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...

LAS VEGAS - Echoing what general manager Mike Rizzo has been saying all week, and not what managing principal owner Mark Lerner said last week, agent Scott Boras today insisted the Nationals are not out of the running to re-sign free agent Bryce Harper. "I think when they say the door's open, I would certainly pay attention to what they say," Boras said during the early portion of what turned in a more than hour-long scrum with a throng of reporters today at the Winter Meetings. Despite a...

LAS VEGAS - The lack of a buzz surrounding the Orioles at baseball's Winter Meetings, the heavy silence that's pervasive beyond the managerial chatter, has been deafening. The only interesting note so far today was agent Scott Boras revealing during his annual media scrum that he met with team officials yesterday, but not to pitch a client. Rather, to assist in getting more production out of one. Boras said he talked to the Orioles last night regarding first baseman Chris Davis, who has four...

LAS VEGAS - Ryan Meisinger was driving from his Richmond, Va., home to Baltimore on Monday morning when he received a phone call from an Orioles official. He had no idea that it would change the direction of his trip and his life. Tripp Norton, the club's director of baseball operations, alerted Meisinger that he had been placed on waivers, with the Orioles hoping to sneak him through and keep him in the organization, but the Cardinals put in a claim. "Then, probably two minutes later after...

LAS VEGAS - The last catcher drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft was Joe Mauer, taken by the Minnesota Twins in 2001. There could be another catcher taken 1/1 in June and the Orioles hold that pick. Earlier, it seemed that many analysts favored Texas high school shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. for that No. 1 pick. Now the sentiment seems to have strongly moved toward Oregon State's switch-hitting catcher, Adley Rutschman. And top draft analysts are reaching a consensus...

LAS VEGAS - If Davey Martinez was going to create a motto for the 2019 Nationals, it would be rather simple while also driving home the main point he wants to convey to his players. "Just one more," the manager said Tuesday during his media session at the Winter Meetings. "One more. One more of everything. One more strikeout. One more stolen base. One more walk. Things like that. If we can do that consistently, we're going to win a lot of ballgames." Martinez has already mentioned on...

LAS VEGAS - In sizing up the hire of new Orioles general manager Mike Elias, the point has been made that he brings a background of both scouting and analytics to the team. And while analytics will be huge moving forward for the Orioles, Elias knows about the old-fashioned eye test. He used to be the one doing the looking. He began what has been so far a 12-year baseball career in 2007 as an amateur scout for the St. Louis Cardinals. Elias spent five seasons with Jeff Luhnow in St. Louis. The...