SARASOTA, Fla. - Baseball free agency is not great for all. The players that will not be getting big-dollar contracts sometimes have to sweat out the process, not sure where their next opportunity will come or if that opportunity will be a good one. Right-hander Kohl Stewart, signed by the Orioles on Dec. 29, admits he had some anxious moments . The Minnesota Twins outrighted him off their 40-man roster Nov. 4 and he elected free agency. Then came a few weeks when he weighed his options before...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Most of the discussion surrounding Major League Baseball's new three-batter minimum rule for relievers has focused on the negative impact it will have on teams' pitching staffs. But what if there's a flip side to the equation, and the controversial rule change might actually be a positive for some teams' offenses? Davey Martinez is banking on that very possibility. As he has studied and contemplated the new rule, the Nationals manager keeps drawing the same...

JUPITER, Fla. - Some thoughts, observations and quotes from the Nationals' 7-3 loss tonight to the Marlins ... * Aníbal Sánchez was sharp. Really sharp. The veteran right-hander tossed four innings of scoreless ball. He allowed only one hit (a single up the middle). He did not walk a batter. He struck out three. He threw only 50 pitches. Sánchez did this despite not necessarily feeling 100 percent comfortable on the mound. "I think early in the game, I just tried to put the pitch in...

SARASOTA, Fla. - No matter what happened last night in Tampa, the Orioles were keeping their exhibition record above .500. A 5-1 win over the Yankees left them with an 8-5-2 mark heading into today's game against the Rays in Port Charlotte. Does it really matter? Absolutely not, except that winning is more enjoyable than losing, and a team going through the painful steps of a rebuild shouldn't have to apologize for feeling good. "I think it's just fun for the atmosphere," said executive...

TAMPA - Right-hander Thomas Eshelman had a third straight solid outing for the club tonight as the Orioles built an early lead on the New York Yankees. Eshelman went three innings, allowing two hits and one run with one walk and two strikeouts. He threw 43 pitches, 30 for strikes. He's allowed two runs and four hits over eight spring innings. He might be considered a fringe rotation candidate, but the O's keep giving him the ball and he keeps putting up solid results. Although he said he's...

JUPITER, Fla. - The Nationals will get two big bats back in their lineup Saturday. Eric Thames and Victor Robles each are scheduled to return from minor injuries, each serving as designated hitter for the Nats' split-squad games (home versus the Marlins, away against the Mets), according to manager Davey Martinez. Thames hasn't played since Feb. 25 due to left calf tightness, but he has slowly been ramping up activities in recent days and has been cleared to return to the lineup. The big...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The second round of roster cuts for the Orioles this afternoon includes Rule 5 pitchers Brandon Bailey and Michael Rucker, who are being returned to their respective organizations after clearing waivers. Bailey is headed back to the Astros and Rucker to the Cubs. Top prospect Adley Rutschman was reassigned to minor league camp within a series of moves that left the camp roster at 54 players. The Orioles optioned pitcher Dean Kremer and outfielder Ryan McKenna to Triple-A...

JUPITER, Fla. - It's a bit of a transition day for the Nationals as far as the lineup goes. Most of the regulars played last night. And with split-squad games tomorrow, pretty much everyone will play either at home against the Marlins or in Port St. Lucie against the Mets. Which means most of the big names get tonight's game off. The most noteworthy guys in this lineup are Kurt Suzuki and Asdrúbal Cabrera. The rest are fringe players trying to force their way onto the opening day roster or...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Outfielder Ryan McKenna's locker is empty today, perhaps a sign that the Orioles are making more camp cuts. Evan Phillips received a second opinion on his right elbow yesterday from Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles, and while no structural damage was found, the reliever said he's going to be shut down for the next two weeks and might not be able to pitch for a month. Phillips will have to begin the season on the injured list. Meanwhile, Renato Núñez is playing first...

Eric Thames sat down with Paul Mancano in West Palm Beach to discuss his days as a player in South Korea.