After slight stats drop, is Adam Jones poised to return to previous form?

After slight stats drop, is Adam Jones poised to return to previous form?
Orioles center fielder Adam Jones will soon leave the team to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He might take a hot bat into that competition. After going 2-for-3 with a home run against Boston Wednesday, Jones is 5-for-11 this spring (.455) with two homers and four RBIs. When you look at players who can improve on their 2016 statistics as the Orioles look to return to the postseason, Jones is on that list. After finishing in the top 15 in the American League MVP voting from...
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Notes on Jayson Aquino, the WBC and the passing of Dave Rosenfield

Notes on Jayson Aquino, the WBC and the passing of Dave Rosenfield
Jayson Aquino, a 24-year-old left-hander, quietly put up some decent numbers on the Orioles farm last year and he also pitched 2 1/3 innings in three games for the Orioles, one in July and two in September. In that small sample, he held major league hitters to one hit over eight at-bats. After he threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts yesterday in Clearwater against Philadelphia, O's manager Buck Showalter called Aquino "the highlight of the early part of camp for me." Click here...
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Drake allows spring homer, but still could emerge in O's 'pen come April

Drake allows spring homer, but still could emerge in O's 'pen come April
Even though he gave up a three-run homer in the ninth inning yesterday, there are reasons to believe that right-hander Oliver Drake has a solid shot to head north with the Orioles for opening day in April. Drake could be pushing for a bullpen spot for several reasons. They include his strong finish last year, a subtle role change he made in the second half with Triple-A Norfolk and the fact that he is now out of options. The Orioles drafted Drake in the 43rd round out of the Naval Academy in...
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Does Carlos Martinez deal provide a framework for Kevin Gausman, others?

Does Carlos Martinez deal provide a framework for Kevin Gausman, others?
It's a question that all major league teams face at some point with their promising young talent: When is the right time to take a risk and sign that player to a long-term contract? On the plus side, you can lock up a core player for years to come, buy out some free agent years and have some cost certainty. You may even be able to save a few million dollars. But there is potential on the negative side, because those dollars are guaranteed despite any future injury and/or player drop-off in...
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The readers ask: "10 Questions for O's Fans"

The readers ask: "10 Questions for O's Fans"
It has been a once-a-month feature since the 2016 ended and we better do it soon if we want a February edition. So here is the latest "10 Questions for O's Fans." The last time we did this, we asked what question should we ask next time, and here are some of your answers. Even those that said I should do my own work are allowed to answer today. 1. Who will have the biggest bounceback season for the O's, Chris Davis, Darren O'Day, J.J. Hardy or Adam Jones? 2. What will Kevin Gausman's...
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MLB's proposed rule changes are playing to mixed reviews

MLB's proposed rule changes are playing to mixed reviews
Major League Baseball doesn't seem to have too many problems. Generally speaking, attendance and television ratings are strong and certainly revenues seem to be as well. The sport has seemed to achieve a level of competitive balance without a salary cap. A level where the Orioles, Blue Jays and Rays can dethrone the big-spending Red Sox and Yankees atop the American League East. A level where the Kansas City Royals can win the World Series. A level where there has been a different World Series...
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A look at the importance (or not) of spring training games

A look at the importance (or not) of spring training games
The Orioles play the Tigers today at 1:05 p.m. in Lakeland, Fla. With this contest, their 35-game slate of exhibition games begins. It will include a game with the Dominican Republic's World Baseball Classic team on March 7 and an exhibition finale at Triple-A Norfolk on March 31. We should know all too well by now that the club's win-loss record in spring training is meaningless. It pretty much will tell us nothing. The 2016 Orioles, who won 89 games and made the American League playoffs,...
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After the starting five, how does the depth look for the Orioles?

After the starting five, how does the depth look for the Orioles?
As the new season approaches for the Orioles, the starting rotation looks set for 2017. It is expected to be - in some order - Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy, Wade Miley and Ubaldo Jiménez. But we do know the Orioles are very unlikely to get through 162 games with just five starting pitchers. They used eight to make starts in both 2014 and 2015 and used 10 in 2016. So the depth, as always, will be necessary. Who is next up on the list after the starting five for the Orioles? The...
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Appreciating Matt Wieters and scouting Richard Rodríguez

Appreciating Matt Wieters and scouting Richard Rodríguez
The team's first-round draft pick (fifth overall) in the 2007 draft, he came amid plenty of hype to the major leagues for the first time in May 2009. Heck, then team exec Andy MacPhail even announced his promotion from Triple-A live on MASN days in advance. It became an event and must-see TV. Baseball's No. 1-rated prospect was coming to the Orioles. He would throw out runners like Johnny Bench. On offense, he would be "Mauer with power." On off-days, he would probably drive around the...
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Orioles outfield options: Expanding and getting complicated

Orioles outfield options: Expanding and getting complicated
Maybe this is all Adam Jones' doing. The Orioles' additions the last three days of outfielders Craig Gentry and Michael Bourn give the team a definite chance to become more athletic and better on defense in the corner outfield spots. Both players were added on minor league deals, so they will have to make the roster. If one or both do that, it will have some significant ramifications for other players going forward. The additions of Gentry and/or Bourn could make it more difficult for Trey...
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After Yankees reliever lost arbitration case, it got real messy

After Yankees reliever lost arbitration case, it got real messy
If Orioles fans take some pleasure when they see a rival team involved in some turmoil, then they must be gloating over the events involving the New York Yankees this weekend. After the club won its arbitration case with reliever Dellin Betances, Yankees president Randy Levine made comments during a conference call with reporters that upset Betances and his agents, among others. This has sparked a war of words and hard feelings between the team and one of the best relievers in Major League...
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A look at a rather newsy first week of camp

A look at a rather newsy first week of camp
Here a few thoughts on the first week of spring training. There have been a few concerning moments already after the initial excitement that baseball was back. Chris Tillman's shoulder: It was not great news when we found out Tillman's streak of opening day starts will likely end at three. But for now there is no evidence that his shoulder problem will turn into a major issue. But, as with most arm and shoulder injuries, we also won't know it is nothing to worry about until he returns and...
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O's Brian Graham on why Tanner Scott will pitch in the first inning this year

O's Brian Graham on why Tanner Scott will pitch in the first inning this year
As the Orioles look to help young, hard-throwing left-handed pitching prospect Tanner Scott improve his control and work further on his pitches, they will use him as a starting pitcher this year. O's manager Buck Showalter revealed that news during the Orioles' pitching mini-camp in Florida in January. But this is no role change for the 22-year-old Scott. But rather, it is the best move for his development at this point, according to the Orioles director of player development Brian...
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Beast of the East: Can anyone knock Boston off the top spot?

Beast of the East: Can anyone knock Boston off the top spot?
Just like the Orioles, the Boston Red Sox failed to win a playoff game in 2016. But unlike the Orioles, the Red Sox did use an 11-game September winning streak to surge to an American League East division championship. After finishing in last place in 2014 and 2015, Boston won 93 games last season and took the division by four games over both Baltimore and Toronto. Now that Boston is back on top in the AL East, the Red Sox look very much poised to stay there for a while. It would be very hard...
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Talking chemistry, PRP injections and a note from Aberdeen

Talking chemistry, PRP injections and a note from Aberdeen
When it comes to baseball, there is seemingly a stat for everything. Beyond traditional stats, we can find the so-called advanced stats such as Weighted Runs Created and Weighted On-Base Average, and we can find stats for Defensive Runs Saved and pitching stats for Line Drive Rate and Home Run to Fly Ball ratio. And that is just scratching the surface. But can everything be explained with a stat - traditional or otherwise? Not really. Not hardly. On MLB Network yesterday, "MLB Now" host Brian...
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The Orioles' early minor league camp roster (plus a Tillman take)

The Orioles' early minor league camp roster (plus a Tillman take)
While the Orioles' major league spring training camp is taking place in Sarasota, Fla., at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, a few miles away the Orioles will once again hold an early minor league camp. This camp features 37 players that report on Friday, with the first workout set for Saturday. This camp consists of 18 pitchers and 19 position players. They will get a jump on those reporting later to the full minor league camp. These players also are available to the Orioles for early spring...
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MLB Network talks Orioles, plus notes on prospects and outfield defense

MLB Network talks Orioles, plus notes on prospects and outfield defense
The ongoing discussion of the Orioles being the subject of preseason projections and predictions for low win totals is ... ongoing. The latest discussion was on MLB Network on Monday where the analysts on "MLB Now" debated why the O's are so often the subject of predictions to fare poorly. Analyst Ron Darling pointed to the dugout as one reason they anually beat the projections. "Buck (Showalter) is one of those factors," Darling said. "Yes, catching the ball (defense has been important),...
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Hope springs eternal on Day One of camp

Hope springs eternal on Day One of camp
Pitchers and catchers report today. Those are five words that get most baseball fans excited and they are being heard by all Orioles fans today. Yes, a new season is about to begin. And yes it does seem like just weeks ago we saw the 2016 season end at Rogers Centre in Toronto. There will be a few more days to provide some excitement along the way. Like the day of the first full-squad workout and the day the exhibition season begins. But the real excitement, of course, truly begins April 3 at...
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Is it time for Major League Baseball to alter the rules for extra innings?

Is it time for Major League Baseball to alter the rules for extra innings?
It may be something that we never see in the major leagues, but Major League Baseball officials like it enough that they will experiment with it this year in the lower level of the minor leagues. This summer, in the Gulf Coast League, where the Orioles have an affiliate, and in the Arizona League, a runner will be placed at second base to start every extra inning. That's a pretty dramatic rule change that seemed to be met with some public resistance over the last few days. A similar rule has...
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Chance Sisco is ranked No. 57 by Baseball America

Chance Sisco is ranked No. 57 by Baseball America
Baseball America released its 2017 listing of the top 100 prospects in the sport during a broadcast on MLB Network last night. The Orioles, as expected, placed just one player on the list with catcher Chance Sisco ranked No. 57. Last year, the Orioles had no players make this list. Earlier, Sisco was ranked No. 69 on ESPN's top 100 and No. 99 by MLBPipeline.com. He's been rated as the clear No. 1 Orioles prospect by several outlets, including Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN....
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