Though grinding through a rebuilding process that has left them with the first overall draft pick for the second time in four years, the Orioles made out wonderfully tonight in the Major League Baseball Players Association's Players Choice Awards.
Trey Mancini was chosen as the American League's Comeback Player of the Year and Ryan Mountcastle was selected as Outstanding Rookie.
The awards are especially meaningful to players because they're voted on by their peers.
Mancini seemed to be the...
There are plenty of people inside the Orioles organization who are convinced that, if Yusniel Diaz could stay healthy and play in an uninterrupted stretch of games, he'd be a major league outfielder and a hitter capable of occupying a spot in the middle of the order.
Diaz also has some doubters, but the argument is moot if injuries keep dragging him down.
Viewed as the jewel of the 2018 Manny Machado trade with the Dodgers, Diaz left a May 9 game in Jacksonville with a right quadriceps strain...
The first tweet sent to me was ignored. The second elicited a response that, upon review, still makes me cringe.
Emily contacted me in early 2014, requesting an interview for a freelance writing class at Towson University. She needed a "local celebrity" and was a big fan of the Orioles and my work.
I wrote back, "I'm sure we can work something out."
Better than a "no," but still pretty cold given where this story leads.
She was coming to spring training in Sarasota, Fla., staying with a...
The chiseling of the Orioles' 40-man roster needs to get it down to a size that can accommodate at least one new player from the Rule 5 draft.
The Orioles seem to have struck gold last winter with reliever Tyler Wells.
You just never know.
Among the few safe projections for the 2022 season is naming Wells the closer. He gets the initial save chances.
How many are available on a rebuilding team isn't the point. Someone needs to protect a slim lead in the ninth inning and Wells has become the...
If the Orioles can implement their prospect plan at third base, Coby Mayo will be handling the hot corner and hitting long home runs for many years.
They can figure out how to occupy the middle infield with the batch of shortstops who crash their top 30 prospects lists, including Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg among the first 10. Henderson could be the shortstop and Westburg the second baseman. They could reverse roles.
One of them could move over to third, but good luck trying to budge...
Did anyone really predict before the season that Cedric Mullins would be a finalist for a Silver Slugger Award?
If you were told that one Oriole would be honored, would you have chosen Trey Mancini, Anthony Santander or Ryan Mountcastle ahead of Mullins?
I don't know what's left to say about the guy who decided to bat only from the left side.
Mullins was the easy choice as Most Valuable Oriole and no one in the media ventured outside the box and denied him a first-place vote. He's going to...
No Orioles player has won a Silver Slugger Award since Mark Trumbo in 2016.
Cedric Mullins will attempt to break the streak.
Mullins is among eight American League outfielders nominated for the honor, which recognizes the top offensive players at every position. Three are chosen for the outfield, whether in left, center or right.
Recognition keeps coming to Mullins, the first player in Orioles history with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season. He's also a finalist for the Major...
The Orioles could break camp with firm plans to play Ryan Mountcastle at first base and use Trey Mancini as their designated hitter, which is how they routinely appeared in the lineup over the second half.
Mountcastle is making steady progress as a defender, going back to his third position while the Orioles are covered in the outfield corners. They'd prefer to keep a player that young from pulling regular DH duty.
But there's a complication to an otherwise solid plan when Adley Rutschman...
As the participants in the World Series begin to come into focus, the Orioles are busy doing their own heavy lifting with moves to clear room on their 40-man roster.
They needed a big broom.
The season concluded with a full 40-man. Putting reliever Zack Burdi on waivers, and he was claimed by the Diamondbacks, was just the first attempt.
They're down to 35 after outrighting catcher Austin Wynns, infielder Pat Valaika, and pitchers Thomas Eshelman and Konner Wade. That leaves space for the five...
The Orioles outrighted four players off their 40-man roster yesterday to reduce the total to 35, as they continue to perform one of the more important offseason tasks leading into the Rule 5 draft in December.
In addition to catcher Austin Wynns, whose disposition was reported yesterday, the Orioles also outrighted pitchers Thomas Eshelman and Konner Wade and infielder Pat Valaika, per the transactions page at MLB.com.
The club hasn't announced the moves.
Valaika was eligible again for...
Different reasons exist for candidates to qualify for Comeback Player of the Year in the majors. It can be a productive return from a down season. It can be a return from a serious injury.
Trey Mancini is a finalist in the Major League Baseball Players Association's Players Choice Awards after missing the 2020 season with Stage 3 colon cancer.
Just typing that sentence makes him feel like the favorite over teammate Cedric Mullins and the Mariners' Mitch Haniger, but we'll find out Thursday...
The Orioles performed more work on their 40-man roster this afternoon, outrighting catcher Austin Wynns after he cleared waivers, according to sources.
Wynns can become a free agent.
The 40-man is down to 38 players, the most recent move before today coming last week when the Diamondbacks claimed reliever Zack Burdi off waivers.
Wynns, 30, batted .185/.232/.308 in 45 games, with four doubles, four home runs and 14 RBIs in 139 plate appearances. He threw out 11 of 29 runners attempting to steal...
No one is handing a job in 2022 to the batch of Orioles in-house infield candidates beyond first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, which pretty much makes for a typical offseason in the rebuild.
I'm confident that they'll sign at least one free agent, and perhaps to a major league deal. They could make another waiver claim, as they did with second baseman Yolmer Sánchez.
Perhaps this time they'll keep him beyond spring training.
I've made Ramón UrÃas a heavy favorite to stay with the...
The fall instructional league camp is entering its fourth day down in Sarasota, Fla., more activity at the Ed Smith Stadium complex before pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Feb. 15.
Here are a few more participants who caught my eye when the Orioles shared their list with the media:
* They loaded up their camp roster with 17 of the 2021 draft picks, and they included outfielder/first baseman Billy Cook, a 10th-rounder out of Pepperdine University.
Cook, 22, led the West Coast...
The clock keeps ticking on Adley Rutschman, and the sound of it can drown out a 747.
A one-one makes more noise.
Rutschman is going to play in the majors in 2022, but Orioles fans want to know whether he breaks camp with the team or returns to Triple-A Norfolk, where he appeared in 43 games last summer and batted .312/.405/.490 with nine doubles, two triples, five home runs and 20 RBIs.
He threw out runners attempting to steal second and third base. He handled the pitching staff with a maturity...
The Orioles released the names of the 50 players invited to their fall instructional league camp in Sarasota, Fla. An interesting mix that highlights the organization's commitment to the amateur draft and international market - two of the most powerful fuels to get the rebuild moving in the right direction.
What did we learn from the names on the roster and accompanying information?
* Players recovering from injuries or surgeries are progressing to the point where they can be participants in...
The Orioles begin their fall instructional league camp this morning in Sarasota, Fla., and players gathering at the Ed Smith Stadium complex include 19 that MLBPipeline.com ranks among the top 30 prospects in the organization.
One of the headliners is outfielder Heston Kjerstad, the second-overall pick in the 2020 draft who hasn't been able to play since his diagnosis of myocarditis following his selection. He's been taking batting practice and is now cleared for an increase in baseball...
Many of the Orioles' 2021 statistics won't be shocking when plucked from the team's season summary, but finishing with the third-highest fielding percentage in the American League at .987 and the sixth-highest in the majors is an unexpected nugget.
Upgrading the defense must remain a priority, as it's been in past winters.
The Orioles claimed former Gold Glove winner Yolmer Sánchez off waivers Oct. 30 to play second base, but he didn't make it out of camp and they decided to experiment...
The early work on the Orioles' 40-man roster consisted of one move that probably didn't require hours of study, deliberation and angst.
The team likes Travis Lakins Sr. Manager Brandon Hyde talked about the reliever's recovery from elbow surgery and the likelihood that he'd be ready for spring training.
But it made no sense to move Lakins from the 60-day injured list to a 40-man roster that requires heavy cuts. A chain saw rather than a pocket knife.
Teams figured to pass on Lakins after he...
Becoming the first Orioles player with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season should be the most impressive achievement for Cedric Mullins in 2021, but discussions on his breakout year inevitably circle back to how he abandoned switch-hitting and experienced left-on-left success.
It blows away everyone who talks about it.
I've had scouts, in the middle of a chat, bring up what Mullins did against left-handed pitching and how unusual it was to make that decision. To choose one side...