It was on July 31, 2018 when the Atlanta Braves acquired right-hander Kevin Gausman from the Orioles in a six-player deadline-beating trade that also brought the Orioles international bonus money. The faltering Birds were headed into full-on rebuild mode and their top pick from 2012 (No. 4 overall in that draft) was heading out the door. Just over a year later - on Aug. 5, 2019 - the Braves waived Gausman after he had gone 3-7 with a 6.19 ERA that year. He was 28 and his career was trending in...

The finalists for 2021 Baseball Writers' Association of America awards will be announced tonight at 6 p.m. on MLB Network. When Ryan Mountcastle finds out whether he's in the top three in voting for Rookie of the Year in the American League. Mountcastle was chosen Rookie of the Year by his peers in the Major League Baseball Players Association's Players Choice Awards, finishing ahead of the Rays' Randy Arozarena and the Rangers' Adolis García. They could be finalists for the BBWAA...

Now that the baseball season is over, the baseball labor talks are on the clock. The sides are pursuing a new collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expires at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 1. That date is coming fast. The players and owners have been talking on and off behind the scenes since around the All-Star break, or so they tell us. This is great. Keep it out of the media, out of Twitter, out of social media and headlines altogether. We simply cannot have a repeat of the back and forth in...

Coaches are the unsung heroes in the major leagues, spending long hours before and after games, working with multiple players with different skill sets to reach their full potential. Many a time, I've arrived at a ballpark at 2 p.m. to find a hitting coach working with a batter in a session that started an hour or more earlier, or a pitching coach overseeing a bullpen session with a hurler working to perfect a new pitch. Simply put, most fans don't see the work that goes into what happens...

When word got out that Kevin Long would be leaving D.C. to take the hitting coach job in Philadelphia, Darnell Coles must have had a keen eye on the opening with the Nationals. Not only for the opportunity to rejoin the organization with which he started his coaching career and to be alongside longtime friend Davey Martinez in the dugout, but also for the chance to work with one of baseball's best hitters in Juan Soto. (Not to mention a power switch-hitter in Josh Bell and a core of young...

The Orioles began their offseason with eight players eligible for arbitration, but the class has been whittled to six. Infielder Pat Valaika and catcher Pedro Severino passed through waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk, setting up their plunges into free agency. MLBTradeRumors.com projected that Valaika would earn $1.3 million next season and Severino $3.1 million. For a team needing to clear substantial space on the 40-man roster, these were easy calls to make. Left among the...

The Washington Nationals claimed left-handed pitcher Francisco Pérez off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians on Friday. Additionally, the Nationals outrighted right-handed pitcher Kyle McGowin to Triple-A Rochester. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Pérez, 24, went 4-0 with three saves and a 1.87 ERA in 30 games between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus in 2021. He struck out 82 batters in 53.0 innings pitched while...

The Nationals tweaked their 40-man roster Friday afternoon, claiming left-hander Francisco Pérez off waivers from the Guardians. Pérez made his major league debut for the Indians in 2021, working to a 4.05 ERA in four relief outings. He was tagged for three runs in 1 1/3 innings in his debut on Aug. 12 at home against the A's, then turned in three scoreless appearances in September, covering 5 1/3 innings. The 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic will retain his rookie status at least...

The Orioles made another roster move this afternoon and it eliminated a former first-round draft pick whose attempts at becoming a high-leverage reliever in the back end of the bullpen will continue in another organization. Multiple sources confirmed that the Giants claimed Hunter Harvey off waivers. He was on the 60-day injured list, which didn't count against a 40-man roster that holds at 30, but the Orioles were approaching the date to reinstate him. Harvey was the 22nd overall pick in the...

The Orioles' fall instructional league camp is an interesting mix of top prospects, ballyhooed international signings and trade acquisitions, and players who began to get noticed and want to keep improving their stock. What's missing are the intrasquad games. It's more about workouts, conditioning and strength, education and bonding. Infield prospect Jordan Westburg describes it as "a good foundation for all of us guys that are young in this organization, just building...