The Orioles didn't need to remove pitcher Alexander Wells from his home in Australia and dump him into the 60-man player pool over the summer. They were fine with excluding him from the fall instructional league. As executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said a few weeks ago, Wells had "a really good setup" that enabled the team to avoid the hassles of international travel during a pandemic. Wells, a native of Newcastle, was placed on the 40-man roster to protect him from the...

Joe Ross and the Nationals agreed to terms today on a one-year, $1.5 million contract, avoiding arbitration, a source familiar with the deal confirmed. With one day remaining before clubs are required to tender contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players, the Nats managed to work out a deal with Ross that establishes his 2021 salary right now, though it was a fairly straightforward process. The right-hander's contract is for the same amount he was due to earn in 2020 before he...

The day will come, perhaps in 10 years or 20 years or even more, when someone will mention Michael A. Taylor's name fondly and someone else will look up the outfielder's stats during his time with the Nationals and ask an understandable question. Why was this part-time player with the .237 average, .291 on-base percentage and more than 10 times as many strikeouts as home runs so popular among Nationals fans? Taylor's career stats, of course, don't really tell his story. Not in adequate...

Here is an update on the Nationals' 2020 second-round draft selection, right-hander Cole Henry. The 6-foot-4, 211-lb., Henry was LSU's No. 1 starter in the most recent abbreviated season. He is rated as the Nats No. 4 overall prospect on MLBPipeline.com. Although the Tigers were only able to get four weekends of play in due to the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, Henry still managed to go 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings. He recorded 23 strikeouts with only six walks. On Feb. 28, he beat Texas...

The deadline for teams to offer arbitration eligible players contracts for 2021 is tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The Orioles have some decisions to make with seven remaining arbitration-eligible players. Let's take a look at them in alphabetical order and list the three projected salaries that MLBTradeRumors.com has listed after the shortened 60-game 2020 season. They came to the three figures this way: The first model dealt only with the stats from the 60-game season. The second...

Michael A. Taylor's 11-year tenure with the Nationals officially ended today when the enigmatic outfielder signed a one-year deal with the Royals, hoping a fresh start with a new organization will reinvigorate his career. Taylor had been on the open market since Oct. 15, after the Nationals attempted to outright him to Triple-A and he declined the assignment and elected free agency. Though the club was allowed to re-sign him, it seemed clear from the outset the two sides were ready to part...

The baseball offseason wouldn't feel complete unless the names of arbitration-eligible players and projected raises were recited weekly until the deadline, which mercifully is arriving on Wednesday. There were seven Orioles on the original list. Yolmer Sánchez increased it to eight, but Renato Núñez came off after being designated for assignment and granted his release. Trades are possible in the coming days, just as the Orioles dealt infielder Jonathan Villar and starter Dylan Bundy...

I have questions. The issue is how none of them can be answered and I'm not known for my patience. Pitchers and catchers are supposed to report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex on Feb. 16, but booking travel now seems like wasted energy with the possibility of a COVID-related delay. Not only am I unsure about the chances of spring training starting on the time, I have no idea whether media will be granted access. The whole production could be done again over Zoom. If allowed inside the gates,...

The Orioles, in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF), today announced a plan to facilitate COVID-19 testing for Elev8 Baltimore educators and staff. Tests will be regularly administered through January 2021 as part of the club's ongoing efforts to serve the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning this week, COVID-19 testing will be available to educators and staff from Elev8 Baltimore at the Elev8 Baltimore network office. Elev8...

Well, Thanksgiving is in the rear-view mirror, which means the currently chilly hot stove will soon be heating up. And what better way to get in the mood than a smattering of clutch performances that resulted in Nationals victories? Here at MASN, "Nationals Classics" are designed to make you feel warm and fuzzy all over. Guys that make their money by coming through in the clutch tend to do that, don't they? Is there anything better than cheering a dominant team or individual performance, or...