With Orioles pitchers and catchers reporting next Tuesday to spring training, we're less than a week away now. The first spring game is just over two weeks away on Feb. 22. So with that all coming fast, let's take a look today at a few more random spring questions. They may not be the biggest facing the team, but just a few questions and topics to be considered over the next few weeks and leading into a new season. Earlier we looked at a few spring topics in this entry to include a discussion...

The Orioles are keeping pitcher Branden Kline and super-utility player Stevie Wilkerson in the organization. Kline and Wilkerson cleared waivers and have been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk after the club designated them for assignment last week. Wilkerson had the give his approval based on a previous DFA. The list of camp invites has grown to 66 players, with left-hander Wade LeBlanc also a recent inclusion. Kline, a Frederick native and second-round pick out of the University of Virginia in...

The report date countdown for Orioles pitchers and catchers has reached five days. Or the amount of time it takes a call to be confirmed or overturned. Which Orioles have something to prove in camp? Plenty of them, but here are a few ideas: Dwight Smith Jr. is viewed within the organization as a left fielder and nothing more. It's the only position he played last summer and his major league body of work includes a mere three starts in right and one in center with the Blue Jays. The metrics and...

Bobby Blanco and Paul Mancano discuss the biggest storylines heading into spring training and review the 2019-20 offseason.

By the time that the media descends upon the Ed Smith Stadium complex for spring training, three new coaches on manager Brandon Hyde's staff will be familiar with every corner of it. The coaches' retreat that's folded into the annual January minicamp in Sarasota enabled Fredi González, Anthony Sanders and Darren Holmes to become acclimated with the spacious facility. No need to waste valuable time later. Drills will run more smoothly. This isn't the old Fort Lauderdale complex with its...

As spring training fast approaches, it's time to break down the state of the Nationals roster, position by position. The series continues today with the catching corps ... The Nationals knew they needed a major catching upgrade last winter, and they could've attempted to achieve that with one big acquisition. Instead, general manager Mike Rizzo decided to add two veterans and hope their combined production would get the job done at a fraction of the cost. How'd it work out? Not bad at all....

Will the Orioles offense be better in 2020? Full seasons from players including Anthony Santander and Austin Hays and others could help that. While the Orioles offense was better in the 2019 second half, it ranked mostly from 11th to 13th in the American League in various categories for the full season. Here is a look at some of them with Major League Baseball average and where the Orioles ranked in the American League: Runs per game: MLB average was 4.83, O's at 4.50 (11th in AL). Batting...

Will reliever Travis Lakins break camp with the Orioles in late March, be optioned to the minors, be designated for assignment, clear waivers and stay in the organization or disappear? Those are the choices. How you rank them in order is entirely up to you. Lakins is on the 40-man roster after the Orioles claimed him off waivers Friday from the Cubs and designated utility player Stevie Wilkerson for assignment. He can be viewed now as bullpen depth and a pitcher with a shot at making the club...

As spring training fast approaches, it's time to break down the state of the Nationals roster, position by position. The series continues today with the bullpen ... We know the Nationals bullpen was terrible last season. That's not news to anyone. How bad was it, though? And, more importantly, why was it so bad? The stat most often cited throughout the ordeal that was the 2019 regular season was the Nats' bullpen ERA: 5.66. That was worst in the majors, and worst by any major league bullpen...

At No. 9 on the Baseball America top 10 Nationals prospects list is 20-year-old shortstop Yasel Antuna. Antuna is from Peravia, D.R., and is a switch-hitter who battled injuries in 2019, which held him to only three games for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals. In 2018, Antuna played in 87 games for Single-A Hagerstown. The infielder slashed .220/.293/.331 with 14 doubles, two triples, six homers, eight stolen bases and 27 RBIs. Baseball America Nationals correspondent Lacy Lusk says...