The Orioles haven't changed their stance that Manny Machado will represent them tonight at the All-Star Game. There's no way he's going to be traded before first pitch. However, it still seems likely that he's wearing another uniform by Friday's start to the season's second half. A source confirmed again today that Machado probably will be moved by the end of the week. I wrote yesterday that it was "very close," and now comes word via ESPN's Buster Olney that the Orioles have the...

The first half of the 2018 season for Bryce Harper was, to put it mildly, a grind. A batting average stuck in the .210s. Strikeouts on pitches he used to crush. A Nationals club that can't seem to get on a consistent roll. And the underlying question of where he's going to be playing in 2019 and beyond. Harper's mood has reflected all of that. The joy and charisma that so defined him when he burst onto the scene as a teenager had all but disappeared, replaced by a gruff, brooding and...

Despite not being able to play in the All-Star Game because he is on the disabled list with a toe injury, Nationals closer Sean Doolittle was certainly thrilled and honored to be selected as a member of the National League team. This week is the one-year anniversary of the trade that sent the closer from Oakland to the Nationals. So to be named to the NL squad meant a great deal to Doolittle. "A lot. I just got traded over here a year ago, maybe a year ago yesterday," Doolittle said. "Almost...

The Manny Machado trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers brought the Orioles a five-player return headlined by Double-A outfielder Yusniel Díaz. The rebuilding of the Orioles has begun. Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette made some comments last night that should prove very popular with the Orioles fan base. He laid out the plan that fans have been asking about often. Duquette said more trades are likely and that, "In conjunction with that, we're also going to be making significant...

Freddie Freeman joked Tuesday that the Nationals Park crowd would be on his side when he went against Nationals hero Bryce Harper in the Home Run Derby. But when Freeman stepped into the batter's box for the first-round match, reality set in: The boo birds came out at Nationals Park. That was normal, more like it. Freeman was happy with that. "That means I've done well here," Freeman said after losing 13-12. Done well against the Nationals is an understatement. In 125 career games against...

Before this season, Orioles right-handed pitching prospect Branden Kline had not pitched in a minor league game since early in the 2015 season. Now, after missing nearly three full years, he is back, pitching well, throwing with top velocity and moving closer to realizing his dream of pitching in the majors. The 26-year-old native of Frederick, Md., and a 2009 graduate of Thomas Johnson High School, Kline had Tommy John surgery in October 2015. He expected to return close to full health for the...

Manny Machado will be introduced at tonight's All-Star Game in D.C., maybe tip his cap to the crowd, and try not to think about the possibility that he's playing shortstop for the last time while representing the Orioles. They aren't moving him back to third base. They could be moving him to another team later this week, with the Phillies, Dodgers and Brewers deemed again yesterday to be the three finalists, according to a source. Machado may not make it to Friday. It's that close. Rumors...

WASHINGTON - Former Oriole Nelson Cruz is not getting older, he's getting better. OK, well, he actually is getting older, but at 38 he is an All-Star for the sixth time, and he's having another strong season. He's batting .267/.363/.538 in 81 games for Seattle with 22 homers and 55 RBIs. He hit 40 homers and drove in 108 in his one year as an Oriole, helping the team to 96 wins and an American League East division championship in 2014. That winter the Orioles offered him a three-year deal to...

Blake Treinen sat at a table in the club level at Nationals Park, his name emblazoned beneath the All-Star Game logo behind him, his smile wide as he spoke to familiar faces about his first career selection for the Midsummer Classic. Only 20 feet to Treinen's left sat Wilson Ramos, also smiling widely as he discussed his second All-Star appearance, though disappointed a recent hamstring strain will prevent him from playing but nonetheless thrilled to be here. One hour earlier, Felipe...

Nationals slugger Bryce Harper is the headliner on his home field tonight as the 2018 Home Run Derby gets underway at Nationals Park. Harper said he decided to participate in the Home Run Derby because it is in D.C. this time around. "I think just being able to do it in D.C., being able to do it in front of the fans, have fun and enjoy that," Harper said. "It's huge being able to run out there knowing you are in your own ball park," he added. "You feel right at home. Definitely weird...