DUNEDIN, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde still doesn't yet know or is not ready to announce anything for his starting pitching rotation beyond Alex Cobb as opening day starter and that the next two will be Andrew Cashner and Dylan Bundy in some order. But asked today again if the Orioles would consider the use of an opener, Hyde didn't say yes or no, just that it is an option and remains on the table at this point. "We are talking about a lot of different things," Hyde said before...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - With the injury to outfielder Michael A. Taylor, the Nationals will have to make some adjustments to the lineup with spring training winding down. Manager Davey Martinez opted to go with Wilmer Difo in center field for today's game against the Cardinals. Difo has played in 248 games at infield positions for the Nats over the past four seasons, but only seven games in the outfield. That doesn't faze Martinez, who has tremendous confidence in Difo's athletic ability to...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Players who didn't make the trip to Dunedin today might have to move their workouts indoors at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. The rain that's been falling all morning picked up in intensity, shifting into downpour territory around 9 a.m. It's finally let up, but the fields are soaked. Reliever Evan Phillips boarded the bus and is scheduled to pitch against the Blue Jays while trying to extend a scoreless streak that's reached seven innings over his six appearances. He's...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It's a gray morning here in South Florida, and there appears to be rain in the forecast this afternoon. No idea yet if it will impact today's Nationals exhibition game against the Cardinals, but it is something to keep an eye on. Max Scherzer would certainly like to make his start as scheduled, his penultimate start of the spring before he takes the mound for opening day. Scherzer has had a few ragged starts this month and comes in having allowed nine runs and 14 hits...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Alex Cobb, named the Orioles opening day starter, is on the mound for today's 1:07 p.m. game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin. Cobb has made two starts this spring, allowing four runs in two-thirds of an inning and one run in three innings. Mark Trumbo is the designated hitter, his third appearance in the lineup. He's 0-for-4. Renato Núñez is back in the lineup at third base after fouling a ball of his left shin during Thursday's game. Stevie Wilkerson is starting at...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - During these dog days of spring training, when the bus rides feel longer than usual and opening day is still just too far away to get excited about, some extra motivation is sometimes needed. So Davey Martinez made a promise to the young players who made the long trip to Fort Myers on Thursday: score 10 or more runs, and everybody would get to eat Popeyes on the ride home. They proceeded to defeat the Twins 10-4, so the bus smelled like chicken and biscuits for the next 2...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Struggling in spring training is a new development for Orioles right-handed reliever Mychal Givens. This spring, over four outings, he's allowed nine hits, nine runs and three homers in just 2 2/3 innings. In four spring trainings combined between 2015 and 2018, he gave up four earned runs over 26 innings. Now he's allowed nine earned runs. When Givens pitched in a simulated game yesterday in Sarasota - and not against Minnesota as the schedule originally listed - it was not...

Baseball in 2020 will be finally getting rid of the most confusing rule in the game: the waiver rule that allows teams to make trades - even after the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. What good is a July 31 trade deadline if teams can use a convoluted rule to make trades anyway? In 2019, the old system will stay in place. Teams can make any trades they see fit before the July 31 trade deadline. This season will be the final August that a team can trade a player after he clears waivers. It's...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - This morning's MRI of Michael A. Taylor's left leg revealed both a sprained knee and hip, and the Nationals outfielder is going to miss a "significant" amount of time while recovering, according to manager Davey Martinez. "It stinks," Martinez said following the Nats' 11-3 exhibition victory over the Mets. "It's a little bit more than we were hoping for. But he's going to rehab, and as soon as we get him back, we get him back." Taylor injured himself making a...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Orioles right-hander David Hess began his outing today with a spring ERA of 3.48, a batting average against of .237 and with a WHIP of 1.06 through four spring games. But he leaves with an ERA of 9.00 as Minnesota beat the Orioles 12-9 at Hammond Stadium. The Orioles have lost five of six, two in the last two days to the Twins, and are 10-10-2. Minnesota improved to 12-9-2. Hess elevated some pitches and paid for it, allowing four homers among nine hits and nine runs over 2...