When it comes to leading a group of Orioles in winter workouts, club vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson is ready to help. He's already joined pitcher Miguel Gonzalez for some of his workouts on the West Coast, and that group will later include Mike Wright, Jason Garcia and minor league lefty Tim Berry.
"Garcia and Wright will spend some extensive time right before spring training," Anderson said. "They'll probably be there the last six weeks. Dariel Alvarez will come in....
When the Boston Red Sox traded a haul of prospects for San Diego closer Craig Kimbrel, some fans wondered if the Orioles could get a similar return for their closer, Zach Britton.
Britton said he has heard that his name has come up in trade rumors. But he also seems convinced those are mostly just rumors and he knows the Orioles are certainly not looking to trade him.
"It feels good (that they want to keep me)," Britton said. "I heard through my agent maybe there was some talk of teams...
The Orioles added three pitchers to their 40-man roster on Nov. 20 when they selected the contracts of right-handers Parker Bridwell and Andrew Triggs and left-hander Chris Lee. The additions kept the trio from being taken in the Rule 5 draft and moved them one step closer to the big leagues.
Of the three, Triggs might have the best chance to impact the Orioles roster in 2016 as he is a reliever and the other two are starters. They could certainly be moved to the bullpen to help, but Triggs is...
Kevin Gausman knows the Baltimore-to-Norfolk shuttle so well he could drive the route forward and backward. And probably with his eyes closed. But as he looks toward 2016, he hopes this is the season he gets the ball every fifth day and is in a major league rotation for the entire season.
Gausman made five starts for the Orioles in 2013, 20 the next season and 17 among his 25 outings last year.
"That is what you work to get to. I'm just ready to take the ball every fifth day and be one of...
Despite the fact that they pitched just 22 innings last year between them, Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey remain ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on the top 10 Orioles prospects list released this morning by Baseball America. They are ranked one and two for the second straight year.
At a time when the O's farm system has gotten some criticism, it still has two hurlers topping the rankings who have big upside and the potential to still be top-of-the-rotation pitchers and potential aces. Now they just need...
He was easily among the best starting pitchers on the Orioles farm last year and maybe the best of them all. And as of yesterday, 30-year-old right-hander Terry Doyle is back with the organization, agreeing to a minor league contract with the Orioles.
In 2015, in 26 games (21 starts) between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, Doyle went 16-2 with a 2.16 ERA. Over 158 2/3 innings, he gave up 137 hits with just 22 walks and 110 strikeouts. He went 12-1 with a 1.97 ERA for Bowie. In seven...
Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop missed nearly three months last year with a sprained right knee, which sent him to the disabled list on April 18. Then he missed the last few games with a bruised right hand after getting hit by a pitch.
In between, he played pretty well, and Schoop today pronounced himself healthy for the 2016 season.
"Everything is perfect. Trying to work to get stronger," he said.
He is also working to get better after hitting .279 with 15 homers, 39 RBIs and a .788...
Trey Mancini probably knew the questions were coming. He is a first baseman who was the Orioles' 2015 minor league Player of the Year, taking the Brooks Robinson Award. Now the club may be losing a first baseman in Chris Davis.
Has Mancini followed the media reports? Is he ready to compete for a big league job at first?
"I follow it just like a casual observer would," Mancini said. "I don't get too down or happy about that until it's over. He's an incredible player and the Orioles would...
Orioles vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson is delighted the club has agreed to terms with reliever Darren O'Day and made a big offer to first baseman Chris Davis.
But Anderson said today at FanFest that by letting both players get to free agency, the club is paying more to re-sign them now than it would have cost earlier.
"Small to mid-market teams like we are, you have a player, you appreciate them," Anderson said. "But some guys, you can fail to appreciate them when you...
Apparently, it is possible for a top free agent to accept less than the biggest offer. Amid reports that St. Louis and Washington offered him contracts worth $200 million or more, outfielder Jason Heyward took a deal for less.
The free agent outfielder agreed to terms with the Chicago Cubs yesterday, getting an eight-year deal with opt-out clauses worth $184 million. Heyward hit just 13 homers with 60 RBIs last year. Yet his outstanding defense, his speed and his age - he's just 26 - helped...
It seems like the Chris Davis situation has been hanging over the Orioles' heads for weeks now. But we only found out about his $150 million offer from the Orioles when it was first reported by MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko on Tuesday night.
Yep, it has only been a few days. Now maybe the O's offer was made before then, but we've only publicly known about it since Tuesday evening.
In the court of public opinion featuring Orioles fans, it seems Davis is coming up second. The consensus...
NASHVILLE - Before we head to the airport, a few final words on Chris Davis.
I think the Orioles' offer is big and legit, and they clearly made it known they want Davis back. As we all know by now, they can't - and seemingly won't - wait on him much longer. It's go time for the 2016 roster.
Dan Duquette is more aware of this than anyone. He's got irons in the fire in several places and appears ready to move on from Davis at any minute. He may have already done that for all we know.
It...
NASHVILLE - The Orioles added three players to their organization in today's Rule 5 draft, the final event of the Winter Meetings. They selected outfielder Joey Rickard from Tampa Bay in the major league phase. He must stay on the roster all year or be offered back to the Rays.
The O's added two pitchers in the Triple-A phase of the draft. These players are not on the big league roster and are minor league players. They can be assigned to any affiliate for the 2016 season.
First, the club...
NASHVILLE - The Orioles today added an outfielder from the Tampa Bay organization, right-handed hitting Joey Rickard, in the Rule 5 draft.
Between three teams last year, Rickard hit .321/.427/.447 with 28 doubles, eight triples, two homers and 55 RBIs. He stole 23 bases and scored 62 runs. The Rays selected Rickard, a Las Vegas native, in the ninth round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arizona.
Rickard began the 2015 season in high Single-A ball, moved to Double-A...
NASHVILLE - So here is an interesting question: What if Chris Davis accepts what Dan Duquette termed "a really aggressive offer?" Will the Orioles have enough cash remaining to fill other needs?
Here is what Duquette said when I asked that yesterday:
"Well, keep in mind we have a really strong core of this ballclub. When Matt Wieters made the choice to come back he gave us a real solid catcher to go along with Caleb Joseph. That is one of the more dynamic catching combinations in the league....
NASHVILLE - We had another chance today to record a video interview with Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette. We spent some time on the Chris Davis talks and also asked if the Orioles would consider it difficult to relinquish the 14th draft pick to sign a free agent.
Did any free agent or trade talks get advanced today? Are the Orioles close to anything "We made some good progress on some free agent players that we've been talking to. Hopefully we will be able to bring some of those...
NASHVILLE - Would the Orioles part with the 14th pick in the draft? If they signed a free agent who had turned down a qualifying offer, they would have to. While the first 10 picks in next June's First-Year Player Draft are protected, the O's No. 14 pick is not.
Players that turned down the qualifying offer who could be sought by the Orioles include outfielders Alex Gordon, Justin Upton and Jason Heyward, and pitchers Yovani Gallardo and Ian Kennedy.
During his Winter Meetings press...
NASHVILLE - The Orioles have the No. 15 pick in tomorrow's Rule 5 draft here. We've come to expect the O's to make a pick in this draft - last year they selected two players - and this year should be no different. Expect the O's to make a pick.
Since some teams will pass, there should not be 14 players taken before the Orioles select. In recent years they have added Ryan Flaherty, T.J. McFarland and Jason Garica in the Rule 5.
No one has been more clued in on this draft than J.J. Cooper of...
NASHVILLE - Last night at the Winter Meetings, I recorded a video interview with ESPN's Keith Law where we primarily discussed Chris Davis' free agency. After we recorded this interview, my colleague Roch Kubatko broke the news via Twitter that the Orioles have made a huge offer to Davis.
He tweeted the following:
Sounds like no progress was made in #orioles talks with Boras regarding Chris Davis. Its believed Os offer in neighborhood of $150 mil.
-- Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) December 9,...
NASHVILLE - Is decision day for Chris Davis and the Orioles coming soon? The answer may well be yes, at least from the club's side.
Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette met with Scott Boras, Davis' agent, this afternoon here at the Winter Meetings. There doesn't seem to be any indication that the sides are close to an agreement. At the same time, if the O's can't or don't get Davis, they may need to move on and address other needs.
During his one-on-one interview today with...