At the crux of the Nationals' decision to trade away eight veterans and begin a franchise rebuilding project this summer was an acknowledgment by the front office that its farm system desperately needed to be restocked. Had their system been filled with more prospects who could step in and take over when veterans either got hurt or saw their skills fade, the Nats might well have stayed the course and made an attempt to continue winning now instead of shifting focus to the future. But that...

Only 20 times since 1901 has a big league team lost 110 or more games in a single season. Two teams did that this year - the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Orioles. You lose that much, you have earned the No. 1 draft pick. But Arizona, thanks to a walk-off homer on the season's final day, is not going to get one next year. That is, barring something in the new collective bargaining agreement that changes that. When teams tie for a spot in the draft - in this case the No. 1 pick - the previous...

The Nationals entered the 2021 season determined to be a better defensive club after ranking last in the majors in that department during the previous, pandemic-shortened season. And in late July, a quick glance at the sport's defensive rankings showed they indeed had achieved that goal. On the morning of July 30, the Nationals as a team ranked sixth in Defensive Runs Saved, a massive improvement from 2020. Of course, by the end of that day, their roster looked nothing like it did 24 hours...

More honors were announced Wednesday for the Orioles' top two prospects, catcher Adley Rutschman and pitcher Grayson Rodriguez. They keep adding hardware after each had very strong full seasons after missing minor league game action for the 2020 season due to the pandemic. Rodriguez was named the Pitcher of the Year for the Double-A Northeast and Rutschman was named the No. 1 major league prospect in the league. Both also made the league's postseason All-Star team. Earlier, they were ranked...

The Orioles can make plans and create lists and envision how to properly operate their offseason, but the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement sits on their shoulders. Never removed or forgotten. It's potential influence, a constant presence. A new CBA must be negotiated after Dec. 1. The first face-to-face session between Major League Baseball and union officials was held in August and included a proposal for a revised service time arrangement for arbitration-eligible...

The Orioles could be busier reconstructing the minor league side of the operation than the majors, with a bunch of hires and shuffling in the cards. At this point, we know they need a new Triple-A manager and pitching coach, hitting coaches at Single-A Aberdeen and Delmarva, and a manager for one of the Rookie-level Florida Complex League entries. There could be other changes that haven't been revealed. Buck Britton is expected to move up to Norfolk, which would create a vacancy at Double-A...

The Baltimore Orioles today broke ground on their new, state-of-the-art training academy in Guerra, Dominican Republic. Joined by Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, Dominican Republic Minister of Sports Francisco Camacho Rivas, and Dominican Republic Commissioner of Baseball Junior Noboa, Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos, Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Elias, and Senior Director of International Scouting Koby Perez were among numerous dignitaries in attendance...

The Orioles will have eight players representing the organization with the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. Pitchers Cameron Bishop, Logan Gillaspie, Conner Loeprich and Nick Vespi, catcher Ramon Rodriguez, infielder Greg Cullen, and outfielders Yusniel Diaz and Kyle Stowers will play for Mesa. Rodriguez is on the taxi squad. Triple-A Norfolk hitting coach Tim Gibbons will serve in the same capacity with the Solar Sox. The first game is Wednesday, Oct. 13. The annual Fall Stars Game...

A lot of things with the Nationals went wrong this season, horribly wrong. But not everything. And one thing that did work out in the end, surprisingly enough, was a lineup that was productive both prior to and after the massive trade-deadline sell-off. The Nats ended the season with the highest team batting average (.258) and on-base percentage (.337) in the National League. Their .754 OPS was fourth-highest in the NL, tied with the NL East champion Braves and only five points lower than the...

It is not easy to remember now. But for Ryan Mountcastle, the 2021 season, one that ended with him pushing to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award, did not begin well. At the end of April, Mountcastle, 24, was batting .196/.229/.286./.515 with one homer and seven RBIs. He was chasing pitches big time. It seemed like he would need a 50-inch bat to get to some of them. Was this a sophomore slump? Would he need to be sent to the minors to work it out? No and no. It was a hitter that...