern at this point. He is a below-average first baseman defensively, having recorded -9 outs above average last season, per Statcast. The Orioles currently have fellow right-handed-hitting first basemen in Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo. The Orioles also plan to have catcher Samuel Basallo mix into the first base picture.

At designated hitter, there are ample candidates, with outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Taylor Ward joining Mountcastle, Mayo, Basallo and Adley Rutschman for DH days.

At this point, however, the Orioles are more focused on landing an impact hitter than concerning themselves with how the defensive construction will look. Plus, as Baltimore aims for rotation help, some of the surplus at first base (be it Mountcastle or Mayo) or outfielders could be used to acquire a pitcher in a trade.

The market may not finish in Baltimore’s favor. But the Orioles appear to understand how the shortfalls of 2025 extended beyond the rotation.