The Winter Meetings are now completed, which means the offseason is now half completed. Yep, it's been 10 weeks since the Nationals' season ended in Colorado, and it's 10 weeks until pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach. So this feels like a good opportunity to take a broad look at the state of the roster, figure out what the Nats have accomplished so far and what they still need to accomplish before they assemble in Florida. Here's where things currently stand ... * The rotation...

No longer in Las Vegas for baseball's Winter Meetings, my body is in the process of adjusting to the time change and the lack of slot machines and second-hand smoke. Anyone know where I can score a $40 sandwich? In the span of a couple days, the Orioles indicated that Jonathan Villar was their starting shortstop and then grabbed two shortstops in the Rule 5 draft, selecting Richie Martin with the first overall pick and trading for Drew Jackson. I'm still inclined to believe that Villar will...

Let's run down the recently released Top 10 Nationals prospects according to Baseball America, counting down from No. 10 to No. 1, as the end of the year approaches. We begin with the No. 10 Nats prospect: right-hander Jake Irvin. Irvin, 21, was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Oklahoma. He is 6-foot-6, 225 lbs., and got to pitch in 11 games, starting seven, for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals and the short-season Single-A Auburn...

He might be overlooked sometimes in the Orioles bullpen. He can't touch 100 mph like Tanner Scott. He doesn't get save chances. He doesn't have a career 1.97 ERA like lefty Richard Bleier. But right-hander Miguel Castro has an important multi-inning role, and last year he ranked fourth among all major league relievers, throwing 83 1/3 innings. In 19 of his 62 outings, he gave the Orioles at least two innings. He went 2-7 with a 3.96 ERA and was throwing well late in the year, with a 1.84 ERA...

Orioles outfield prospect Ryan McKenna believes his breakout 2018 season came about as a result of taking care of the little things. He put in the work in the cage, listened to his coaches, and worked on striking out less and using his speed more with grounders and fewer fly balls. He also dealt with some adversity and overcame it. After batting .377/.467/.556 in 67 games for Single-A Frederick, the 21-year-old McKenna lost well over 100 points on his average when he moved to Double-A Bowie....

After a frustrating year where he missed many games and ended it undergoing ankle surgery, Orioles outfield prospect Austin Hays is heading into 2019 with a positive outlook and a right ankle that is returning to full health. Hays had surgery Sept. 13 to repair cartilage damage that led to several other issues with that ankle during the season. But after a two- to three-month recovery, he should be fine for spring training, where he can make a run at a 2019 roster spot. The injury limited Hays...

It's that time again: time for me to ask you some questions and get your responses. Answer one question or all 10. Provide short answers or long. Respond to answers by other readers. It's all welcome. It's all good. So on to the questions. 1. Will the Orioles trade Alex Cobb and/or Andrew Cashner this winter? 2. Who will be the 2019 opening day starter? 3. New GM Mike Elias takes over a 115-loss team. How soon can he have the Orioles playing at least .500 baseball? 4. Over the next five...

We covered a lot of topics and got the opinions and thoughts of a few national reporters and analysts over four days of the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. Today, we'll take a look back at some of the most interesting and pertinent quotes of the week. ESPN's Keith Law provided a take on new GM Mike Elias and Sig Mejdal: "I think this is exactly what they needed. The fact that these guys have worked together for a while now and had so much success in Houston points to this being a great hire. I...

LAS VEGAS - As expected, the Orioles were not very active in player acquisitions at the Winter Meetings, but the process of hiring a new manager moved near completion and the business of rebuilding the team is fully underway for new general manager Mike Elias. It was a chance for beat reporters to get a few opportunities to meet with the new GM and get his thoughts on a variety of topics over a few days in Las Vegas. At some point in the next few days the Orioles should make official the hiring...

LAS VEGAS - The Orioles are a bit short on middle infielders and they added two today via the Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings. They selected Oakland shortstop Richie Martin with the No. 1 pick in the draft. After the draft, it was announced they had acquired infielder Drew Jackson, who been selected by Philadelphia from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Orioles sent international bonus money to the Phillies for Jackson. In the Triple-A phase of the draft, the Orioles selected right-handed...