Roch Kubatko

DiplÃ¡n outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk

January 09, 2020, 10:43am

Orioles

Pitcher Marcos DiplÃ¡n is staying in the Orioles organization. The club announced today that DiplÃ¡n cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk, which likely sets him up as a non-roster invitee to spring training. DiplÃ¡n, 23, was designated for assignment on Dec. 29 to clear space for pitcher Kohl Stewart, who signed a split contract with the Orioles and had to be placed on the 40-man roster. The Orioles claimed DiplÃ¡n off waivers from the Tigers on the first day of the...

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Stewart embracing chance to be role model as he tries to make club

January 08, 2020, 10:34am

Orioles

Stewart embracing chance to be role model as he tries to make club

The challenge of winning a job with the Orioles in spring training is kept in its proper perspective, with Kohl Stewart overcoming a much larger obstacle to forge a career in professional baseball. Camp competition isn't going to rattle him. It feels more like a reward. Stewart earned a football scholarship to Texas A&M. He was the fourth overall selection by the Twins in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft. The accolades kept pouring in, a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes at age 9 unable to...

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Taking the latest look at the Orioles roster (Castro update)

January 07, 2020, 11:49am

Orioles

Does the JosÃ© Iglesias signing, which was announced yesterday, remove some of the uncertainty over the Orioles roster on opening day? Of course. A new shortstop was a high priority and projections with Richie Martin at the position felt like he had become an offseason placeholder. He's going to play at Camden Yards in 2020. Maybe it's in April, maybe it's later. Maybe it's in a utility role. But it's going to happen. The Orioles had to decide which shortstop to sign and how much to give...

Elias on Iglesias signing and its impact on Martin and club

January 07, 2020, 11:12am

Orioles

Elias on Iglesias signing and its impact on Martin and club

Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias doesn't know whether Richie Martin, last year's shortstop, is ticketed for Triple-A or will break camp in a utility role. There are too many days leading into the opener. Too many variables. Elias suggested a few possibilities that are tied to the signing of veteran shortstop JosÃ© Iglesias, the one certainty being how Martin is going to benefit from any arrangement. "I think (the signing) is going to be good for him and his...

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Orioles DFA Hanhold to create roster spot for Iglesias

January 07, 2020, 8:52am

Orioles

The Orioles created a spot for shortstop JosÃ© Iglesias today on the 40-man roster by designating pitcher Eric Hanhold for assignment. The Iglesias deal is official. The Hanhold days might be numbered. Iglesias agreed to terms yesterday on a one-year deal that guarantees $3 million and can inflate to $6 million if the Orioles pick up his 2021 option. He receives $2.5 million this season, confirmed yesterday by an industry source, with the other $500,000 coming via a buyout. The infield is...

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Source: Orioles agree to terms with Iglesias

January 06, 2020, 10:49am

Orioles

The Orioles' search for a veteran middle infielder with plus defensive skills at shortstop has led them to JosÃ© Iglesias. The sides have reached agreement on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $3 million, according to a source. The contract includes a club option for 2021 that could push the total value to $6 million. The deal comes after the Orioles expressed early interest in shortstop Adeiny HechavarrÃa, who remains on the market, and JosÃ© Peraza, who signed with the Red Sox after...

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Rule 5 pick Rucker ready for run at Orioles rotation

January 06, 2020, 8:59am

Orioles

Michael Rucker doesn't have a choice. It isn't up to him. He's going to be the other Rule 5 pick in Orioles camp. The second selection after Brandon Bailey. Always listed below him. They're going to be tied together without the rope. In conversations and stories, in roster and pitching staff projections. While speculating whether the Orioles can carry both of them. At least they won't be total strangers, with Rucker getting to know Bailey before transferring from Gonzaga to BYU and while...

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GonzÃ¡lez on rebuilds and more on arbitration

January 05, 2020, 7:09am

Orioles

GonzÃ¡lez on rebuilds and more on arbitration

New Orioles major league coach Fredi GonzÃ¡lez knows rebuilds. They got acquainted while he managed the Marlins and later served as third base coach, and they were reintroduced after he guided the Braves to back-to-back playoff appearances. The front office made it clear to GonzÃ¡lez that drastic changes were coming. The club got off to a 9-28 start in 2016 and he was fired as manager on May 17. An article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution included the following passage: "Although it's...

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Orioles prepping for latest minicamp and retreat

January 03, 2020, 12:10pm

Orioles

The countdown to pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training has replaced the ball dropping in Times Square. This one is better because it doesn't require adults to stake out a spot for 18 hours and wear diapers. The Orioles' first official report date is Feb. 11, following by position players five days later. But the Sarasota, Fla., complex isn't sitting empty. There's going to be activity next week that leads into spring training. The team is holding another minicamp that features...

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GonzÃ¡lez on how he joined Orioles and his new role

January 03, 2020, 11:09am

Orioles

Fredi GonzÃ¡lez hadn't heard from or considered the Orioles before informing Marlins president of baseball operations Mike Hill in late September that he wanted to pursue other opportunities beyond serving as the team's third base coach. "It had nothing to do with the Orioles," he said. The phone calls that followed had everything to do with GonzÃ¡lez joining the staff as major league coach, the penultimate hire after the Orioles started out with three vacancies. Friendships, proximity...

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Orioles still have four unsigned arbitration-eligible players

January 02, 2020, 11:33am

Orioles

The Orioles must reach agreement with their remaining arbitration-eligible players in exactly one week or the sides will exchange salary figures. Hearings will be scheduled between Feb. 3-21. Communication could be cut off until the date arrives. It doesn't appear that the Orioles have made any progress in signing outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini, infielder Hanser Alberto or relievers Mychal Givens and Miguel Castro. Negotiations were put on hold during the Winter Meetings in San Diego...

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Can NÃºÃ±ez contribute at third base?

January 01, 2020, 9:17am

Orioles

Look up Renato NÃºÃ±ez on Baseball-Reference.com and the first "position" listed next to his name is designated hitter. Says a lot more about his defensive reputation than the site. The only glove recommended is for batting. Edgar Martinez made it into the Hall of Fame as a DH, but NÃºÃ±ez just wants to stay in the majors and get his at-bats. The lineup today would include him in the role, with the infield corners reserved for someone else. If manager Brandon Hyde could craft the...

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Orioles are bound to get busy

December 31, 2019, 9:14am

Orioles

I began the decade covering the Orioles for MASN and MASNsports.com and I closed it covering the Orioles for MASN and MASNsports.com. Thanks for indulging me. We've entered a new year and the first of many headaches that make blinking a new experience in pain. I tried to type softly, in case you're still paying the price for last night's celebrating. And I don't mean the cost of the chips and party hats. Will the Orioles be noise-makers in the coming months? They enter 2020 with basically...

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Approaching a new year with random thoughts on Orioles

December 30, 2019, 10:53am

Orioles

We're down to our final day in 2019 and as we await the countdown to the ball dropping in Times Square, I'll post an early resolution to avoid dusting off the old "Orioles infield" joke that should have joined Wilson Betemit in retirement. In the meantime, here are a few random thoughts: * The media rush to post sports highlights and lowlights for the decade is lost on me. We're not moving past the '80s or '90s. It's 2010-19. Are we really waxing nostalgic? Are we that desperate for...

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Updating the Orioles' rotation competition

December 29, 2019, 5:20pm

Orioles

The rumblings yesterday morning that the Orioles made a roster move were followed by an announcement that they signed pitcher Kohl Stewart to a major league contract and immediate thoughts about him competing for a rotation spot. Anybody with starting experience, at whichever level, is going to be thrust into the mix. Do the Orioles have their desired eight candidates heading into spring training, a number agreed upon by executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon...

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Orioles sign Kohl Stewart

December 29, 2019, 7:27am

Orioles

The Orioles have signed a major league free agent as part of their winter activity. The club announced today that it agreed to terms with right-hander Kohl Stewart. Pitcher Marcos DiplÃ¡n was designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster. The Twins outrighted Stewart on Nov. 4 and he elected free agency. Taken with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Pius X High School in Houston, Stewart was 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA and 1.418 WHIP in eight games...

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Leftovers for breakfast

December 27, 2019, 4:46pm

Orioles

Is anyone else tired of all the leftovers in the fridge? Of checking to make certain that nothing is growing on them before popping them in the microwave? Of wondering who brought the spinach dip before realizing that, brother, that ain't spinach? Well, it's only food that comes with an expiration date. Not the Orioles-related notes and quotes that didn't make it into previous holiday articles. I've written about pitcher David Hess' new offseason workout program, based on a visit to the P3...

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Holt on his new responsibilities as director of pitching

December 27, 2019, 4:07pm

Orioles

Holt on his new responsibilities as director of pitching

A byproduct of having a new regime running the show and dictating the steps and pace of a rebuild is the creation of new jobs and titles in the organization. I reported back on Oct. 11 that the Orioles were promoting Chris Holt from the position of minor league pitching coordinator to director of pitching. The exact details of the job hadn't been laid out for public consumption. Holt came to the Orioles from the Astros organization as the replacement for John Wasdin, who was named bullpen...

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Holt on Hess: "There's no lack of desire on his end to improve"

December 26, 2019, 3:53pm

Orioles

Holt on Hess: "There's no lack of desire on his end to improve"

As David Hess tumbled out of the Orioles rotation and off the 25-man roster, unable to stay in the zone that carried him through 6 1/3 hitless innings in Toronto on the first night of April, he believed that he had more in the tank. He used the phrase during our phone conversation last weekend. He mentioned how pitching coach Doug Brocail and director of pitching Chris Holt agreed with him. It was a group opinion. But what exactly does it imply? That he's capable of pitching deeper into games?...

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Holt on Bailey: "There's a lot to like"

December 24, 2019, 11:50am

Orioles

As Brandon Bailey gets settled in the spring training clubhouse and begins the bonding process by meeting his new Orioles teammates, he'll be able to find a familiar face and voice to offer comfort and the type of instruction that could lead to a spot in the 2020 rotation. The Rule 5 pick knows and respects Chris Holt, the former Astros minor league pitching coordinator who's been promoted by the Orioles from the same role to director of pitching. "When I first spoke to him after the Rule 5...