Last night's trade of shortstop José Iglesias was the shocker among a series of moves made by the Orioles. The one transaction that dropped jaws after they picked up his $3.5 million option a month ago. Hanser Alberto was a strong non-tender candidate and the Orioles sent him into the free agent market. They were more inclined to hold onto infielders Yolmer Sánchez and Pat Valaika and reliever Shawn Armstrong. They had no intention of non-tendering outfielders Trey Mancini and Anthony...

The rebuilding of the Orioles was always going to be hard for fans. The non-tender deadline for two straight years has been hard on fans. The trades last year of right-hander Dylan Bundy and infielder Jonathan Villar. The trade last night of shortstop José Iglesias. For a few hours yesterday - after news of an agreement with Yolmer Sánchez - some fans wondered about the possibility of a strong up-the-middle defense of Iglesias and Sánchez. Then the Orioles, as they did with those deals...

The Orioles are interested in negotiating a new contract with infielder Hanser Alberto, who has been non-tendered and allowed to enter the free agent market. The cost in arbitration was too rich for the club, but they'd like to bring him back on a friendlier deal and expect to maintain contact with his agent. They're also going to be busy finding a replacement for José Iglesias, who was traded tonight to the Angels for minor league pitchers Garrett Stallings and Jean Pinto. Executive vice...

The Nationals tonight tendered contracts to Juan Soto and Trea Turner, their only remaining unsigned arbitration-eligible players, in a couple of entirely expected-but-required transactions. All Major League Baseball clubs had until 8 p.m. Eastern time to either offer 2021 contracts to their players who are eligible for arbitration this winter (generally those with more than three but fewer than six years of big league service time) or non-tender them and let them become free agents. There was...

The Orioles did more today than decide the contract status of their remaining arbitration-eligible players. They also traded shortstop José Iglesias to the Angels after picking up the $3.5 million option on his contract a month ago. An industry source confirmed the trade. The return for Iglesias is unknown, but it marks the second deal between the teams around the non-tender deadline. The Orioles sent pitcher Dylan Bundy to the Angels a year ago for four minor league pitchers, including...

2020 was not the breakout season Carter Kieboom might have hoped for, but that does not mean that the Nationals third baseman did not make some positive strides. Kieboom hit .202 in 99 at-bats this past season, with one double and nine RBIs. The 23-year-old played in 33 games, three times more than he played in back in 2019. He showed a penchant for improved patience, seeing 4.39 pitchers per at-bat. In 2019, he saw only 3.91 pitches per time up. The big statistic that jumped out was his...

The Orioles whittled their list of unsigned arbitration-eligible players to five this morning by reaching agreement with infielder Yolmer Sánchez on a 2021 contract, according to an industry source. Sánchez is signed for $1 million and waiting to learn whether he's a candidate to start at second or third base. He could land in the utility mix, with his arrival perhaps having a domino effect on the roster. Hanser Alberto could be impacted. Pat Valaika could be impacted. They're also...

The Nationals typically go into baseball's non-tender deadline day with some decisions to make. One year ago, they chose not to offer a contract to Javy Guerra (who later re-signed on a minor league deal), were prepared to do the same with Koda Glover before the oft-injured reliever instead announced his retirement, and after some internal discussion chose to retain Roenis Elías, Hunter Strickland and Michael A. Taylor. (None of those three players, it should be noted, remain in the...

The coronavirus pandemic interrupted spring training, shortened the Major League Baseball season, and added COVID-19 testing to the daily routine for players and staff. No way around it, the virus has been felt in every corner of the baseball universe. Even umpires were not immune. The annual visit by the men in blue to Children's National Hospital, where members of UMPS CARE Charities, took on a different look Tuesday when umpires Nic Lentz and Chris Segal conducted a virtual visit to let...

The Orioles provided a vote of confidence yesterday in 27-year-old catcher Pedro Severino. A potential non-tender candidate when the deadline hits tonight, the Orioles made a pre-emptive move to retain a player that has played in 144 games for the club over the last two seasons. The O's agreed to $1.825 million deal with Severino to avoid a possible arbitration hearing and keep him with the club that claimed him off waivers from the Washington Nationals on March 23, 2019. The agreement was...