One of the more popular offseason topics related to the Orioles is the implementation of analytics on a team that didn't exactly embrace them in the past. They weren't ignored, but getting everyone on the same page regarding their importance and how to use them was an impossible task. The levels of commitment to them resembled a staircase. Mark Trumbo is the latest Oriole to offer his approval of the plan being put in place by executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and...

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a one-year contract with second baseman Brian Dozier and designated infielder Matt Reynolds for assignment on Sunday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Dozier, 31, joins the Nationals after ranking among Major League second baseman in walks (3rd, 70), home runs (T6th, 21), RBI (T6th, 72), extra-base hits (7th, 53), runs scored (8th, 81) and doubles (T9th, 30) in 2018. He began his...

Will the Nationals really go to arbitration with Michael A. Taylor and Kyle Barraclough over a combined $525,000? For now, yes, but the chances of the club and the two players settling salary figures on their own before engaging in a hearing next month would seem to be pretty strong, given the lack of difference in their dueling offers. Cases that go to arbitration typically involve a sizeable disparity between sides, almost always at least $1 million. The Nationals, Taylor and Barraclough...

The Orioles' current catching situation shows Austin Wynns and Chance Sisco on the 40-man roster and recent addition Carlos Pérez and holdover Martin Cervenka as two of the top catchers on the farm. Andrew Susac was designated for assignment on Friday. That leaves the team pretty thin at the position right now, with not much big league experience on the roster. Can the Orioles get enough out of that group of four, or do they need to add a veteran catcher? Caleb Joseph was non-tendered by...

An exact date for the Orioles to announce their coaching staff doesn't exist. The closest you'll get is "fairly soon," or "shouldn't be too much longer." The process is playing out. Like everything else in a rebuild, patience is a requirement. No one from the 2018 staff is expected to stay in the organization. Third base coach Bobby Dickerson appeared to have a shot at one point, but it faded and he accepted a job as the Phillies' infield coach, the deal finalized late Thursday...

Brian Dozier has passed his physical, making his $9 million contract with the Nationals official, so the club formally announced it has signed the veteran second baseman in the latest move of a busy offseason. Dozier, a former All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner with the Twins, agreed to terms of the deal Thursday but still needed to pass a physical before it could be finalized. With that process now complete, the Nationals have themselves their new starting second baseman for the 2019...

The long, slow, often behind-the-scenes dance Bryce Harper has been playing all winter has to come to an end eventually, right? I mean, he's going to be playing for some team in 2019, and pitchers and catchers report for spring training in 4 1/2 weeks. Few are surprised the Harper saga has stretched into January, but most observers around the sport don't expect it to stretch much longer. Harper and agent Scott Boras have a pretty good sense of the market at this point, and this weekend...

If he made a list of goals for the 2019 season, avoiding any arbitration hearings would be well down the list for Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias. But it's nice anyway for the first-year GM to avoid hearings and he will accomplish that after reaching agreements with three arbitration-eligible players yesterday. The O's came to terms with pitchers Dylan Bundy and Mychal Givens and infielder Jonathan Villar. Barring trades or injuries, all three should play key...

The need for more infield depth led the Orioles earlier today to make another waiver claim. The Orioles have brought Hanser Alberto into the organization, with catcher Andrew Susac designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster. Alberto, 26, can play all four infield positions and is a career .309/.330/.438 hitter in 1,000 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He slashed .330/.346/.452 last summer in 101 games at Round Rock in the Rangers' system, and .322/.366/.392 in 43...

The Orioles started their minicamp this weekend in Sarasota, an adjusted version of it that won't be flooded with players and serves in large part to allow new hires to become more familiar with the complex. A handful of players already have been working out there, including pitcher Mike Wright Jr., catcher Chance Sisco and outfielder Austin Hays. Reliever Richard Bleier is joining them as he continues his throwing program following lat surgery in June. "A couple other guys come in and pop...