It’s not the kind of major splash everyone’s been waiting for, but the Nationals have signed a couple of free agents in recent days who could pitch their way onto the roster in 2025. The Nats signed left-hander Konnor Pilkington and right-hander Clay Helvey to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training, adding a pair of pitchers who

The weekend always seems like an opportune time to dump the contents of the mailbag, and chances to do it are running out in 2024. You ask and I answer, which leads us to the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original. I thought about editing, but it appealed to me as much as coal in my stocking or trying to hit Gerrit Cole. Also, my mailbag comes

Good morning, everyone. We hoped this would be an eventful week, with the Winter Meetings offering an opportunity for news. And it was more eventful than any previous week this offseason, just not necessarily in a way anyone would have guessed. Juan Soto signed with the Mets for an insane $765 million. The Nationals selected reliever Evan Reifert f

The Orioles, as they did during the 2024 season, will have three hitting coaches working with their position players again in the 2025 year. This time around, Cody Asche returns to the staff as primary hitting coach. The assistant hitting coaches are Sherman Johnson and Tommy Joseph. Johnson will also serve as upper level hitting coordinator. Johns

Let’s be blunt here. Anyone shocked that the Orioles left the Winter Meetings without a No. 1 starter or upgrade further down the rotation is forgetful or unfamiliar with how the club usually operates. You set yourselves up to be disappointed. Closer Craig Kimbrel was a surprise signing last December on the final day before executives boarded fligh

Juan Soto stole the biggest headline at the now-completed Winter Meetings – and for $765 million, rightfully so – but the most significant broader storyline to develop out of Dallas might well have been the shape of the pitching market. In short, it’s expensive. Really expensive. While only a handful of top position players have signed so far this

The Orioles are not guaranteeing that Jackson Holliday will be their starting second baseman when the 2025 season starts, but it’s pretty clear they expect exactly that result. At age 20 in 60 games last season, he hit .189/.255/.311/.565 for an OPS+ of just 66. His struggles led some fans to question how he became the No. 1 ranked player in the mi

The Orioles conducted their business yesterday in the Rule 5 draft, watching seven minor leaguers leave the organization, and headed back home still short at least one starter and reliever. The meetings with agents and executives were plentiful. Perhaps they were able to make significant progress toward a deal. But the only announcements were the s

Success in the Rule 5 Draft is never assured. It’s actually quite rare. The Nationals, though, were willing to take a shot on an unprotected prospect for the third straight year, hoping Evan Reifert bucks the trend and proves himself a valuable member of their pitching staff for years to come. The Nats selected Reifert today in the final official e

The Washington Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Evan Reifert in the Major League phase of the 2024 Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Reifert, 25, joins the Nationals after spending the last three seasons in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He pitched in