SARASOTA, Fla. - Sig Mejdal is the Orioles' assistant general manager, analytics. He was hired by Mike Elias in November, five days after Elias was named the Orioles' executive vice president and general manager. Mejdal was hired by the club to build an analytics department, and also to advise Elias in all baseball operations decisions.
Upon his hire, Elias said: "Sig Mejdal is one of the most experienced and accomplished analysts working in baseball today. To have him join our Orioles...
SARASOTA, Fla. - After his latest important and attention-grabbing hit - a three-run double for the lead yesterday versus the Tampa Bay Rays - the question may be asked again: Can 22-year-old outfielder Yusniel Diaz make the Orioles' opening day roster, and should he be a strong candidate to start in right field?
The young outfielder who is the club's No. 1 ranked prospect initially struggled after he was traded to Baltimore last year. He came to the club in the Manny Machado deal from the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - After starting and throwing two scoreless innings versus the Yankees in Tampa Friday night, left-hander John Means gets another start on the mound today as the Orioles play the Rays in Port Charlotte.
Means, an 11th-round pick out of West Virginia University in 2014, might currently be on the fringes of the fifth-starter competition, but another solid outing could enhance his shot to make this roster.
He made his big league debut late last season, got into one game at Boston...
SARASOTA, Fla. - After a winter that started with him playing for Texas, infielder Hanser Alberto was claimed via waivers by the Yankees, and then by the Orioles, and then by the Giants, and then again by the Orioles.
He'd like to stay in one place for a while.
The Yankees claimed him Nov. 2 from the Rangers and the Orioles claimed him Jan. 11, but he was designated for assignment by Baltimore on Feb. 19 when the club added lefty reliever Josh Osich. Three days later the Giants claimed the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias has, to no one's surprise, been a very busy man in Florida. He's checking out the O's spring roster and watching the team play often. He's swung a couple of trades since camp started and has taken time to do some amateur scouting as well.
Yesterday, when the Orioles beat the Twins 9-4 in Fort Myers, he took some time to hang out with me during the live-streamed audio-only broadcast of the Birds on Orioles.com....
SARASOTA, Fla. - He's got new teammates here in Birdland since coming over from Oakland as a Rule 5 pick in December. But the process of blending in has been smooth, quick and easy for infielder Richie Martin.
"I feel comfortable," he said. "At the end of the day it's baseball. Doesn't matter really what level you are at, it's the same game. It's going good for me. Getting in the swing of things. Everyone around here is real comforting and helpful and showing us young guys the ropes....
SARASOTA, Fla. - In a situation where several young outfielders are trying to put their best foot forward at Orioles camp and a few are doing it, Anthony Santander can sometimes get overlooked.
But today was not one of those times.
Beginning the game 3-for-10 in spring training, he went 3-for-3 with a walk in the team's 7-5 win over Detroit that improved the O's record to 5-3-2. Batting ninth as the DH, the switch-hitter doubled off lefty starter Matthew Boyd in the third. In the next inning...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The seeds for a great start to spring camp for catcher Chance Sisco were planted not long after last season ended. He made some tweaks to his swing, but to hear him tell it, regaining lost confidence is the biggest reason he's mashing the ball right now.
He came to Sarasota with a fresh and confident outlook that got a boost from new manager Brandon Hyde and the new coaching staff, who seem to daily be filling the young players with doses of confidence. They keep it positive...
SARASOTA, Fla. - In an Orioles spring camp where veterans seem to be making themselves readily available however needed for young players, outfielder Cedric Mullins is ready to soak up help like a sponge.
And that is in all aspects of the game. But when it comes to one aspect specifically, Mullins has help in infielder Jonathan Villar and outfielder Eric Young Jr. And that is with stealing bases.
The Orioles' 2018 minor league Player of the Year, Mullins made his big league debut late last...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Among today's pitchers for the Orioles' split-squad afternoon game versus the Tampa Bay Rays will be right-hander Hunter Harvey, the club's 2013 first-round pick.
It will be another much anticipated outing after Harvey's spring debut Monday in Fort Myers versus the Twins, when his fastball was touching 97-98 mph on the radar gun. Plus Harvey is now throwing a splitter as his changeup and O's hitters that faced him in live batting practice sessions are raving about him and...
SARASOTA, Fla. - No matter what happens today when right-hander Alex Cobb makes his first spring start for the Orioles, he's well ahead of where he was at this time last year. This time last year he was a free agent looking for a team.
On March 21 he was signed to a four-year deal by the Orioles. The late signing led to a late start to his season, a rushed attempt to get him ready. He pitched in his first game for the Orioles April 14 at Boston. He allowed 15 runs in seven innings his first...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Take the combination of a player who gave his confidence a reboot over the winter and a first-year manager who quickly has established a relaxed spring camp and you get a player who struggled last year but now has three homers in six spring at-bats this year.
Chance Sisco, go ahead and put 2018 behind you and welcome to a new year with a new staff and a fresh start. Sisco hit a three-run homer in his first spring at-bat Saturday (on his first swing) in Sarasota, and yesterday...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Outfield is an area where the Orioles feature some young, up-and-coming talent, led by Yusniel Diaz, who is ranked as the team's No. 1 prospect and is in the top 100 list of several national outlets. It's a position to watch in camp to see Diaz, along with Austin Hays, Ryan McKenna, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, Mike Yastrzemski and DJ Stewart, to name a few.
Most of these guys have played together at some point on the farm, some for several seasons together. Now in this...
SARASOTA, Fla. - With six catchers in the Orioles' spring camp, it can be hard to stand out among the group this early. But veteran Carlos Pérez took advantage of the one chance he's gotten so far here on Sunday afternoon.
He batted in the last of the fourth against Toronto with the Orioles down 5-4. He hit a booming two-run double to center for the lead and the Orioles never trailed again in a 9-8 win over the Blue Jays. That provided them a 2-0 start before Monday's loss to...
SARASOTA, Fla. - He's a professional baseball player, but where he is from, he's not well known by sports fans. In his second year in the Orioles organization, 26-year-old catcher Martin Cervenka is from Prague, Czech Republic.
He's an interesting guy that speaks four languages, is sound defensively, and is trying to emerge from a crowded catching competition in camp and pull off a big upset by making the opening day roster. He's probably a long shot, but Cervenka just being in this camp is...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles right-hander Alex Cobb was one of the best pitchers in the American League in the second half last year. In 11 starts after the All-Star break, he went 3-3 with a 2.56 ERA, .232 batting average against and 1.156 WHIP. His ERA was fifth in the AL among pitchers that made at least 10 starts after the break.
And while Cobb liked the strong results to wrap up a season where he went 5-15 with a 4.90 ERA, he explained yesterday that he had certain reasons for seeking a better...
SARASOTA, Fla. - In his first spring training chance to state his case for a 2019 rotation spot, right-hander David Hess was pleased with his results today versus Toronto at Ed Smith Stadium.
In the second spring game for the Orioles, Hess went the first two innings, allowing three hits and one run on a solo homer. He didn't walk or strike out a batter and threw 27 pitches, 18 for strikes.
Hess allowed back-to-back singles to start his day but got out of that first-inning jam, getting the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle has made the point a few times: He'll play on defense wherever the team needs him to and is up for anything.
In recent days, first base has been added to his resume. Before yesterday, he had never played the position in the pro ranks, just shortstop and third base since the Orioles drafted him No. 36 overall in 2015.
But here on Saturday, after Mountcastle pinch-hit in the last of the fifth, he went out to first base and got in four innings at...
SARASOTA, Fla. - New Orioles outfielder Eric Young Jr. is ready for some double duty in spring camp. He is trying to win a job and roster spot for his new team while at the same time very ready to help any young players that need advice - including some who might win a roster spot that keeps him off the team.
It's kind of the definition of unselfish and being a real pro.
After 10 seasons and 651 games in the majors, Young is ready for others to benefit from the experience he gained in time...
SARASOTA, Fla. - It's been said more than a few times about Orioles pitching prospect Hunter Harvey: The talent is clearly there, he just needs to finally stay healthy.
We were reminded of that this week. Harvey dazzled during a live batting practice session on Thursday at Ed Smith Stadium. I know this even though I didn't arrive here until yesterday as I checked out this entry. Among those he faced was Trey Mancini. Harvey has apparently added a split-finger fastball to his repertoire and it...