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...

Exactly one week remains before the start of the First-Year Player Draft and absolutely no one knows who's going to the Orioles with the second overall pick. The Orioles must wait until the Tigers choose ahead of them and most likely will lose an opportunity to select Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson. He's expected to be the guy if he stays on the board, but I probably have a better chance of staying in my 50s. Assuming that Torkelson is gone, the Orioles must reach a consensus...

Here is a rundown of the late May roster cuts by the Nationals of minor league players. Unfortunately, the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic has now stretched on for two months, putting into jeopardy a minor league season altogether. Keon Barnum, 1B, 606 career minor league games, free agent signing Dante Bichette Jr., 3B, 73 games for Double-A Harrisburg Adalberto Carrillo, C, 42 games with short-season Single-A Auburn Phil Caulfield, 2B, 35 games for low Single-A Hagerstown Tyler...

It's hard to look at the competing proposals for the 2020 season offered up by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association and come to the conclusion that the two sides are anywhere close to striking a deal. But here's a key point that must be taken into consideration when trying to gauge the state of negotiations: Both sides are purposely making proposals that fall at the extreme ends of their acceptable spectrums. Not because anyone believes the opposing side is going to accept...