Beyond the outside hires that have been made public via Twitter, the Orioles also are shuffling minor league personnel to fill vacancies at multiple levels of their farm system. The Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk has announced the promotion of manager Gary Kendall, 55, from Double-A Bowie. Kendall will replace Ron Johnson. Buck Britton, 32, is moving up from low Single-A Delmarva to Bowie as Kendall's replacement, according to sources. An announcement from the Orioles is pending on the...

The Orioles' search for a veteran catcher to toss into the spring training competition led them to Jesús Sucre, who has agreed to terms on a minor league deal. The announcement came this afternoon. Sucre's contract includes an invitation to major league camp and guarantees $850,000 if he makes the club. USA Today reported that the deal also includes a March 22 opt-out date. The 40-man roster still holds only two catchers - Austin Wynns and Chance Sisco, who were rookies in 2018. Non-roster...

Michael A. Taylor lost his arbitration case against the Nationals, with a panel of three independent judges ruling the outfielder will earn $3.25 million this season instead of the $3.5 million he was seeking, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. Taylor and the Nationals presented their cases before the panel Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla., the first of 13 arbitration hearings between major league clubs and players currently scheduled to take place over the next two weeks. Kyle...

Time remains in the offseason to break down the top storylines of spring training, the most anticipated interviews, the most intense competitions, the best and worst of everything. The dissections will cut deep. The repetition that usually follows will numb the mind. The locker belonging to pitcher Branden Kline is going to attract media despite the interviews he gave last weekend at FanFest and Thursday night on 105.7 The Fan's "Hot Stove Show." He's talked about his injuries, the...

A couple of pitchers who came over in late-season trades could be difference-makers again this year in the Nats system. Both spent time with high Single-A Potomac. Right-hander Jacob Condra-Bogan, 24, finished the season on a surge, allowing only two earned runs his final 10 appearances. He joined Potomac in late July, coming over from Wilmington in the trade that sent Brian Goodwin to the Royals. Condra-Bogan can throw 99 mph and is also pursuing a master's degree in preparation for the time...

Here we are on the first day of February, various players around baseball are already starting to make their way to Florida and Arizona to get a jump start on spring training, and the news involving Bryce Harper isn't that he has signed with anyone but that he's meeting in Las Vegas with officials from the Padres. Yes, it's been an awfully strange winter. And the Harper Free Agent Extravaganza hasn't followed a script anyone saw coming. With the market for the star outfielder apparently...

When spring training begins and catcher Austin Wynns tries to show the new coaching staff what he can do, we know passion will not be in short supply. He's a high-energy, intense player who is clearly very invested in the pitcher-catcher combo and working together with his hurler to get a good result. Wynns made his major league debut last June 5 at the New York Mets and singled in his first at-bat. The club's 10th-round pick in 2013 got into 42 games with the Orioles and hit .255/.287/.382...

Though the Orioles coaching staff lacks anyone with managerial experience in the majors, resumes include handling the same job and responsibilities in the minors. One example is first base coach Arnie Beyeler, who spent the past three seasons guiding Triple-A New Orleans in the Marlins system. He also managed in the Red Sox system and led Triple-A Pawtucket to the Governors' Cup championship in 2012 before his promotion to the major league staff Beyeler knows rebuilds. He understands the...

In a spring training that's going to spew its share of storylines and curiosities for the media, one of the major ones involves the Rule 5 picks and how many the Orioles are willing to stash on the 25-man roster. They kept two for the bullpen last year in Pedro Araujo and Nestor Cortes Jr., the latter designated for assignment in April and returned to the Yankees organization after clearing waivers. Outfielder Anthony Santander's status carried over from 2017, forcing the Orioles to keep him...

A pair of veterans who enjoyed some success with the Nationals found new homes Wednesday when Greg Holland reportedly agreed to a deal with the Diamondbacks and Mark Reynolds reportedly signed with the Rockies. Holland's contract, first reported by The Athletic, guarantees the reliever $3.25 million with an additional $3.5 million possible in incentives. It's a massive drop in salary for Holland, who despite waiting until March 31 to sign with St. Louis last spring still earned a guaranteed...