Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette left the General Managers Meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., on Thursday morning perhaps having laid the groundwork for future offseason moves

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman called it “an independent, straight up, good old-fashioned baseball trade — a lot of talent for a lot of talent.”

With the first season of Statcast in the books, it’s time to look back at what worked. We learned that pitch velocity doesn’t lead to exit velocity, there’s a new way to see if a hitter is healthy (or not), and that fastball spin rate can be as important as velocity.

Whitey Ford, Joe Torre and Ken Griffey Jr. will receive special honors, a Yogi Berra tribute will be shown, and most of Major League Baseball’s 18 newly named 2015 winners will be on hand to receive their trophies when the posh Rawlings Gold Glove Award ceremony is held on Friday night at The Plaza in Manhattan.

The Marlins have initiated preliminary steps in formulating an innings plan for Jose Fernandez in 2016. Miami officials have already had discussions with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed Tommy John surgery on Fernandez on May 16, 2014.

The Yankees believe that they are picking up Aaron Hicks at just the right time, identifying a moment in his career when the outfielder’s performance will catch up with his talent, thanks to development that has taken place on and off the field.

The General Managers Meetings wrapped up Thursday, completing what Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein called the “first inning” of the offseason. After meeting with at least six agents over three days regarding free agents, as well as talking possible trade options, Epstein said it’s now time for teams to re-evaluate their game plans.

Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton underwent a second surgery in late October on the troublesome left knee that had kept him out of action for a month late in the season.

An estimated 100 players have left Cuba in search of a Major League contract in the last 12 months. How many of those players will sign with a big league club is up for debate. What’s certain is that the once powerful Serie Nacional, the island’s top league, has been depleted by the defections from its top players over the last few years.

With their first-place finish in the National League Central this past season, the Cardinals became the division’s first team to capture three consecutive titles since doing so from 2004-06. But the division landscape is quite different now than it was then.

The Arizona Fall League is in the homestretch, but there’s still plenty of interest in who’s playing there. As a result, the first three questions in this week’s Inbox cover AFL participants. After that, we cover an interesting lefty prospect vs. lefty veteran comparison as well as a sneak peek at who might be coming from the Far East.

The Brewers are open to external solutions for their two most unsettled positions, third base and center field, general manager David Stearns suggested Wednesday from the annual General Managers Meetings.

Cubs executives have split their time at the General Managers Meetings between talking to teams about possible trades and talking to agents regarding free agents. They’ve also been doing some “brainstorming” regarding their options.

Major League Baseball was already taking a look at ways to protect middle infielders before Chase Utley’s takeout slide fractured Ruben Tejada’s leg in the postseason. MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre provided an update on the situation Wednesday at the annual General Managers Meetings.

Andrelton Simmons didn’t go unnoticed for his stellar defense.

Though the “Cardinal Way” typically hasn’t involved being a big player in the free-agent market, general manager John Mozeliak acknowledges that recent circumstances might lead him down that path in upgrading his pitching staff.

Dan Halem, MLB’s chief legal officer, came to the annual General Managers Meetings to canvass the executives ahead of the upcoming negotiations over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. He also mentioned Commissioner Rob Manfred’s aggressive goals for international play.