The inability to put this year's draft selections in the 60-man player pool motivated the Orioles to get them work in the fall instructional league. At least five of the six, with outfielder Heston Kjerstad unavailable due to a non-sports medical issue. Director of player development Matt Blood is down in Sarasota, Fla., to observe, among many things, the raw skills and the progress made by shortstops Jordan Westburg and Anthony Servideo, outfielder Hudson Haskin, third baseman Coby Mayo and...

Our offseason player review series continues today with Austin Voth, who struggled mightily during his first extended opportunity in the Nationals rotation. PLAYER REVIEW: AUSTIN VOTH Age on opening day 2021: 28 How acquired: Fifth-round pick, 2013 draft MLB service time: 1 year, 127 days 2020 salary: $568,900 (prorated $210,704) Contract status: Under team control, could be arbitration-eligible in 2022, free agent in 2026 2020 stats: 2-5, 6.34 ERA, 11 GS, 1 CG, 49 2/3 IP, 57 H, 36 R, 35 ER, 14...

When spring training for the 2021 season begins, the Orioles could be looking at a logjam. It presents a bit of a problem, but yes, it is a good problem to deal with. They may have too many quality outfielders for too few spots, especially if you add in players yet to make it to Baltimore. This is not a surprise to us, as it's been coming for a while. And this problem, if we do even call it that, could sort itself out as many baseball roster crunches do. There could be injuries, players sent...

The Orioles are going to take the competitive side of their fall instructional league to the next level. Games will be played with teams from other camps beginning on Monday. Thus far, the Orioles have been arranging intrasquad matchups, which started this week, similar to the activity this summer at the alternate site in Bowie. The Pirates and Rays will provide the opposition as two of the three closest teams to the Ed Smith Stadium complex. The Pirates are based in Bradenton and the Rays in...

Major League Baseball announced today that Nationals outfielder Juan Soto is a finalist for the 2020 Hank Aaron Award. Soto, 21, slashed .351/.490/.695 in winning the NL batting crown in just 47 games, smashing 13 homers with 37 RBIs. He had an OPS of 1.185, the highest of any qualified hitter since Barry Bonds in 2004. Since 1999, the Hank Aaron Award has recognized the "most outstanding regular season offensive performer in each league," according to an MLB release. Each club nominated one...

With such unusual circumstances altering how the media covered baseball this summer, it was necessary to find the humor in just about any situation rather than spend two months pouting over it. A survival tactic of sorts. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde made it a lot easier to lighten the mood, aided by his hearty laugh and tolerance for just about anything thrown at him. I kept my arm loose. We had some fun exchanges while taping the pregame manager's show for 105.7 The Fan, which was done via...

On this date in 1970, the Orioles were a day removed from clinching their second World Series title. The champagne had barely dried. But a year later, they faced a must-win situation against the Pirates at Memorial Stadium. Down 3-2 in games, the Orioles won 3-2 in 10 innings on Brooks Robinson's sacrifice fly off Bob Miller that scored Frank Robinson, who drew a one-out walk and hustled to third base on Merv Rettenmund's single. Brooks always will be remembered for his defensive wizardry in...

Earlier tonight, the Oriole Advocates honored Orioles infielder Hanser Alberto, the recipient of the 2020 Oriole Way Award, during a virtual ceremony. The Oriole Advocates, with the support of the Baltimore Orioles, created the Oriole Way Award to recognize a member of the Orioles who has made significant contributions both on and off the field and who has demonstrated a sincere desire to serve the community. The award is presented annually to an Oriole whose participation in the community also...

Our offseason player review series continues today with Aníbal Sánchez, who labored through a difficult season on the mound. PLAYER REVIEW: ANÍBAL SÁNCHEZ Age on opening day 2021: 37 How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2018 MLB service time: 14 years, 83 days 2020 salary: $9,555,556 (prorated $3,148,149) Contract status: Club holds $12 million option or $2 million buyout for 2021 2020 stats: 4-5, 6.62 ERA, 11 GS, 0 CG, 53 IP, 70 H, 40 R, 39 ER, 11 HR, 18 BB, 43 SO, 3 HBP,...

As the summer was rolling on, it became apparent it would be a year without minor league baseball. Around the country, that hit some teams and their local communities pretty hard. No games for the fans to see, no revenue for the teams to generate. But that didn't keep Orioles farm teams from reaching out in their local communities to host events that brought some normalcy to fans and staff alike late this year. I've covered the minors long enough around Birdland to know that these clubs are...