WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - As position players across baseball report for spring training and other teams continue to seek upgrades via the large pool of still unsigned free agents, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo suggested he's perfectly content going into the season with the group he already has in place. "I really like the roster that we constructed so far," Rizzo said Sunday evening during a local gathering of GMs and managers from most clubs that train in Florida. "I think we filled...

If the goal was to create competition for playing time and jobs, the Orioles have more than done that in their infield, especially up the middle. Over the weekend, the club signed 32-year-old Alcides Escobar to a minor league deal. He's an 11-year major league veteran who played in the 2015 All-Star Game and also won a Gold Glove that year with Kansas City. Escobar was exclusively a shortstop in his big league career until adding to that last season with the Royals. He made 104 starts at...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Rob Manfred doesn't know when you'll see Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and the other still unsigned free agents report for spring training, but he expects it to happen soon. Major League Baseball's commissioner does know when you'll see a pitch clock ticking down during games: Next weekend, when the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues open play. During a 26-minute Q&A with reporters here this evening, Manfred revealed the league's intention to start using a 20-second...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles have reached another spring mile marker today with the first full-squad workout. Every player is in camp except for infielder Alcides Escobar, who's expected to report later today, catcher Jesús Sucre and pitcher Gregory Infante - the latter two stuck in Venezuela for visa and health reasons. "(Today) definitely does step it up a notch. There's no doubt," said manager Brandon Hyde. "There are going to be balls flying all over the place. We're going to have...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - He's not about to start playing nine innings on Feb. 23 or make the five-hour round trip for a road game in Lake Buena Vista, but Ryan Zimmerman will see more game action this spring. Really, he has little choice but to make a change from his controversial preparation plan last spring, when he stayed almost exclusively on minor league fields and took only two at-bats in major league games, then proceeded to come out of the gates slow and suffer an oblique strain that...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles aren't suffering from a shortage of infielders in camp. Major league and minor league deals. Guys come off the 40-man roster, clear waivers and receive invites. Bringing in Alcides Escobar raises the infield total to 14 and most of them can man the middle. No one has been anointed as the starter at third base, shortstop or second base. "I think it keeps the competition going in camp," said manager Brandon Hyde. "I'm excited about the mix of middle infielders we...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Outfielder Eric Young Jr. and infielders Hanser Alberto and Steve Wilkerson reported to Orioles camp this morning, leaving infielders Jonathan Villar and Alcides Escobar as the only position players who haven't arrived. Escobar signed a minor league deal yesterday and might not get here until Monday's first full-squad workout. Young, who's been assigned No. 28, also received a minor league contract with a spring invite. He's a career .245/.312/.332 hitter in 10 major league...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Henderson Álvarez threw a no-hitter in the big leagues in 2013. He was a National League All-Star in 2014. He started on opening day for the Marlins in 2015. And he spent the 2018 season pitching for the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League. It's not exactly a conventional career path, and it wasn't Álvarez's preference. But given his lack of options last year, he was willing to swallow his pride a bit and head south of the border in an attempt to...

It is a topic that has come up a few times over the winter, and it's a question I've been asked a few times in the last week or so: What will make for a successful season for the Orioles? As always, I'm going to seek your input on this one as well. Well, since the won-loss record is expected to be poor again, and since most fans seem accepting of that as the rebuild truly begins, what are we looking for here? For one, the building of what Mike Elias has called the "elite talent pipeline."...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Nationals manager Davey Martinez intends to split playing time among his two new catchers, and those two new catchers are perfectly fine with that plan. Though Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki each have been regulars for much of their respective careers, and though each is coming off a strong 2018 season, each understands the 2019 Nationals may be better off with roughly equal playing time between them. "If we make that a deal, this team is not going to go forward," Gomes...