The Nationals of the last half-decade boasted as veteran-laden a roster as you'd find in baseball. Yes, there were a handful of young, rising stars mixed in, but general manager Mike Rizzo always made a point to surround them with heavily experienced players who weren't about to get caught up in any moment that became too big for them. And nowhere on the field was this more true than behind the plate. The Nats featured almost exclusively veteran catchers for years, from Kurt Suzuki to Yan...

Even though injuries limited to him to just 48 games last season and he has only 40 games under his belt at the Double-A level, infielder Terrin Vavra made it to the Orioles' 40-man roster late last month . Drafted in round three (No. 96 overall) in 2018 by the Colorado Rockies out of the University of Minnesota, Vavra came to the O's organization in a trade for reliever Mychal Givens on Aug. 30, 2020. Givens went to the Rockies and the Orioles acquired Vavra and Tyler Nevin, along with a...

The year was 2011. Two teenaged Orioles prospects were about to play their first full seasons of professional baseball. One was an international signee, the other a No. 3 overall draft pick. They would soon become close friends and would play together in Baltimore. But that year, Jonathan Schoop and Manny Machado began the season as teammates at low Single-A Delmarva and ended the year leading high Single-A Frederick to the Carolina League championship. The last two O's farm teams to win...

As the Orioles continue to work to improve their international program, some players signed and/or acquired by the club since Mike Elias took over as executive vice president and general manager, will make their way to full-season ball on the farm in 2022. The Orioles' two teams in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League had a strong international flavor last season and some of the top players are expected to compete for spots on the low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds roster for the '22...

He is the lefty reliever with the power arm, but inconsistent control and command. We've seen him look like the best reliever in the league and also one that had no idea where the ball is going. But while he put together some really strong numbers during the shortened 2020 season, southpaw Tanner Scott struggled late in the 2021 season. There may have been an easy explanation for that, but until we see more of him in 2022, we just don't know for sure. In 2020 - and, yes, it was over just 20...

Baseball's lockout and the slamming of brakes on offseason business only impacts the major league side. The minors are proceeding as usual, with their Winter Meetings in Orlando going along uninterrupted. And largely in silence. If an event is held and no one is there, does it make a sound? It used to be for the minor league people anyway. The majors crashed the party and took over, with media descending upon the hotel site and crowding the lobby area while team executives worked trades,...

We spend the majority of our time here talking about major leaguers, but with the lockout now preventing teams from making any transactions involving players on 40-man rosters, let's take an opportunity to delve deeper into some of the Nationals' top minor leaguers. We'll start this weekly series with the organization's No. 1 prospect ... RHP CADE CAVALLI Height/weight: 6-foot-4, 230 lbs. Age on opening day 2022: 23 How acquired: First-round pick, 2020 draft, University of Oklahoma 2021...

The hitting voices in Trey Mancini's head are changing again. The Orioles didn't retain coach Don Long after three seasons. Long had replaced Scott Coolbaugh, who was hired in December 2014 and lasted four seasons. Assistant hitting coach José Hernández is moving into a new role on manager Brandon Hyde's staff. The shuffling has led to the Orioles hiring co-hitting coaches, bringing Ryan Fuller from Double-A Bowie and going outside the organization for Matt Borgschulte. Mancini has...

Within a span of about eight days in August, the Orioles farm system got some major recognition from the two top outlets that cover prospects and player development. Their farm system was rated No. 2 by Baseball America in mid-August. Then, in late August, the Orioles were ranked No. 1 in organizational rankings by MLBPipeline.com. In was part of a steady rise for the O's farm system. In the 2020 MLBPipeline.com preseason rankings, the O's were rated No. 13 and then they moved to No. 8 by...

The goal is always the same: Win the game. But in baseball, not every win looks or feels the same. Sometimes, pitchers dominate. Other times, the hitters take center stage. Games can be blowouts, decided long before the final out, or tense affiars that go down to the wire. This week's platter of "Nationals Classics" on MASN shows a variety of ways the Nats won games over the past handful of years. Enjoy! Friday, Dec. 10 - 5:30 p.m. - Newly minted American League Gold Glove winner Michael...