Roch Kubatko

Is there a starter ready to lower Lyles from No. 2 in rotation?

Is there a starter ready to lower Lyles from No. 2 in rotation?
My question in Saturday's spring training storyline post about the starters who follow John Means and Jordan Lyles in the rotation was met with some online resistance. As in, why is Lyles the No. 2 starter with a career 54-79 record, 5.21 ERA and 1.435 WHIP in 11 seasons? I can offer seven million reasons - his guaranteed salary for 2022. Also, there isn't a proven top of the rotation starter that I'm ignoring. Or one of the prospects who was so overwhelmingly good this summer that he's...
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Roch Kubatko

Bemboom braced for competition and Rutschman's arrival

Bemboom braced for competition and Rutschman's arrival
Anthony Bemboom can read the room. Any catcher who has an agent negotiating with the Orioles doesn't go into it blindly. An organization that advertises itself as a land of opportunity has its limits. For the Orioles, it's offering competition in camp for a group of catchers, with the understanding that someone eventually must step aside. Bemboom hasn't met Adley Rutschman or watched him play, but he knows what's coming. He signed a minor league deal last week, following Jacob Nottingham,...
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Roch Kubatko

Making another move into the mailbag

Making another move into the mailbag
If it's Sunday, it must be time to rummage through the ol' mailbag instead of letting it overflow and risking a few questions sticking to the bottom. I'll never forgive myself for taking 22 years to offer my opinion on the Orioles selecting Mike Paradis in the first round. And I wasn't ... wait for it ... Stahling before commenting on their next pick. (Look it up if you must and then forgive me.) Let's get to some of the fresher inquiries this morning, unedited in all their glory. I will...
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Bobby Blanco

The Nationals: "No Way Home"

The Nationals: "No Way Home"
In honor of this weekend's release of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," I'm going to attempt to create parallels between the blockbuster movie and the upcoming Nationals season. I like baseball and superheroes, and we're in a lockout, so bear with me. This is a spoiler-free reference to "No Way Home" for those of you who have yet to see the film. I saw it opening night since Spider-Man is one of my favorite characters of all time, and I hate when people spoil things for me, so I will not do...
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Steve Melewski

Toolsy Hays is the kind of player Orioles can build around

Toolsy Hays is the kind of player Orioles can build around
Over the years, in both the minors and major leagues, Orioles outfielder Austin Hays has flashed his vast potential and multi-tool talent. He showed more of that during a 2021 season where he was able to stay on the field for 131 games and 529 plate appearances. He ranked fourth on the team in both categories, behind only Cedric Mullins, Trey Mancini and Ryan Mountcastle. With young outfielders like Kyle Stowers and Robert Neustrom getting closer to the majors, and Yusniel Diaz still trying...
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Roch Kubatko

Leftovers for breakfast

Leftovers for breakfast
One of the offseason activities that is conducted every year and can't be influenced by the status of the collective bargaining agreement involves minor league signings aimed at improving depth at the lower levels or just taking a low-risk chance on a player. A favorable scouting report can lead to an opportunity. So can a team executive doing a favor for an agent that might pay dividends down the road with another client. I've seen that one done more than once in the past, though not in...
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Mark Zuckerman

What if the Nats never traded for Jonathan Papelbon?

What if the Nats never traded for Jonathan Papelbon?
Last week, we opened our "What If?" series wondering what might have been had Jordan Zimmermann accepted the Nationals' long-term extension offer after the 2014 season, a decision that had long-lasting ramifications on the organization. This week, we look at a big decision the organization made the following summer that absolutely had immediate consequences for the club, and probably had long-lasting ones as well: The trade for Jonathan Papelbon. Prepare to cringe. As the 2015 trade deadline...
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Roch Kubatko

Anticipating some Orioles camp competitions

Anticipating some Orioles camp competitions
Is it too early to start plucking favorite storylines from the spring training tree? I'll reach for some of the low-hanging ideas that may come to fruition. (Let's pause here and fully appreciate that last sentence.) This is a topic worth revisiting in a month or two. Perhaps after the locks are removed from the free agent market. In the meantime, here are four: Who's in the rotation behind John Means and Jordan Lyles? This feels like a mailbag question. Tracking the competition is a yearly...
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Mark Zuckerman

Infield is totally revamped, but is anyone a long-term answer?

Infield is totally revamped, but is anyone a long-term answer?
The Nationals roster has undergone massive changes in the last two years, but it may be more noticeable in the infield than anywhere else on the field. Consider this: On the night the Nats won their first World Series title, they started an infield of Ryan Zimmerman, Asdrúbal Cabrera, Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon, with Howie Kendrick serving as designated hitter, and Brian Dozier and Matt Adams coming off the bench. At this moment, only 25 1/2 months later, not one of those players is...
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Roch Kubatko

Taking another look at Orioles' hires and promotions

Taking another look at Orioles' hires and promotions
One of the most important tasks of the offseason is done. The Orioles set their major league coaching staff for 2022. Business that the lockout couldn't touch. Upon review, there isn't anything unexpected in the composition beyond a new title for Fredi González, who becomes the first bench coach under manager Brandon Hyde after serving as major league coach for two seasons. There won't be a dramatic shift in his duties. He pretty much handled the responsibilities in the past. Major league...
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Roch Kubatko

Tommy Wilson back in a team's future plans after Orioles trade

Tommy Wilson back in a team's future plans after Orioles trade
Tommy Wilson's interest in the Triple-A Rule 5 draft hovered at such a low level that it kept him away from the online broadcast and couldn't interrupt his daily workouts at Cal State-Fullerton. He grabbed his phone and checked social media on a couple of occasions, wondering whether he'd leave the Mets organization. Much closer to curiosity than obsessing. "I didn't know if I was protected or not, so I was kind of waiting to see or waiting to hear," he said. "Then I found out on...
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Roch Kubatko

Orioles announce 2022 coaching staff

Orioles announce 2022 coaching staff
The Orioles have completed their 2022 staff under manager Brandon Hyde, going with co-hitting coaches and changing titles for Fredi González and José Hernández. Some of the moves were previously reported, including the promotion of Double-A Bowie hitting coach Ryan Fuller, who also served as the full-season hitting coordinator, and hiring of Matt Borgschulte from the Triple-A St. Paul Saints in the Twins organization. They replace hitting coach Don Long, who wasn't retained after...
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Roch Kubatko

Orioles pull off a few surprising moves since final game

Orioles pull off a few surprising moves since final game
The Orioles can be predictable in many aspects of the operation, especially after years of covering the team, but they also possess the skills to go left when I'm shaded toward the right. Stay bent at the knees and be prepared to pivot. I've been burned in offseason coverage a few times. Here are a half-dozen 2021 examples off the top of my head: Pitcher Chris Ellis outrighted Pretty much every early bullpen projection for 2022 had Ellis in a bulk relief role if he wasn't starting. Which, of...
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Mark Zuckerman

Weekend additions suggest a developing pattern

Weekend additions suggest a developing pattern
While the rest of the baseball world pretty much locked itself indoors and watched football all weekend, the Nationals made two somewhat surprising moves, signing veteran infielders Dee Strange-Gordon and Maikel Franco to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training. And as the sun comes up to begin this new work week, it's probably safe to admit we're seeing a pattern developing from the office on South Capitol Street. At a time when clubs are prohibited from signing players...
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Roch Kubatko

Some reasons why Nottingham netted a minor league deal

Some reasons why Nottingham netted a minor league deal
The Orioles had a quiet weekend, at least on the transactions wire. They could have been working on their minor league coaching staffs or engaging in negotiations with representatives for minor league free agents. But nothing public to digest. Their work isn't done behind the plate, but Jacob Nottingham is a heavy favorite to make up half the catching duo on opening day because he's under contract. It doesn't take much more than that. The 40-man roster is lacking a backstop and that won't...
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Mark Zuckerman

Franco is latest veteran to join Nats on minor league deal

Franco is latest veteran to join Nats on minor league deal
The Nationals are bringing in another experienced major leaguer who wasn't on a major league roster at season's end, signing veteran third baseman Maikel Franco to a minor league contract, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. Franco joins fellow infielder Dee Strange-Gordon, who agreed to a minor league deal of his own Saturday evening, as newly added veterans to a Nationals organization that is lacking in experience after this summer's trade deadline sell-off. Like Strange-Gordon,...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats sign veteran Strange-Gordon to minor league deal

Nats sign veteran Strange-Gordon to minor league deal
Though clubs are prohibited from signing free agents who were on big league rosters last season during the lockout, they are allowed to sign players who weren't in the majors in 2021 to minor league contracts. And the Nationals took advantage of that Saturday night, striking a deal with veteran infielder Dee Strange-Gordon, a source familiar with the signing confirmed. Strange-Gordon, who appeared in 1,002 big league games with the Dodgers, Marlins and Mariners from 2011-20 but spent 2021...
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Mark Zuckerman

Low-key additions don't grab attention but are needed right now

Low-key additions don't grab attention but are needed right now
The Nationals haven't made many roster moves so far this offseason, and those they have made don't exactly have a lot of wow factor. César Hernández? Lucius Fox? Francisco Pérez? Andrew Young? These aren't names that are going to inspire a fan base to believe the club is bound for big things in 2022. These are, however, exactly the kind of moves the Nationals should be making at this stage of their rebuild. And there will probably be more to come once the league-enforced lockout of...
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Roch Kubatko

More from the mailbag

More from the mailbag
Another week has passed since my last shallow dive into my mailbag. And if anyone is well-versed in being shallow, it's this guy. As usual, you're getting the raw and untampered version. The only editing is done if I catch the wrong punctuation in a sentence or change my mind about using profanity. Also, my mailbag strips down to its underwear, slaps on a coat of oil and wins every posedown. Are players chosen in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft required to stay on the team the entire...
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Bobby Blanco

Remembering a loving grandfather and avid sports fan

Remembering a loving grandfather and avid sports fan
It's crazy how much we take after our role models. It's unfortunate that you sometimes don't fully understand their impact and the similarities between you until those people are gone. My grandfather passed away early Sunday morning. Ramiro Blanco was 91 and thankfully passed away peacefully. He had a few ailments that came with old age, including prostate cancer, but it was just his time. He was at peace with that. And so is the rest of the Blanco Family Circus, as we so lovingly call...
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