The Orioles reached a point in the recent past where no one was viewed as untouchable. Make them an offer. There was room to fit everyone on the table. Some players were pushed harder than others in trade talks. Teams learned in 2018 that the Orioles needed to be overwhelmed in order to consider Trey Mancini. They were steered in other directions. The Orioles also were inclined to keep Mancini in 2019, noting his importance on the roster and in the clubhouse. Mancini, in turn, was asked almost...

Branden Kline took his 98 mph fastball and went home. The Orioles drafted Kline, a Frederick native, in the second round in 2012 out of the University of Virginia. They aided his recoveries from multiple elbow surgeries that cost him two full seasons, introduced him to the majors in 2019 while providing a nice feel-good story, brought him up again last summer for three games, outrighted him in October and read about his retirement last week on social media. Kline celebrated his 29th birthday in...

When catcher Adley Rutschman got rated as baseball's No. 2 prospect this week by Baseball America, he achieved a ranking that only three other Orioles reached since the publication's first top 100 poll in 1990. Manny Machado never got to No. 2. He never even made the top 10 with rankings of No. 14 in 2011 and No. 11 in 2012. Rutschman joined Matt Wieters, the only Oriole to garner the No. 1 spot in the initial Baseball America poll release of each of the last 32 years. Wieters was ranked No....

Here is our final installment on the young outfield corps for the Nationals, guys that are making some noise at the lower levels. Most of these prospects got to work out and play games during instructional league in West Palm Beach, Fla., back in October. One well regarded outfielder who did not get to participate but is certainly worth notice is 17-year-old Roismar Quintana from Caracas, Venezuela. He had a quad injury and didn't play games this season, but Nationals outfielder/baserunning...

The Nationals' opening day starter against the Mets is 36 and entering his 14th big league season. The pitcher who will start the season's second game is 32 and needed wrist surgery last summer after throwing only five innings. The club's No. 3 starter is 31 but coming off a career-worst season in which he had the highest WHIP in the majors. And the guy who was just signed to serve as the No. 4 starter is 37 on the heels of back-to-back rough seasons. This is the rotation general manager...

The Nationals' search for a No. 4 starter appears to have landed on a former ace and postseason hero with ties to the manager and pitching coach. Jon Lester, the three-time World Series champion with the Red Sox and Cubs, is finalizing a one-year deal with the Nats, a source familiar with the discussions confirmed. Though he still needs to pass a physical to make the deal official - that may not happen for several days - Lester will become one of the highest-profile No. 4 starters in the...

A new Baseball America top 100 prospects list (subscription may be required) was released yesterday and it was a good day for the Orioles. Baseball America has published 32 lists since its first in 1990. And just twice - first in 2008 and now in 2021 - has the club put five players in the top 100. They have never had more than five. I should point out that this is tracking the initial release of each list each year since Baseball America's first top 100, which was released in 1990. For many...

The National Football League playoffs have come down to four teams, and the scheduled start of spring training is less than a month away. Whether the ongoing pandemic will permit it to begin on schedule this year is another matter. But for baseball fans, February is all about hopefulness, right? Meantime, a maintenance dose of "Nationals Classics" can keep your baseball jones in check. This week's batch includes some notable performances by a couple of guys whose names surely came last when...

Greater Baltimore still stings a little since Sunday, when the Ravens took one on the chin in Buffalo, but now our region's sports fans can turn their full attention to the approach of spring training, whenever it actually is to start. Assessing the status of the Orioles rebuilding project should prove interesting. Meanwhile, we can take a look at the not-too-distant past to remind ourselves what a contending O's squad looks like. The Birds enjoyed a resurgance in the mid-2010s, making the...

Among the pressing topics reportedly still being discussed between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association as the 2021 season inches ever closer is the possibility of keeping the playoff field expanded again. You'll recall that 16 teams made the postseason in 2020, six more than ever had before. It was an acknowledgment of the inability of a 60-game season to distinguish the best teams from the rest of the pack, and most folks accepted and understood why it was needed. But now...