When a player uses the word "disaster" as part of the description of his season, it didn't go very well, Captain Obvious might say. For lefty Wade LeBlanc, it didn't go very well in the six starts he made for the 2020 Orioles before an injury sidelined him for the season. LeBlanc, 36, recorded an ERA of 8.06 last summer with a 1.567 WHIP over 22 1/3 innings. Then his season ended on Aug. 23, when he left a start after facing four batters in the first inning at Boston. He had a stress...

The first lineup of 2021 spring training will be posted later this morning, with Trey Mancini the only confirmed player in it. Manager Brandon Hyde said that Mancini will be the first baseman. The rest can be speculated. The Orioles are home, which usually puts more starters on the field. They had Hanser Alberto leading off and playing second base last year in the first game at Ed Smith Stadium. Mancini was in right field, Chris Davis at first base, Pedro Severino behind the plate, Dwight Smith...

Starlin Castro is one of the most accomplished hitters in baseball, a four-time All-Star who has received votes for Rookie of the Year and MVP. He's led the National League in hits. He was on every top prospects list when he first sped through the Cubs' farm system more than a decade ago. He's 19th among all active players with 1,633 hits, and everyone ahead of him on the list has played in at least 131 more big league games than he has. Yet ask someone to name the most important members of...

The first exhibition lineup posted Sunday morning by Orioles manager Brandon Hyde will include Trey Mancini at first base. The comeback has reached another important stage. Mancini missed the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy treatments for Stage 3 colon cancer. His final at-bats came on March 2 before he left the team. He went 4-for-14 with two RBIs in five games. "I'm going to play him at first, DH him some, especially the first couple weeks," Hyde said. "I talk...

Through it all - the injuries, strikeouts, intense criticism from fans and media, reminders of a contract he couldn't live up to - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis has worked to maintain his perspective and count his blessings. They begin at home with wife Jill and daughters Ella and twins Evie and Grace. They include the people on the professional side of his life. Who prop him up when he's at his lowest. The pandemic and the isolation caused by it have tested everyone. Recent stories about...

If they turn out to be the Orioles double-play combination, the club hopes to get solid glovework out of shortstop Freddy Galvis and second baseman Yolmer Sánchez. Galvis has been a Gold Glove finalist and Sánchez won the American League Gold Glove at second base in 2019, when he beat out the other finalists, New York's DJ LeMahieu and Houston's Jose Altuve. O's manager Brandon Hyde was asked recently about Sánchez, 28, mentoring younger players. Hyde said both Sánchez and Galvis...

Victor Robles heard the whispers last season. That the 15 pounds he put on during the coronavirus pandemic backfired, making his first-step reaction times in the outfield slower and hampering his swing. In short, he bulked up a little too much and paid the price for it. So instead of relaxing this winter, Robles packed up his gear and headed to his native Dominican Republic, where he focused on refining his game by trimming some weight from a 6-foot frame that had become noticeably bigger than...

With his top two starting pitchers spending the beginning of spring training ramping up after injuries, Nationals manager Davey Martinez has chosen right-hander Erick Fedde to start Sunday's Grapefruit League opener against the Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla. "We want to get him out there," Martinez said of Fedde this afternoon during his Zoom conference call with reporters. "He looks good. Built him up a little bit. So feel like he'll be the guy." Fedde will be limited to 30 pitches, which...

Reluctant to make any real changes to his approach at the plate while his production tumbled and the criticism rose, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis decided to bring a different look to spring training in 2021. And it has nothing to do with muscle. Exactly how drastic won't be known until the exhibition games begin, with the opener on Sunday against the Pirates in Sarasota, Fla. Workouts are closed to the media and Davis remained coy today while talking about it with the media on a Zoom...

The Orioles today announced that 12 Spring Training games will be broadcast on the Orioles Radio Network and flagship station 105.7 The Fan. The complete schedule of Orioles Spring Training broadcasts is below. DATE OPPONENT TIME BROADCAST Tuesday, March 2 vs. New York Yankees 1:05 p.m. Orioles Radio Network Thursday, March 4 vs. Boston Red Sox 1:05 p.m. Orioles Radio Network Saturday, March 6 vs. Detroit Tigers 6:05 p.m. Orioles Radio...