When Baseball America released its latest mock draft yesterday, it had a real surprise with the Orioles and the No. 2 pick. It was not Vanderbilt's Austin Martin or Asa Lacy of Texas A&M. This mock had the Orioles taking high school outfielder Zac Veen from Orange, Fla. This would be part of a one-two approach in which the O's could sign Veen, get a top player and save some slot space to go well over slot with their No. 30 pick and get two top-rated talents. It's a strategy that has...

Orioles pitcher Tommy Milone is spending his days and nights working out and finding tasks to stay busy at his home in Santa Clarita, Calif., a city that's located about 45 minutes north of Los Angeles and known for its variety of roller coasters at the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park. Milone should be used to the ups and downs. But his first year with the Orioles has been a shock to the system. How could the veteran left-hander have anticipated everything thrown at him? The coronavirus...

While negotiations continue, time may be running out. Bobby Blanco and Mark Zuckerman break down MLB's latest proposal to play and the obstacles it faces.

A sportswriter walks into a bar and ... I'm not reciting the first line of a joke. I'm actually going somewhere with this. The sportswriter was me and it happened many years ago - so long that I can't remember the exact location. I'm fairly certain that it was Sullivan's Steakhouse, a few blocks from Camden Yards. But this isn't the important part of the story. I ducked inside the men's room before last call - the bar's, not the bathroom's - and saw Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter at one...

As we binge on mock drafts, fight the confusion and wish that we could gain some clarity, the Orioles are attached to multiple players depending on the hour and who's doing the predicting. The consensus in my informal poll remains Vanderbilt third baseman/center fielder Austin Martin with the second overall pick. But there's some hedging. Baseball America's Carlos Collazo and The Athletic's Keith Law, to name just two, have heard that the Orioles could go under slot. Baseball America's 6.0...

Let's focus on the strategy for the Nationals and other teams as they get ready for a rare five-round First-Year Player Draft, scheduled to take place a week from today. With the draft only five rounds due to the coronavirus shutdown, should teams draft based on need or potential? MLBPipeline.com senior writer Jim Callis believes teams will focus on taking the best player available and worry about filling out rosters in free agent signings post-draft. "Are teams going to be more conservative...

Following the trend initiated by a few Major League Baseball clubs over the weekend and echoed by many more franchises throughout the day, the Nationals issued a statement late Tuesday in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the charging of police officer Derek Chauvin with third-degree murder and manslaughter, and the protests that have taken place across the country in the aftermath. The statement was attributed to the Nationals' Founding Partners Group, which consists of...

If the Orioles are going to build that elite talent pipeline to get back to winning baseball, they are going to need international talent to be a big element of that effort. Under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and senior director of international scouting Koby Perez, the Orioles are trying to quickly bring their international program up to speed. The Tampa Bay Rays placed a major leagues-leading eight players on the latest Baseball America top 100 prospects list and...

The Orioles turned to social media today to join the chorus of teams speaking out against racial injustice in the country. The club released a lengthy statement this afternoon on its official Twitter and Instagram accounts. The avatars have been altered as part of the Blackout Tuesday initiative, promoted by activists to observe and push for policy changes following George Floyd's death last week in Minneapolis. Office Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and...

The Orioles are supposed to be hosting a weekend series against the Astros, but the 2020 season remains on hold. Fans were supposed to be gathering at Camden Yards to make trash can jokes and boo one of baseball's cheaters. Or have we already forgotten the scandal that dominated spring training conversations until the shutdown? Until the coronavirus pandemic shoved it into darkness. Major League Baseball delivered one of the harshest punishments in the sport's history after the Astros were...