The Orioles have made a move to improve their catching depth in the organization.
Carlos Pérez, 28, has agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training pending the completion of a physical. He can earn a guaranteed $650,000 if he makes the Orioles roster.
Pérez is a native of Venezuela who appeared in eight games with the Braves and 20 with the Rangers last season and was 10-for-70 with two doubles and a home run. He hasn't done much offensively in the majors,...
Fans who are on board with the Orioles' plans to undergo a rebuild have asked how Mark Trumbo fits into it.
Trumbo runs the same question through his head. He turns 33 later this month, is recovering from knee surgery and is approaching the final year of a contract that pays him $11 million this summer with deferred payments of $1.5 million from 2020-22.
There's the potential for run production in the middle of the lineup. There's a leadership role that's been vacated by trades and free...
The Orioles needed only one day to resolve their situation with infielder Breyvic Valera.
Valera has been traded to the Giants for cash considerations, with both teams making the announcement. He was designated for assignment yesterday after the Orioles claimed pitcher Austin Brice off waivers from the Angels.
A spot had to be opened for Brice on the 40-man roster and Valera was the casualty. The Orioles could have attempted to pass him through waivers, but they worked out a trade.
Former...
There wasn't much Orioles news to come out of the Winter Meetings beyond the decision to hire Brandon Hyde as manager, whatever the zealous level of the reports. Roster rumblings pretty much were limited to the Rule 5 draft and a waiver claim of third baseman Rio Ruiz. But two injury updates were noteworthy.
Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said he expected reliever Richard Bleier and outfielder/designated hitter Mark Trumbo to be ready for opening day based on the...
The appeal of bringing in Mike Elias as the head of baseball operations for the Orioles centered on his deep background in scouting and player development. His experience working the international market. His familiarity with analytics and an unwavering belief that they must be incorporated in today's game in order to be competitive.
The man has been entrusted with a variety of responsibilities over the years in the Cardinals and Astros organizations, and his fingerprints will cover the...
The Orioles have added a right-handed reliever to their 40-man roster while subtracting a player who was set up to compete for a utility job in spring training.
Austin Brice has been claimed off waivers from the Angels, with infielder Breyvic Valera designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Brice, 26, is 2-4 with a 5.68 ERA and 1.262 WHIP in 70 relief appearances over the past three seasons. He registered a 5.79 ERA and 1.393 WHIP in 33 games with the Reds over the summer before the...
The process of hiring Koby Perez as the Orioles' senior director of international scouting began immediately after the Winter Meetings and appeared to wrap up as the warehouse shut down for the holidays. Scout Calvin Maduro was given the news a few weeks ago, with the announcement coming on Wednesday.
Perez, calling into the "Hot Stove Show" on 105.7 The Fan, said executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias contacted the Indians upon returning from Las Vegas seeking permission to...
The hiring of Koby Perez as the Orioles' senior director of international scouting enabled executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias to reach further into his professional past, all the way to his Cardinals days in their scouting department.
Elias also has brought in assistant Sig Mejdal, who worked with him in St. Louis and Houston, and minor league pitching coordinator Chris Holt, formerly the Astros' assistant pitching coordinator.
If anyone needs additional information on...
The Orioles continue to hold the most international signing bonus slot money in baseball before the reset later this summer. However, they are conceding that the top-tier talent no longer is on the board and funds are more likely to be redirected.
This is just one of the points made today during a conference call with executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and new senior director of international scouting Koby Perez.
Perez was hired yesterday after spending the past five years...
A casual clubhouse conversation over the summer between a past and current Orioles catcher led to an offseason lunch, a lengthy workout and a relationship that could pay dividends on the field.
Rick Dempsey, the former World Series Most Valuable Player and current MASN analyst who played in the majors for 24 seasons and owns two championship rings. Austin Wynns, a rookie at 27 trying to stick around as a backup with perhaps an opportunity to do more in the future.
Too bad it wasn't caught on...
The restructuring of the Orioles' front office and scouting department has led today to one of the more important hires of the offseason.
The club announced that Koby Perez, 40, has been named senior director, international scouting and will report directly to executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias.
Perez will oversee all aspects of the international scouting operations and management of the team's bonus pool. He spent the last five seasons in the Indians organization,...
The season isn't starting today. The Orioles aren't in the Bronx and Manny Machado still isn't wearing pinstripes. The roster hasn't really started to take shape unless you count a couple of Rule 5 picks who will compete for shortstop and utility jobs and a left-handed hitting third baseman to compete against a right-handed hitting third baseman.
Keep a brown paper bag handy to prevent hyperventilating.
The clock hasn't become the enemy, with executive vice president and general manager...
A new year carries with it the same tasks placed in front of executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, assistant Sig Mejdal and manager Brandon Hyde.
No one has been hired to replace director of player development Brian Graham and director of scouting Gary Rajsich. Only two coaches are known to have joined the staff, with a third offered a job in the bullpen, per sources. And how's that analytics department coming along?
Openings remain for a manager at Triple-A Norfolk, a...
A team that posted the worst record in club history is bound to be subjected to the New Year's Eve ball-dropping joke that I repeat every winter.
I'll be above it today.
'Tis the season for clichéd resolution articles and I'm not above them. For example:
Jonathan Villar: Don't make the first or last out trying to steal third base.
Villar: Don't be passive on the bases. You can figure out how to balance the two.
Trey Mancini: Get your Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) closer to the minus-1...
As new Orioles manager Brandon Hyde stresses the importance of giving a full effort, whether through conversations over the phone, in face-to-face meetings or in spring training drills that send a message that carries into the regular season. He's going to seek out the older players who can provide examples to the younger crew. And he's also going to expect that same level of commitment no matter the date listed on a birth certificate.
"A veteran player can really set a tone for the club,"...
Taylor Grover was sick in bed, given permission by his manager in Venezuela to skip a few games, as the Rule 5 draft unfolded in Las Vegas. He tried to stream it on his phone, struggling to get a wireless connection, and almost missed its most critical moment. The one that would change his life.
The Reds had signed Grover, the 27-year-old pitcher fresh out of two independent leagues, and left him exposed two weeks later in the Triple-A phase of the draft that closed the Winter Meetings. The...
I can't let 2018 pass without emptying out my mailbag. Especially since it passes for cardio exercise in my household.
No need for a treadmill that would only collect dust anyway, or be used to hang wet clothes.
I can work my biceps by lifting all of the duplicate questions. You ask 'em, I answer 'em and someone else asks the same ones. It's a tradition unlike any other.
Let's get started on the latest sequel to the "Because You Asked" series, which will garner more award nominations...
New Orioles manager Brandon Hyde checked with the Cubs, his most recent employer, to gauge the availability of their coaches and minor league personnel as he scrambled to assemble a staff in Baltimore.
He's succeeded in prying away one member of the organization.
Tim Cossins is joining the Orioles with the responsibility of working with the catchers, per an industry source. His exact title isn't known, but he's going to be one of the coaches under Hyde.
Former bench coach John Russell had...
Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter always said it's a mistake to take over a losing team and assume that everything is wrong and needs to be fixed or replaced. It wasn't his approach in the summer of 2010, as the Orioles were continuing a streak of losing seasons that reached 14, and Brandon Hyde won't make those assumptions after 115 losses fueled a teardown.
"No doubt," he said last week on 105.7 The Fan. "I have a ton of respect for Buck and he's got a ton of experience in that, so...
One of the common refrains in baseball is how hustle never goes into a slump. New Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is a firm believer.
The Orioles won't present a roster with the same level of talent as the contenders. That's not how a rebuild works.
It won't bring the same experience. It won't include the same number of elite prospects. But there's no reason why other teams should be able to outwork the Orioles, to put forth more effort.
Jogging up the line on a ground ball, conceding the...