Orioles making this one move at the Winter Meetings would have made it an all-timer

The Baltimore Orioles are BACK, baby! While the club still has an obvious roster need -- starting pitching -- president of baseball operations Mike Elias electrified the entire fan base with excitement and did a ton to re-establish some franchise mojo by landing Pete Alonso during the MLB Winter Meetings.

The Alonso news was strengthened by the momentum that Elias has already established this offseason by acquiring Taylor Ward and Ryan Helsley recently. In addition, outmuscling big-market rivals like the Boston Red Sox for Alonso sent a message that the Orioles are serious, dangerous, and most importantly, attractive to other free agents and trade targets alike.

One could say that Baltimore's Alonso splash immediately created the opportunity for another marquee signing, which leads us back to a starting pitcher.

The Orioles would have shattered the internet if they'd signed Ranger Suárez right after snagging Pete Alonso

The Orioles walked away from Winter Meetings victorious, but what if they had also managed to fill their most glaring need? A big-time starting pitcher signing would have had the entire league viewing Elias as a genius. While there's still time for Baltimore to get their starter, doing so all in one fell swoop in Orlando would have sent a powerful message to fans and the rest of MLB.

Imagine, for instance, if the Orioles had signed Ranger Suárez in the hours following the Alonso news. Baltimore's been linked to Suárez of late as the O's hunt for another arm to join Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish at the top of the rotation.

While there are arguably more intriguing starters available via free agency (Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai) and/or via trade (Freddy Peralta), getting Suárez would have been the perfect final move, cementing a Winter Meetings masterclass for the ages, for a couple of reasons.

First of all, Suárez is sort of flying under the radar on the market in comparison to more headline-grabbing guys like Valdez and Imai. Had the O's signed Suárez, pundits would be praising Elias beyond belief for his tasteful decision to avoid the emotional Valdez and somewhat unknown Imai for the sure thing in Suárez. The narrative would have been something like, 'They went out and got the big fish in Alonso, and then they followed it up with a stealth dagger in Suárez!' Orioles fans would have been on cloud nine reading this stuff.

There's also a funny Mets element to consider had the Orioles signed Suárez. New York has also been linked to Suárez recently, with some people pointing out that his calm and collected demeanor would be a good match for the thorny, high-pressure NYC environment. Amid New York's disastrous offseason thus far, it would have been a treat to see Mets fans reacting to the Orioles signing Alonso and Suárez on the same day or two.

With all of this said, Suárez is still available, and the offseason is still young. The Orioles may have missed the opportunity to pull off a stunning Winter Meetings clinic, but Elias can still go get his guy in the coming days.