The Orioles took a few swipes at their 40-man roster yesterday, including how they outrighted infielder Richie Martin to Triple-A Norfolk. The former Rule 5 pick couldn't decline because it was his first outright. Martin stays in the organization and can compete for a job in spring training or provide more depth in the organization. Injuries have messed with Martin the past few years. Who knows how badly they've hurt his development - the factures in both wrists and a broken hamate bone? They...

Perhaps only a lockout could keep the Orioles from making what seems now almost daily changes to their 40-man roster. Yesterday began with the club holding 40 players on the 40-man. It ended with them at 38 after tendering contracts and/or reaching agreements with all six of their remaining arbitration-eligible players. No one was non-tendered. No one was traded. The Orioles have also signed infielder Rougned Odor, 27, to a one-year contract and outrighted infielder Richie Martin to Triple-A....

The Nationals chose not to tender contracts to relievers Wander Suero and Ryne Harper, plus minor league first baseman Mike Ford, before tonight's league-wide deadline, making all three free agents only 28 hours before Major League Baseball is expected to begin a lockout of players that could stretch through most of the winter. The Nats did tender contracts to all other unsigned players on their 40-man roster, including seven arbitration-eligible players - Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Joe Ross, Erick...

The Washington Nationals claimed infielder Lucius Fox off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Fox, 24, hit .245 and posted a .353 on-base percentage with 15 doubles, five homers, 24 RBI, 37 walks, 19 stolen bases and 43 runs scored in 62 games across three levels of Kansas City's Minor League system in 2021. He entered the season rated by Baseball America as the No. 22 prospect in the...

The Nationals have added to their infield depth, claiming Lucius Fox off waivers from the Orioles and signing former Blue Jays shortstop Richard Ureña to a minor league contract. Fox immediately joins the Nats' 40-man roster, which for the moment is full. That very well could change by the end of the day if the club chooses not to tender contracts to any of their nine unsigned arbitration-eligible players before the league's 8 p.m. deadline. Fox was acquired only two weeks ago by the...

While the Orioles are busy making contract decisions on their arbitration eligible players, with the deadline set at 8 p.m. tonight, they also cleared two spots on a 40-man roster that's no longer filled. Reliever Brooks Kriske was released to pursue an international opportunity, according to the club, confirming news that appeared this morning on baseball's transactions page. And the Nationals claimed infielder Lucius Fox off waivers, ending his stay with the Orioles only two weeks after...

After a frantic Monday that saw a handful of clubs handing out hundreds of millions of dollars to free agents like candy, every major league club now faces a busy Tuesday deciding whether or not to retain a bunch of its own players. By 8 p.m. today, teams must tender contracts to all arbitration-eligible players. Those who don't receive offers are non-tendered and immediately become free agents. So while the Nationals have been awfully quiet on the transaction front so far this winter, they...

The Nationals got a jump start on what should be a hectic Tuesday in advance of Major League Baseball's non-tender deadline and Wednesday night's expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, agreeing to terms with Andrew Stevenson on a 2022 contract to avoid arbitration. Stevenson, who qualified for arbitration despite having not yet accrued three years of big league service time as a so-called Super Two player, stands to earn a modest raise from his 2021 salary of $579,100. The...

With the clock ticking much louder on the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, and a resolution by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday seems impossible, the next order of business for anyone covering the Winter Meetings is to check the hotel's cancellation policy. Don't want to get charged for a room that isn't used. (The policy is 48 hours before check-in, if you care.) Also, who doesn't love a Southwest credit? A free agent still must pass his physical and sign a contract after the final...

The dizzying pace of free agent signings in the last day or two has made the last 48 hours look like a frenzied edition of the Winter Meetings. Yet those meetings, if held, happen next week, not this one. The teams and players have been rushing to beat an expected deadline - the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. This happens at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday night. The deadline to non-tender players has also been moved up ahead of the original Dec. 2 deadline. I digress here,...