If there were an award for top Orioles relief outing of the 2019 season, the work by Hunter Harvey from Aug. 27 at Nationals Park would be a prime contender. When we discussed reasons to watch the 2020 Orioles in yesterday's entry, we sure could have included Harvey. After his impressive pitching in a small sample in 2019, who doesn't want to see more from the kid in 2020? His high-wire act on that late August night - when he was throwing fastballs from 98 to 100 mph - was something special...

Look up Renato Núñez on Baseball-Reference.com and the first "position" listed next to his name is designated hitter. Says a lot more about his defensive reputation than the site. The only glove recommended is for batting. Edgar Martinez made it into the Hall of Fame as a DH, but Núñez just wants to stay in the majors and get his at-bats. The lineup today would include him in the role, with the infield corners reserved for someone else. If manager Brandon Hyde could craft the...

Here is a look at some of the left-handed hitting first base possibilities for the Nationals on the free agent market, besides the potential of bringing back Matt Adams. Eric Thames, 33, can play first base and the outfield, and slashed .247/.346/.505 in 2019 with 25 homers and 61 RBIs for the Brewers. Mitch Moreland, 34, plays first base and right field, most recently with the Red Sox. He slashed .252/.328/.507 in 91 games with 19 HR and 58 RBIs. Greg Bird, 27, has dealt with plantar fascia in...

Welcome to a new year filled with a new season and new hopes for the Orioles. Those hopes are tempered a bit during rebuilding and no one is likely dreaming too big in light of 223 losses over the past two years. During the offseason, some fans I've met tell me they feel for me having to cover a team that losses so much. I tell all of them that I love what I do and that I truthfully enjoyed covering the 2019 Orioles a great deal. We knew it would not be a winning season and the year would be...

I began the decade covering the Orioles for MASN and MASNsports.com and I closed it covering the Orioles for MASN and MASNsports.com. Thanks for indulging me. We've entered a new year and the first of many headaches that make blinking a new experience in pain. I tried to type softly, in case you're still paying the price for last night's celebrating. And I don't mean the cost of the chips and party hats. Will the Orioles be noise-makers in the coming months? They enter 2020 with basically...

Maybe Orioles infielder Hanser Alberto won't be thrilled to see 2019 blend into the background. It was a pretty good year for him and now we find out what he can do for an encore. A surprise .300 hitter in 2019, can Alberto produce a similar average for the 2020 Orioles? His .305 average last season ranked eighth-best in the American League and was 16th in Major League Baseball. Maybe Alberto's numbers should not have been a complete surprise. For the Orioles, over 139 games and 550 plate...

We're down to our final day in 2019 and as we await the countdown to the ball dropping in Times Square, I'll post an early resolution to avoid dusting off the old "Orioles infield" joke that should have joined Wilson Betemit in retirement. In the meantime, here are a few random thoughts: * The media rush to post sports highlights and lowlights for the decade is lost on me. We're not moving past the '80s or '90s. It's 2010-19. Are we really waxing nostalgic? Are we that desperate for...

Ringing out the old the other night got the MASN staff in the mood to set the wayback machine to some dates well in advance of the Nationals' current perch on the Major League Baseball throne. Some of them, in fact, reach back to the club's inaugural season in the District. While the Nats teams of the oughts and early teens didn't experience the level of success the 2019 version enjoyed, they each had talented players and could show flashes of brilliance on the diamond. Through it all, of...

Be honest. How many of your New Year's resolutions remain intact? If one of them is to be a more upbeat Orioles fan, MASN can help you out with that. This week's crop of "Orioles Classics" includes some of the most uplifting moments in club history. You'll see a team record for home runs broken, a longball barrage to overcome an up-and-coming foe, milestones in the careers of two Orioles greats and triumphs on baseball's biggest stage. The self-improvement many of us embark upon at this...

The rumblings yesterday morning that the Orioles made a roster move were followed by an announcement that they signed pitcher Kohl Stewart to a major league contract and immediate thoughts about him competing for a rotation spot. Anybody with starting experience, at whichever level, is going to be thrust into the mix. Do the Orioles have their desired eight candidates heading into spring training, a number agreed upon by executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon...