They are ranked as the Orioles' top two pitching prospects and their inclusion in the 60-man player pool this summer was expected. They were not expected to pitch yet for the Orioles and they did not. But it was a big summer of developing - even without minor league games - for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez and left-hander DL Hall. Rodriguez will turn 21 on Nov. 16. Hall turned 22 on Sept. 19. Both are ranked as top 100 prospects. Rodriguez is No. 31 for both Baseball America and...

Here are updates on how some of the Nationals draft class looked at instructional league workouts, which concluded last week in West Palm Beach, Fla. The players the Nats drafted in 2020 - right-handers Cade Cavalli, Holden Powell and Cole Henry, left-hander Mitchell Parker, infielder Sammy Infante and catcher Brady Lindsly - participated in instructional league during the month of October. Several 2020 undrafted free agents took part in the camp as well, including right-handers Zach Brzykcy...

We looked at potential free agent outfielders that might interest the Nationals on Tuesday. Today we turn our attention to their other big need this winter: a No. 4 starter to replace the departing Aníbal Sánchez. Some teams don't prioritize a No. 4 starter. The Nationals do. Look back at their best seasons over the last near-decade, and they've pretty much always had a good fourth starter. Look back at their worst seasons during this run, and they've pretty much always had a problem...

I can't recall the last Orioles offseason that didn't include the expectation that they'd sign a starting pitcher in free agency. Maybe two. Competition is a good thing, as we've been reminded. Can't have enough pitching. You need at least 10 starters just to find five. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is searching for more of them. He's content with John Means and Alex Cobb in the top tier, the latter a trade candidate over the summer if a partner can be found. Keegan...

Rank the Nationals' most significant needs this winter and there's no debate what tops the list: a big bat. Someone who can hit behind Trea Turner and Juan Soto. Someone who can lengthen the lineup. Someone who can fill the void created by Anthony Rendon's departure last winter. (And, yes, obviously this all could've been avoided if the Nats just re-signed Rendon, but there's no sense re-litigating that one now.) This big bat could come in a variety of forms and could play one of several...

The biggest news to come out of yesterday's Zoom conference call with executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias was the latest promotion bestowed upon Chris Holt. That's three titles in three years with the Orioles. I'd hold out for space cowboy. The Orioles hired Holt as minor league pitching coordinator in November 2018 and bumped him a year later to director of pitching, a move intended to more closely connect him to the major league team. Now he's adding pitching coach to his...

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias took a few questions from local Orioles media on Monday. It was his first meeting with reporters since the end-of-the-season Zoom get-together on the final weekend of the 2020 season. A few takeaways from this latest session: Interesting comments on the starting rotation: John Means, Alex Cobb, Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer would seem to give the O's a strong start on putting together a 2021 rotation. If that group of four consists...

The Orioles are down to one vacancy on their major league coaching staff. In his Zoom conference call this afternoon, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said Chris Holt will be the primary on-field pitching coach as the replacement for Doug Brocail. Holt also will retain his duties as director of pitching - an arrangement that had been expected for a while and is unique in baseball. His new title is "pitching coach/director of pitching" as his reach keeps expanding across the...

The World Series is over and free agency has commenced. We've gotten back the hour of sleep we lost in March at about the time baseball and the world went a little crazy. Now it's dark at 5:30 p.m. Is it supposed to be this cold in November? I could swear I saw flurries this morning. While we don't know for sure what the 2021 baseball season will hold, we do know a few simple truths. Among them is that MASN will feed your need for diamond memories all offseason long with "Nationals...

As Jack Porter continues to gain the notice of baseball evaluators as a high school junior in Tennessee, he can keep seeking advice and instruction from two prominent men in his life. Both of them former professional players. One of them quite familiar to Orioles fans. His father, Scott, was a pitcher and a fifth-round draft pick of the Blue Jays in 1999. His stepfather, Nolan Reimold, was an outfielder and second-round pick of the Orioles in 2005 who played eight years in the majors. Lots of...