A team that posted the worst record in club history is bound to be subjected to the New Year's Eve ball-dropping joke that I repeat every winter. I'll be above it today. 'Tis the season for clichéd resolution articles and I'm not above them. For example: Jonathan Villar: Don't make the first or last out trying to steal third base. Villar: Don't be passive on the bases. You can figure out how to balance the two. Trey Mancini: Get your Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) closer to the minus-1...

More than any other fans I can think of, those of us who pull for the Orioles are more than happy to see 2018 in the rear-view mirror. With new leadership in the front office and in the dugout, fans aren't sure what 2019 will bring, but it sure ought to be interesting. Those new guys calling the shots around here have made it abundantly clear that they're looking ahead, searching for new blood and new ways (to the Orioles, at least) of doing things. But they have also given a firm nod to the...

How are those resolutions coming? Already, huh? Well, there's always next year ... As we try to remember to put the correct year on the checks we write, we start to see some light at the end of the baseball tunnel. Spring training's about a month and a half away now, and while we still don't know whether Bryce Harper will be back, we do know that Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has been busy assembling a roster that should give the club a chance to retake the National League East...

When the Orioles reach the point of their winter that they consider pursuing a free agent or two or three, should starting pitching be on the list? If you lock in Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner and Dylan Bundy to head up a rotation of five, maybe those final two spots should be left for young pitchers. There is a long list of potential candidates for those two spots to include David Hess, John Means, Luis Ortiz, Yefry Ramirez, Josh Rogers, Dillon Tate and Jimmy Yacabonis. That is just a partial list...

As we count down the final days of 2018, we're counting down the most significant stories of the year for the Nationals. Some are positive. Some are negative. All helped define this baseball season in Washington. Five top stories made the final cut, and we've revealed one per day, concluding now with ... No. 1: Harper's walk year It had been looming since ... well, to be honest, since the day the Nationals drafted Bryce Harper and everybody started wondering what would happen once he became...

As we count down the final days of 2018, we're counting down the most significant stories of the year for the Nationals. Some are positive. Some are negative. All helped define this baseball season in Washington. Five top stories made the final cut, and we'll reveal one per day, continuing with ... No. 2: The late-summer roster teardown Daniel Murphy, Matt Adams, Gio Gonzalez, Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler all opened the season as major pieces of the Nationals roster. And there was little...

The Minnesota Twins have added two former Orioles this month. And the addition of one could really help the other. When Nelson Cruz led the majors with 40 homers and helped the Orioles to the 2014 American League East title and a berth in the AL Championship Series, he was a huge positive force in that clubhouse. He was particularly huge for young infielders Jonathan Schoop and Manny Machado. Now Schoop and Cruz will be teammates again in Minnesota. The Twins signed Schoop to a one-year deal...

Unlike other teams in the major leagues, the Nationals did a bulk of their heavy offseason lifting before the Winter Meetings convened in Las Vegas. They bolstered the bullpen with the additions of right-handers Kyle Barraclough and Trevor Rosenthal. They remade their catching corps, signing free agent Kurt Suzuki for another tour of duty and trading for Yan Gomes. And they spent big on starter Patrick Corbin, giving the left-hander a six-year, $140 million contract that represents the largest...

Throughout the offseason, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has alternately professed satisfaction with the tandem of Wilmer Difo and Howie Kendrick, who could share second base in 2019, and been in regular contact with the agents for a slew of free agents capable of taking over at the keystone. Through this complicated dance, I've wavered on whether second base is best turned over to someone who has played the position on a regular basis in recent seasons or whether the Difo/Kendrick duo...

Right-hander Wil Crowe is hoping to put it all together in 2019 after slowing down a bit at the end of 2018. The 6-foot-2, 240-lb. starter went 11-0 to begin the season with high Single-A Potomac, but then went 0-5 after being elevated to Double-A Harrisburg. Baseball America believes Crowe still has a lot of upside and lists him as its No. 5 prospect in the Nats top 10. National writer Carlos Collazo says Crowe does not have overpowering stuff, but does have an intricate repertoire that makes...