The Orioles have made the following roster moves:
The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A Nationals club in need of more pitching depth this spring – and perhaps beyond – added another arm to the mix today, signing veteran reliever Jacob Barnes to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp.
Barnes, 33, has considerable experience, having pitched in 265 major league games since 2016 for eight different franchises. His best success came early in with the Brewers, for whom he delivered a 3.93 ERA and 1.359 WHIP in 167 games from 2016-19. He has since pitched for the Royals, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Tigers, Yankees and Cardinals.
The right-hander appeared in 13 games for St. Louis late last season, finishing with a 5.93 ERA and 1.537 WHIP. That came after he enjoyed consistent success for the Triple-A affiliates of the Rangers, Phillies and Cardinals, posting a 2.47 ERA and 1.314 WHIP in 35 games.
Barnes, who already has a locker in the Nationals clubhouse, is expected to report in the next day or two and then try to make his case for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen.
“Another guy we feel like should still have something left in the tank,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We’re going to give him an opportunity. He’ll strengthen our bullpen. He’ll be here soon. I can’t wait to get eyes on him. … Here’s a guy that’s been a competitor. I think he’ll fit right in. You can’t have enough arms. We’re going to give him an opportunity in spring training and see what he can do.”
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – When MacKenzie Gore returned home in October and contemplated his season, the Nationals left-hander focused on the two extremes he experienced.
“Some good and some bad,” he said. “I’ve really just got to figure out why I was good at times, and why I wasn’t. Fix that and go into this year.”
Gore truly did pitch at both ends of the spectrum in 2023. He was either really good, or he was the opposite. Rarely did his outings fall somewhere in the middle.
Perhaps the best statistical evidence of that: In his 17 wins and no-decisions, Gore posted a 2.58 ERA and 1.282 WHIP. In his 10 losses, those numbers skyrocketed to 7.71 and 1.612.
“Just trying to figure out how to have less of those big starts where it’s like six runs or more,” he said. “It definitely helps you have confidence that it’s in there. It’s just: Can you do it for 25 starts, or whatever it is?”
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It was something of an offhand comment, thrown in near the end of a longer answer to a question about his bench options to begin the season. But what Davey Martinez said Wednesday made a few ears perk up.
“We’re going to have a battle for center field with Young and Robles,” the Nationals manager said in his first media session of the spring, suggesting Victor Robles and Jacob Young were on equal footing entering camp.
That was a bit surprising, if only because Robles was re-signed over the winter for $2.65 million after missing most of the season with a back injury. Young, meanwhile, began 2023 at Single-A Wilmington and finished with 33 big-league games in D.C.
So, the inevitable follow-up question came Thursday during Martinez’s second media session of the spring: Is there an open competition in center field, with both Robles and Young having the same chances of starting Opening Day?
“If I had a say right now, I’d say Vic has a little bit of the upper hand,” Martinez clarified. “But I liked everything I saw about Jacob. He’s young, but you’ve got to remember, Vic is still really young. And he got hurt. I want to give him the opportunity to come back this year, and have a good spring training and see what he can do. I love what Jacob did, and I know he can play up here and help us win games. I think he showed that, and I think he’s going to get better. But Vic was our center fielder, and right now I say they’re going to compete. If they both were equal, I would say that Vic has the upper hand.”
SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg was sitting on his couch with wife Anna Claire when she suddenly went from spouse to source.
“I didn’t have my phone on me,” Westburg said this morning. “We were watching a movie and she’s like, ‘Hey, who is Corbin Burnes?’ It was just a random question for her to ask. I was like, ‘Why do you ask?’ And she shows me her phone and there’s the Oriole Bird logo and ESPN notification.”
That was the precise moment when Westburg found out that the Orioles acquired Burnes, the No. 1 starter they sought throughout the winter, from the Brewers for pitcher DL Hall and infielder Joey Ortiz.
“I was fired up about it. It was exciting,” Westburg said.
“I’m trying to think of what my initial reaction was. I think it was just pure excitement for the organization really. I think a lot of people on the outside have been wanting that ace and we went and got him. Just really exciting.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Mason Thompson was enjoying what he believed was a productive offseason. Determined to bounce back from an erratic 2023, the Nationals reliever set out to make some mechanical changes to his delivery, and a couple weeks ago faced a live hitter near his home in Texas for the first time this year.
Everything was going swimmingly. Until his elbow told him otherwise.
“It felt great. Ball was coming out good,” Thompson said. “Made it towards the end and just felt something, just felt some discomfort, something that just didn’t feel great. Gave it a couple of days, kind of was hoping that it was just some fatigue from the first time facing hitters throwing full speed. Unfortunately, it just kind of continued to persist, and now we’re here.”
Neither Thompson nor the Nationals know exactly where “here” is yet. He’s been shut down for two weeks, at which point he’ll be re-evaluated and a course of action will be determined.
Thompson, though, is no stranger to arm injuries. He had Tommy John surgery nine years ago while still a junior in high school. He dealt with a biceps strain in 2022 with the Nats and missed three months as a result.
SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles’ pitching depth will be tested early.
Kyle Bradish will begin the season on the injured list with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right elbow. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection and begins a throwing progression on Friday.
John Means is a month behind the other pitchers after experiencing elbow soreness before the playoffs, and he’s also expected to land on the IL.
Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is becoming known for dropping injury news on the first day of camp. He was at it again this morning.
Bradish, who finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting and started Game 1 of the Division Series, felt some irritation in the elbow last month while throwing. An MRI confirmed the injury.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – When he threw his first pitch off the mound Monday, Cade Cavalli could have flashed right back to the last time he performed such an act, that horrible day nearly one year ago and about 50 miles up the road in Port St. Lucie when he tried to throw a changeup to Brandon Nimmo and felt his elbow ligament snap in the process.
Instead, Cavalli chose to focus on what this moment – his first bullpen session since Tommy John surgery – meant for him. There was no feeling of regret, only a feeling of achievement and optimism for what he hopes will come in another few months when he finally pitches for the Nationals again.
“To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it much,” the right-hander said when asked about the pending anniversary of his injury. “I just want to forget about it and move on. I’ve got a new elbow. It’s a new me. That’s how I’m approaching it. It’s been a great 11 months.”
Cavalli already was something of a “power of positive thinking” guy before any of this happened. The injury only pushed him to embrace that mindset even more as he began the long, slow, often infuriating process of rehabbing from ligament replacement surgery.
“It’s something that happens, and I believe like I said to you guys 11 months ago, it’s how you look at it and how you approach it,” the 2020 first-round pick said. “If you just approach it with a positive mindset – that this is a blessing in this moment, and I believe God is putting me through something to get me stronger to be able to help this club in the long run – that’s what my mindset’s been.”
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s impossible to miss inside the Nationals clubhouse. It’s prominently located, at the end of a row of lockers belonging to the rest of the members of the team’s starting rotation.
It’s the same locker Stephen Strasburg has used since the organization began training here in 2017. And it continues to be adorned with his name, his jersey, his shoes and a stack of correspondence, virtually unchanged from the state it was in one year ago.
And as was the case one year ago, Strasburg isn’t here using his locker. He remains at home in Northern Virginia, having conceded last summer he could no longer attempt to revive his pitching career.
But because Strasburg and the Nationals have not been able to agree to the financial details of his retirement, he remains on the club’s 40-man roster. Which means he still gets a locker. Which, it appears, the organization now believes he is obligated to use.
Do the Nats actually expect Strasburg to come to West Palm Beach this spring?
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Though a number of Nationals who ended the 2023 season injured reported for spring training on target to return as planned, a new ailment cropped up over the winter for one potential member of the bullpen.
Mason Thompson experienced elbow discomfort while throwing an offseason bullpen session and was told not to throw after arriving in West Palm Beach. The right-hander will be shut down for two weeks before he’s re-evaluated, according to manager Davey Martinez.
“Mason, right now, he’s got a little arm issue,” Martinez said this afternoon in his camp-opening session with reporters. “We’re going to see what’s going on with him. We’ll take it slow with him.”
Thompson, who turns 26 next week, has a history of arm injuries, most notably a biceps strain that forced him to miss nearly three months of the 2022 season. He hasn’t missed any time due to arm injuries since, but he spent 15 days on the injured list last summer with a bruised knee.
“We’re a little bit concerned,” Martinez said. “Like I said, we’ll take it slow with him. We’re still really early in spring training, so we’ll see. We’ll rehab him and see where we’re at in two weeks.”
The Orioles today announced that they have acquired outfielder PEYTON BURDICK from the Miami Marlins in exchange for cash considerations.
Burdick, 26, slashed .182/.270/.333 (6-for-33) with two doubles, one home run, four runs scored, two RBI, three walks, and one stolen base in 14 games for the Marlins last season, appearing at all three outfield positions. He began the year at Triple-A Jacksonville, where he slashed .293/.381/.636 (29-for-99) with four doubles, 10 home runs, 24 runs scored, 24 RBI, 13 walks, five stolen bases, and a 1.017 OPS in 25 games prior to being recalled by Miami on May 3. At the time of his promotion, he ranked tied for second in the International League in home runs. He was optioned back to Jacksonville on May 23, where he spent the remainder of the season. In 114 total games with the Jumbo Shrimp, he hit .219/.327/.448 (92-for-420) with 20 doubles, two triples, 24 home runs, 63 runs scored, 74 RBI, 57 walks, 12 stolen bases, and a .775 OPS. He ranked 11th in the International League in homers. Burdick did not appear on Miami’s NL Wild Card roster.
Burdick was originally selected by the Marlins in the third round (No. 82 overall) of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Wright State University (OH). In his debut season in 2019, he was named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star and Midwest League Player of the Month for August. In his first full season in 2021, he was named Marlins Minor League Player of the Year, Double-A Pensacola Most Valuable Player, and MLB.com’s Marlins Prospect of the Year. He made his Major League debut on August 5, 2022, and has appeared in 46 career games for Miami.
To make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher FÉLIX BAUTISTA was placed on the 60-day Injured List with a right UCL injury. The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – There admittedly hasn’t been a lot of juice at Nationals spring training in recent years. Such is life when you tear down the remnants of a championship roster and start over, recognizing it’s going to be a while until the fruits of your labor pay off.
For the last two years, it felt like there was more reason to pay attention to minor-league camp than major-league camp, as the franchise’s next wave of prospects began the long trek up the organizational depth chart.
The Nats aren’t all the way there yet. There is no serious talk of contention in 2024. When the season begins, those prospects are almost certainly all still going to be in the minor leagues.
But for the first time, several of them will be participating in major-league camp. And even if none of them survive to the end of March, their presence alone is going to create some sorely needed juice that’s been lacking in recent springs.
The three big non-roster invitees to camp are Dylan Crews, James Wood and Brady House, the organization’s consensus top three prospects. Two first-round draft picks (House in 2021, Crews in 2023) and perhaps the best of the five young players acquired in the Juan Soto trade (Wood). All closed out last season at Double-A Harrisburg, suggesting all could be on track to debut in D.C. sometime this season.
One of the least eventful winters in Nationals history concludes today, spring officially commencing Wednesday when pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach, Fla., for their first workout of 2024.
This offseason saw precious little action from the Nats. They added only four players on major-league contracts, signing Joey Gallo, Nick Senzel and Dylan Floro for a combined $9.25 million and adding Nasim Nuñez (who has never played above Double-A) via the Rule 5 Draft. They didn’t make a single trade.
Even by recent Nationals standards, this was a dead winter.
But does that mean they’re done adding players? There were reasons all along to believe they might not be done. And then they did do something Monday evening, albeit on a minor-league deal.
Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez were pretty clear about their wish list back when the offseason began. Both specifically mentioned an experienced starting pitcher. Both specifically mentioned more power for their lineup.
It didn’t happen until the second-to-last day of the offseason, but the Nationals finally added another potential bat to their 2024 lineup.
The Nats have signed veteran outfielder Jesse Winker to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league spring training, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. Though he didn’t get a guaranteed contract, Winker should have a good chance to make the Opening Day roster if he’s healthy after an injury-plagued 2023 season.
An All-Star with the Reds in 2021, Winker is the owner of a strong .369 on-base percentage and .813 OPS over a seven-year career. His breakthrough 2021 campaign included 32 doubles and 24 homers in only 485 plate appearances, with a .305/.394/.556 slash line.
But the last two seasons saw a drastic drop in Winker’s production, from a .688 OPS with the Mariners in 2022 to a .567 OPS last season with the Brewers. His one year in Milwaukee, though, was marred by neck, back and leg injuries, leading to two long stints on the IL.
A minor league deal signed two days before pitchers and catchers report for spring training signals the lingering doubts the Nationals and other clubs had about Winker. But the 30-year-old’s track record, combined with the Nats’ specific need right now, suggests he’s likely to come north with the team if he proves he’s healthy again.
What was the most unexpected development of the Nationals’ 2023 season? How about the way they managed to keep the vast majority of their roster healthy?
The Nats used only eight starting pitchers, and five of them topped 120 innings. Seven of their regular nine position players avoided the injured list altogether. Four relievers appeared in 50-plus games.
It was a remarkable run of good health for an organization that didn’t exactly boast a lot of depth to account for major losses.
Not that the Nationals completely avoided the IL. Cade Cavalli tore his elbow ligament in March and missed the entire season. Victor Robles hurt his back in May and barely played after that. Stone Garrett broke his leg and injured his ankle on a scary play in August. Riley Adams broke a bone in his wrist in September. Oh yeah, and then there was Stephen Strasburg.
When the team reports for spring training this week, though, optimism will reign throughout the clubhouse. This should be, for the most part, a healthy roster to open camp. But plenty of eyes will be focused on the aforementioned players returning from injury.
The most significant moment of the Nationals’ 2023 spring training didn’t happen on the field. It happened in an office room at the team’s complex, when Keibert Ruiz grabbed a pen and signed a long-term extension with the club.
Whether Ruiz’s eight-year, $50 million deal was a good move for the organization or the player remains to be seen. He enjoyed an improved season at the plate but regressed behind the plate, calling into question his ability to stick as a franchise catcher for years to come.
But the significance of the move doesn’t change. After countless attempts to get other young cornerstone players to sign long-term extensions before reaching free agency fell flat, the Nats finally got this one done. And they got it done five years before Ruiz would’ve even been eligible for free agency, making him the first player in club history to agree to such an extension at such an early stage of his career.
That, of course, produced an obvious follow-up question: Can they do it with anyone else?
“This is the first one we’ve ever got done, yeah,” general manager Mike Rizzo said at the time. “But it wasn’t the first attempt at it.”
We are now just days away from the start of spring training and the first workout for Orioles pitchers and catchers is set for next Thursday in Sarasota, Fla. We are less than two weeks away from the first spring game on Feb. 24, when the Orioles will host the Boston Red Sox.
So it's time to survey the fan base and check in with Birdland on a few things. Time for a pre-spring edition of "A few questions for O's fans."
1) Here are some projected American League East starting pitching rotations. Rank them from best to worst.
Orioles: Corbin Burnes, Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, John Means and Dean Kremer.
New York: Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt.
We’ve entered the homestretch of the offseason at last. Pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach on Wednesday, at which point the 2024 season begins in earnest.
So we’re going to spend these final days of winter previewing the top stories that are likely to play out at spring training. And one of the more intriguing ones involves a couple of still-young everyday players who could be running out of time to retain their jobs.
Neither Victor Robles nor Luis García Jr. enjoyed a positive 2023 season. Robles because he barely played due to a back injury that proved far more serious than initially believed. García because he regressed at the plate and in the field and wound up demoted to Triple-A for a brief while.
Entering the offseason, there was real reason to wonder if one or both wouldn’t be back this spring. Or, at the very least, if the Nationals might bring in some competition to push them.
At this point, that hasn’t happened. Robles enters camp as the starting center field. García comes to West Palm Beach as the starting second baseman. But neither should feel totally secure about his standing yet.
During the Hot Stove radio show this week on WBAL Radio in Baltimore, Orioles assistant general manager Eve Rosenbaum discussed the club’s trade for ace pitcher Corbin Burnes.
While some media stories were focused on a possible addition of Dylan Cease this offseason, the Orioles were working for months behind the scenes to try and add Burnes, the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner.
Rosenbaum said during her radio interview that Mike Elias and the O’s front office staff had to show some real patience during this process. Continuing to work on the deal and to keep the discussions ongoing even when there were times when it looked like such a trade would not happen.
“For something like a trade, so often what happens is you talk to teams for months,” Rosenbaum said on WBAL. “You send them a message, they text you back. You get with your group, you huddle up and craft a response and send a text message back. They get back to you two days later and it goes on and on like this.
“You try so many different ideas and so many different angles. At various points the past couple of months we thought, ‘the deal is alive, the deal is dead, the deal is alive, the deal is dead’ and finally we were able to get it across the finish line. You have to be in for the long haul when you are working on trades.”
Whatever speech that Orioles manager Brandon Hyde chooses for his team prior to the first full-squad workout at spring training, he won’t be armed with the same motivational tools that he wielded in the past.
Nobody believed in the Orioles during those 100-loss seasons. They had no reason.
Seemed like everyone was expecting a regression after 83 wins in 2022. They had no faith.
Matching or exceeding the 101 victories last summer that led to a division title and top seeding in the American League playoffs is a tall order. Players don’t seem concerned about trying to reach it.
A few of them dropped 102 into the conversations at the Birdland Caravan, before the Corbin Burnes trade, but more in a joking manner than stated or necessary goals.
