LAS VEGAS - The Nationals came to town Sunday with a short list of roster needs after an aggressive run of moves earlier in the offseason. They leave town today without having filled any of those holes, but having created a brand new one. Wednesday evening's surprise trade of Tanner Roark to the Reds for minor league reliever Tanner Rainey wasn't what most would have predicted would be the club's lone transaction of the Winter Meetings. It left more than a few folks at the Mandalay Bay...

LAS VEGAS - The big screen television inside the suite of Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias was tuned again today to MLB Network. "I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any Orioles moves," he quipped. Always start with a joke. Play to the crowd. Elias didn't confirm that he made a decision on his manager and that Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde received an offer. "I feel very good about where we're at with it," he said. "A lot has happened in the last 24 hours...

LAS VEGAS - If new O's general manager Mike Elias can get Orioles minor league clubs to play as well as the minor league clubs of the Houston Astros system played in 2018, then fans of O's affiliates might be quite pleased. And the Orioles may be developing some talented young pitchers. Houston's Triple-A Fresno team finished in first place in 2018, going 82-57. The team ERA ranked sixth in the Pacific Coast League at 4.27 and Fresno pitchers led that league in strikeouts. Double-A Corpus...

LAS VEGAS - Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark was traded Wednesday to the Reds, a team that's trying to rebuild its rotation and recover from four consecutive seasons of at least 90 losses. The Reds have had nothing but pitching problems. Last year, their staff gave up 5.06 runs a game, highest in the National League. The staff finished 14th in ERA (4.63) in 2018 and were last in 2017 at 5.17. Last year, the Reds fired their manager, Bryan Price, a former pitching coach, after the first 18 games,...

LAS VEGAS - Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias didn't confirm today that he's chosen a manager. However, he talked about "a lot happening" over the past 24 hours and feeling "very good" about where he is in the process. He wants to get it done soon, but can't provide a specific timeframe. Elias referred to yesterday's reports on the job being offered to Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde as "premature and overzealous," and later as "inaccurate" based on how...

LAS VEGAS - If there's any player on the Nationals roster who needs to chill out and press the reset button, it's center fielder Michael A. Taylor, whose hopes of following up a breakout 2017 campaign were dashed last season when general ineffectiveness cost him a starting job and made him question how he was going about his daily work. So what's Taylor doing in the Dominican Winter League with Gigantes de Cibao, where he was a late addition to the roster and is hitting .143 (2-for-14) with...

The Washington Nationals acquired right-handed pitcher Tanner Rainey from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for right-handed pitcher Tanner Roark on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Rainey, 25, went 7-2 with three saves and a 2.65 ERA in 44 games out of the bullpen for Triple-A Louisville in 2018. He struck out 65 batters, issued 35 walks and posted a .148 opponent batting average en route to being named an International...

LAS VEGAS - Asked Tuesday about the possibility of trading Tanner Roark, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo suggested such a move would only happen if the Nationals had already acquired another pitcher to fill that spot in a rotation top-heavy with talent but lacking in quality depth. This afternoon, Rizzo traded Roark to the Reds for a minor league reliever, leaving his rotation - for the moment - short a proven No. 4 starter. "Surprised," Roark said during a hastily arranged conference...

LAS VEGAS - MLB Network host Brian Kenny was a fan of the Houston Astros front office at a time when they were losing 106 games in 2011, 107 in 2012 and 111 in 2013. He saw the data-driven approach they were taking with general manager Jeff Luhnow - and also with Mike Elias and Sig Mejdal. Luhnow was hired after that 2011 season and a teardown that led to a successful rebuild was beginning. The Astros' success culminated with a World Series title in 2017. Kenny joined me today for an interview...

LAS VEGAS - General manager Mike Rizzo said Wednesday that the Nationals are doing their "due diligence" on Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who could be the first player to benefit from new posting rules agreed upon by Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. "We've monitored him, we've scouted him," Rizzo said during his afternoon briefing with reporters during the Winter Meetings at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. "We've done our due diligence on him and he's...