LOVERRO: Orioles show Nationals what an offseason should look like

OPINION:

The Baltimore Orioles are on the move. They are reaching out to their fans in the cold snowy days of January. For three days starting Thursday, the club will be holding events not just in the city of Baltimore but throughout the state of Maryland — even in the Washington Nationals’ backyard.

Among the activities will be a question-and-answer session Thursday at the historic Senator Theatre in Baltimore with new manager Craig Albernaz and new free agent slugger Pete Alonso. It’s sold out.

You can pack bags with Albernaz, Alonso, Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Tyler Wells and Jordan Westburg Friday afternoon at the B&O Warehouse to benefit Blessing in a Backpack, which provides food on the weekends for school-aged children across America who might otherwise go hungry. Tickets for that event are sold out, and the team is matching the proceeds of the ticket sales.

Later that night, there is an “Arcade Happy Hour” Friday at GameOn Baltimore featuring Henderson, Rutschman and Westburg. That is sold out.

Breakfast with the O’s Saturday morning at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City with Jackson Holliday, Dietrich Enns, Ryan Helsley and Grant Wolfram. Sold out.

They are traveling far and wide — from an alumni appearance in Frederick to Orioles family bingo in Sykesville to a rally at the White Marsh Mall.

The team also has events scheduled in what should be considered Nationals territory — a free photo op event Saturday afternoon in Prince Georges County with Orioles players at a surprise location, plus a Westfield Montgomery Mall Rally from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday with appearances by Albernaz, Jeremiah Jackson, Trevor Rogers and others.

The Nationals? They moved to Venezuela.

Just kidding. But they might as well have left the country, given their profile this winter.

The Nationals do have one event planned on Jan. 30 with  Paul Toboni, president of baseball operations, and new manager Blake Butera. It’s for season ticket holders. They could probably hold it in a broom closet.

Of all winters, this is the one where the Lerner family should have reached into their pockets and reached out to their shrinking fan base, given all the changes that have taken place.

The baseball operation was under Mike Rizzo since 2009, and after the owners fired him in mid-season and hired Toboni on Oct. 1, what has happened since is nearly a complete turnover — new front office personnel, new coaches throughout the organization, new scouts and other new faces.

Oh, yes, and some new players picked up at the discarded player thrift shop. Some things haven’t changed.

The Lerners, though, may be tapped out. A real estate website reported in November they sold a building in south Miami for a $42 million loss.

Meanwhile, the stadium remains without a commercial name sponsor, leaving millions on the table for years — money that could have been used to acquire players. Last March, the Lerners hired Excel Sports Management to search for both stadium naming rights and jersey patch sponsors. They did get a patch sponsor — AARP — in July, but still no stadium naming agreement.

Now, they face the change of uncertain television revenue under their new streaming deal with Major League Baseball. They still have to find a local network to broadcast some games over the air.

There was much rejoicing when the Nationals deal with MASN ended. But I’m thinking they’re going to miss that $70 million a year from Peter Angelos’ network.

Speaking of the late owner, Orioles team president

Catie Griggs, Orioles team president, may have been channeling the late Birds owner in an appearance several weeks ago at The Economic Club of Washington when she said, “We still have a number of fans that are coming up from the Washington metropolitan area. When the team is good — frankly, even when they’re not as good as we hope they are, there are more people tuning in to watch us in D.C. than another club that may represent this area.”

I guess we’ll find out when comparing the turnout at the Orioles winter caravan in the Washington area to all the fan events the Nationals are holding.

• Catch Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.