MASN announced today that seven Nationals exhibition games will be televised this spring, including next week's highly anticipated Grapefruit League opener against the Astros and new manager Dusty Baker. The first six televised games will all come from FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The seventh broadcast game will come from Nationals Park, where the defending World Series champions will face a team made up of organizational prospects in a just-announced 4 p.m. exhibition finale dubbed...

The Orioles are one day away from having their pitchers and catchers report to spring training, though the number of early arrivals since they moved to Sarasota makes the official date seem insignificant. Players start trickling into the facility in January. They've already been throwing. It's become more of a report date for the media. My life is broken down into thirds. I have my spring training, regular season and offseason routines - and family and friends learn to adapt. Manager Brandon...

This should be the year Nationals fans can track the progress on the field of the No. 7 prospect in the system, according to Baseball America, right-hander Andry Lara. Lara just turned 17 on Jan. 6)and is a hard-throwing starter who is not afraid to go after hitters. The Coro, Venezuela, native is expected to get some work in the Nats' Rookie-level system. Baseball America's Nats correspondent, Lacy Lusk, said Lara appears in the Nats Top 10 because the right-hander is versatile for his...

We've reached the final countdown to spring training, so we're counting down the most important storylines surrounding the Nationals this spring. We continue today with the battle for the No. 5 starter's job ... It's not unusual for a club to hold an open competition for at least one spot in its opening day rotation. It is unusual, however, for a club to have four elite starters already locked in and three relatively experienced competitors in the running for that final job, with all three...

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - The bus has been rolling throughout Maryland. The Orioles have been coming to their fans during two days of the Birdland Caravan that continues with more stops today in Westminster and Frederick. Over two days, O's players, coaches and staff have made their way to Aberdeen, Fallston, Timonium, White Marsh, York, Pa., Annapolis, Bowie, Ellicott City and Fort Meade. I've watched fans cheering on the Orioles at the Green Turtle in White Marsh on Friday and yesterday at...

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - It seems for most teams in baseball, acquiring pitching is a never-ending process. The same applies to the Orioles. Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias talked pitching and other topics today during the second day of the Birdland Caravan. The last stop today for players and club officials was at a packed Calvert Brewing Company here. It's just a few miles from Prince George's Stadium, home of the club's Double-A Bowie affiliate. And many...

While the Orioles work in spring training to round out a rotation that so far holds John Means, Alex Cobb, most likely Asher Wojciechowski and a bunch of questions, they also need to figure out what to do at Triple-A Norfolk. They can't finish that task until they know which starters are heading north with them. There could be some cuts due to overflow. And we know that executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is trying to sign one more veteran. The Tides rotation has the potential...

We've reached the final countdown to spring training, so we're counting down the most important storylines surrounding the Nationals this spring. We begin today with the status of Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez's contracts ... If there's one subject a defending World Series champion shouldn't have to think about, it's the future of its general manager and manager. Really, why would anyone spend a second wondering how secure Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez's jobs are? Why? Because at this...

Yes, that was the Orioles represented on a top 100 international prospects list recently published by Baseball America. It was a list of the top 100 international prospect signings for the period that began July 2, 2019 and will end on June 15. The Orioles had two players on this top 100. The author of the list saw some players play in the Tricky League, where some international amateurs play right after signing. It runs concurrent with the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, but is not a...

Trey Mancini made 79 starts in right field last season to lead the Orioles, but he also made 52 at first base to rank second behind Chris Davis (86) and five in left field. He served as the designated hitter in 17 games. The super-utility competition in camp won't involve Mancini, but he has a tendency to move around in various versions of the lineup. Mancini won't express a position preference, but he knows where we won't find him in 2020. "I can confidently say I don't think you'll be...