Welcome to February. The month, we think, when teams will report to spring training in Florida and Arizona. Orioles pitchers and catchers remain scheduled to report to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota on Feb. 16. The first spring training game is set for Feb. 27. Opening day is scheduled for April 1 at Boston. And that's no joke. Those are the dates as of this morning. It's all subject to change, of course. We're still in a pandemic. Most teams still could not sell tickets to any fans if they...

As Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias rattled off the names of shortstop prospects in the system during a recent Zoom conference call, the topic born from a question relating to how the club might fill the position next summer, he made sure to include the 37th overall selection in the 2018 draft. The former teammate of catcher Adley Rutschman at Oregon State University. A product of the final draft under the previous front office and head of scouting. Cadyn Grenier has...

Those of us who work in baseball in this area and region today are feeling such a loss. Our friend here at MASN and MASNsports.com, our treasured colleague, Mel Antonen, passed away last night. Mel was 64 and battled a rare autoimmune disease and other health issues that made his battle against this disease one that was beyond challenging. That word just doesn't do it justice here. Baltimore-area media and friends of Mel would get updates over about the last year this was all going on. Mel...

"I'm gonna beat this." Every conversation with Mel Antonen over the past year, every email, every Zoom, every FaceTime, every single interaction included these words. Dealt a horrible hand with multiple health issues - something called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a rare autoimmune disease that attacked his liver, followed by bouts with COVID-19 and then lymphoma - Mel battled to the very end. Unfortunately, that came late Saturday night, when he passed in his sleep. Mel was 64. I...

Just a short entry today that features a few questions. As always, feel free to answer one, two or all of them. Respond with comments on the answers of your fellow readers too. Feel free to pose any of your own questions with topics you may be wondering about as we are now weeks away from the scheduled start of spring training. We certainly have a few unanswered question about the coming season but we are now less than a few weeks away from report dates around Major League Baseball. So, on to...

The Nationals' acquisition Thursday evening of Alex Avila was no surprise. Which is to say, we'd known for months they were going to need to acquire a catcher from outside the organization to replace Kurt Suzuki and share the job with Yan Gomes. Whether it was Avila or one of the other available free agents, the Nats had to get themselves another catcher this winter, one way or the other. Why? Because they didn't feel like they had a viable in-house candidate for that job. And truth be told,...

We've entered a new month that draws us closer to the Feb. 16 report date for Orioles pitchers and catchers. The equipment truck left Camden Yards on Wednesday to begin the 1,000 mile journey to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Fla. And yet, we still aren't certain that Major League Baseball is offering a full spring training and 162-game regular season. There are assumptions, hope and the ever-present possibility that ownership and the union will be unable to agree on crucial...

Even though anything he does good or bad for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 won't help or hurt the Orioles, no doubt O's fans will still be quite interested in the performance of former shortstop José Iglesias. After the O's traded Iglesias to the Angels, they signed Freddy Galvis to replace him. So the comparison of the two and how well or not they do this coming season is an obvious one. But it is only a one-season comparison since both players were signed by their respective clubs just...

Daniel Murphy, owner of the highest batting average and second-highest OPS in Nationals history, announced his retirement Friday, bringing an end to a 12-year career that peaked just as he was about to come to Washington and thus made him a significant part of club lore. "This is a beautiful game, and I really just feel humbled and blessed that it let me jump on the ride for a little bit," Murphy told SNY in announcing his decision to retire. "It's beautiful. It can teach you about so many...

They got the first baseman they needed. They got the corner outfielder they wanted. They got the No. 4 starter they desired. They got the left-handed reliever they coveted. They brought back the face of the franchise for another season. And now they got the No. 2 catcher they were lacking. The Nationals went into the offseason with a clear checklist, and though it took a while for the wheels to get into full motion, they've now checked off every box on the list, capped by Thursday evening's...