NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Gary Rajsich just finished his first year as Orioles director of scouting and now he and his staff are deep into preparations for the 2013 First-Year Player Draft. Rajsich is here with the Orioles' staff in Nashville for the Winter Meetings.
Earlier today, I talked with Rajsich for a video interview in the busy lobby here at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center and Resort.
Rajsich is pleased with the progress his first draft class made this season in the O's...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - So Nate McLouth is returning to the Orioles and I would think most fans are pretty happy about that. In recent weeks, it seems the fans mostly wanted McLouth back and felt he was a key part of last year's team, even though he didn't join the big league club until August.
There is also a segment of fans that felt he had one or two good months and were skeptical that he had found his bat again and turned his career back around. They seemed to feel he wouldn't duplicate some...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - He is one of the top experts in the nation on baseball prospects, and again this year at the Winter Meetings, I caught up with Jim Callis of Baseball America for a video interview to talk about some of the top young Orioles prospects.
Callis feels the O's plan this year for pitcher Dylan Bundy was a good one as their No. 1 pick from 2011 started the season at Single-A Delmarva and ended it with two bullpen appearances in Baltimore in September.
"They did what you are...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - He once pitched a no-hitter against the Orioles, and he now may be joining the organization.
Wilson Alvarez, who no-hit the Birds in just his second major league start while pitching for the Chicago White Sox, has talked to the club about a job in the minor leagues. Alvarez is being considered for the position of pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Orioles in 2013.
The Venezuelan went 102-92 with an ERA of 3.96 over a 14-year career with Texas, the Chicago White Sox,...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter knows it's one thing to make the leap in the standings that the Orioles did last year and yet another to do it two years in a row. During his press conference here yesterday, Showalter was asked about that challenge.
"It kind of falls under the thing like last year - I don't want to be stating the obvious to these guys," Showalter said. "They know. Talking to them in the offseason, if I start to go down that road at all, it's like,...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Earlier today I had a chance to interview Orioles manager Buck Showalter. While he is quite aware, of course, of his club's involvement in trade talks, he took some time to praise his current group of players. He also said the Orioles have around a dozen staff members here at the Winter Meetings.
"We've got 12 or 13 guys there and there is a lot of great input," Showalter said. "There is a good feeling right now, a good morale. You know, if people don't value our...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In a video interview tonight with MASNSports.com, executive vice president Dan Duquette said the Orioles continue to make some progress in both their trade talks and meetings with representatives for free agents.
"We are making progress," he said. "We want to sign another outfielder by the end of the week and we're hopeful that we can get something done with a couple of the people we've talked to.
"Right now, we are more focused on trying to find a hitter for our club...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - So what is the Orioles' budget for signing players for the 2013 season? Good for you if you can get Dan Duquette to provide you with a number on that, because he almost certainly will not.
The general assumption is that it's likely to be similar to last year and that would put it in the $85 million range, give or take some greenbacks.
Last night, Duquette said he felt the Orioles would be paying about $22 million more to the nine arbitration-eligible players than they...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - We have been here before. Another opinion - a very educated one at that - that the New York Yankees are in for a big fall.
This column headline from USA Today's Bob Nightengale says the "Yankees are looking feeble and futile."
In the story, Nightengale writes that, "These days, the Yankees have become a poor man's version of the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates, working the edges of free agency and hoping to fill holes frugally.
"The Yankees haven't signed...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Some impressions from day one of the Winter Meetings:
* We saw again yesterday that sometimes where there is smoke, fire is nowhere to be found. Dan Duquette readily refuted a report that the Orioles were in "hard" on free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche last night during this video interview we did in his suite here in Nashville.
I saw that some fans on social media were skeptical of that and felt the Orioles might be involved with LaRoche more than Duquette was letting...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A national reporter today quoted an executive from an unidentified team as saying the Orioles were in "hard" in their pursuit of free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche of the Nationals.
Not only are the Orioles not in hot pursuit of LaRoche right now, they did not even speak to him or his representative today here at the Winter Meetings.
"We like Adam LaRoche, but to say the Orioles are in heavy negotiations with him is not accurate," Orioles executive vice president Dan...
If Billy Butler is made available in a trade by Kansas City, of course the Orioles would be interested. Who wouldn't want a 26-year-old hitter coming off a year where he hit .313 with 29 homers, 107 RBIs and an .882 OPS?
In addition Butler will make only $8 million per season the next two years and his contract calls for a club option of $12.5 million for 2015. He has played 158 or more games the last four years with an OPS that never was lower than .822.
Yeah, plenty of teams would take a...
It doesn't take long for one tweet to create a stir and that tweet came from ESPN's Jayson Stark a few moments ago when he tweeted this:
"Here's another team to add to list of Adam LaRoche pursuers: The #Orioles. An exec of one interested team says O's in on him "hard."
This would make sense from one standpoint in that LaRoche is an upgrade over Mark Reynolds. I have had more than one person at these meetings tell me they felt the O's didn't non-tender Reynolds so much due to...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - It is a good question. Which young pitcher or pitchers would the Orioles be most likely to trade for a hitter and which pitcher or pitchers are most sought after by other clubs?
I would guess any of the young pitchers could be had for the right player. Outside of Dylan Bundy, is there any O's pitcher that is completely off limits? Doubtful.
As for what the other teams like, the beauty there is in the eye of the beholder. Brian Matusz may appeal more to one team because...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Dan Duquette's Sunday night briefing with Baltimore reporters did not produce any big news, but it could and maybe will get much busier for the Orioles as the Winter Meetings officially start here today.
Yes, the club is still looking for a hitter and it seems they are more likely to get one via a trade than through a free agent signing. Other clubs seem certain to inquire about the Orioles' young pitchers. They remain interested in re-signing Nate McLouth and Joe...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In an interview earlier this week on MASN's "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report," Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said contracts talks with free agents Nate McLouth and Joe Saunders were moving at a slow pace.
But tonight, when asked during a video interview with MASNsports.com if he sensed any progress in talks with the pair in recent days he said, "Well, I think they're on a good track."
"We like both Nate and Joe," he added. "They did a great job for...
Mike Boulanger has completed his first season as the Orioles' minor league hitting coordinator. I spoke with him recently to review how things went in 2012 for O's minor league batters overall.
We talked about that in articles that were published earlier here and here. I also asked Boulanger to comment on a few specific players.
Ty Kelly, in 133 games between three clubs, batted .327 with 11 homers, 70 RBIs and an OPS of .892.
"He was third in the organization in runs, RBIs and batting...
The Toronto Blue Jays recently completed a blockbuster 12-player trade where they acquired Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio from the Marlins.
It's a deal that some believe has shifted the balance of power in the AL East. It's a deal some Orioles fans seem to feel the team has to counter with a move or moves of their own.
I asked executive vice president Dan Duquette just that question this week. Do the Orioles feel pressure to counter the Toronto...
It's been an interesting few days for now-former Orioles prospect Joe Mahoney, who this afternoon was claimed on waivers by the Miami Marlins. Just two days ago, Mahoney was designated for assignment by the Orioles when they traded for Danny Valencia.
Now he is headed to a new club and feels he'll be given a good chance to win an opening day roster spot come next April.
"It's a new opportunity for me and it's exciting," Mahoney said this afternoon. "My wife and I are excited to see a...
Even though a few players have signed in recent days as free agents, the biggest fish remain out there, setting up what could be an active few days next week when baseball's Winter Meetings get going in Nashville, Tenn.
We figure to hear a lot of rumors - maybe even more than usual - about players like Josh Hamilton and Zach Greinke. The Orioles probably won't be playing in that neighborhood, but it seems you can't rule anything right now.
On yesterday's "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report"...
