Orioles shortstop Tim Beckham is making the rounds. The Orioles' annual holiday party for kids at Dave & Buster's at Arundel Mills Mall. A visit to the Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital. A phone interview on the "Orioles Hot Stove Show" on 105.7 The Fan. A Skype interview yesterday morning on "Hot Stove" on MLB Network. Beckham adjusted his cap yesterday, which he turned backward, lowered his head momentarily and chose his words carefully when asked about Manny Machado's desire to...

Some players trying to carve out a spot on a 25-man roster get frustrated by riding the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors, their role changing on a whim because of a parent club's immediate needs. Nationals right-hander A.J. Cole has used his frequent trips between Syracuse, N.Y., and Washington, D.C., as a motivational tool. "It always gives you little extra fight in there because you are going back and forth between Triple-A and the big leagues," Cole said at Nationals Winterfest....

It will be exciting to see what shortstop Trea Turner can accomplish after a season that was interrupted by injury. Turner was limited to 98 games after missing all of July and most of August, yet still hit .284 and stole 46 bases. One big question for Turner: How will he handle the regime change at manager? Turner valued his time with the experienced Dusty Baker. "Unfortunate," Turner said of Baker's dismissal over the weekend at Nationals Winterfest. "I really enjoyed Dusty as a manager...

Remember when it seemed like the Orioles lineup mostly was set and the offseason was all about finding starting pitchers, a left-handed bat and veteran catcher to provide insurance for Chance Sisco? The past week has brought such dramatic change that it now appears to be one of the most unsettled winters in recent memory. The Orioles could trade at least one of their star players, which isn't a usual occurrence in Baltimore. They could take a Platinum Glove winner and move him to another...

Matt Wieters would be the first to admit that his 2017 offensive numbers were not close to where he wanted them to be. Unfortunately, his first season outside of the American League was his worst with the bat in his nine big league seasons. Wieters hit .225 in 2017, a year after hitting .243 with the Orioles. In April, he started off hot, hitting .301. Steadily, though, he saw his average drop each month as the season progressed: .247, .202, .230, .213, .118. Wieters had seven homers before the...

Fired by the Cardinals at the end of the regular season, Derek Lilliquist had to wonder if it would take a while to find another pitching coach job as good as the one he held the previous six seasons. That kind of job opening, for a perennial postseason contender, doesn't come around all that often. And then one did. When the Nationals came calling last month, needing a new pitching coach after Dusty Baker's departure led to Mike Maddux leaving (for St. Louis, of all places), Lilliquist...

Stephen Strasburg quieted his critics last season, his seven shutout innings in the Nationals' Game 4 of the National League Division Series victory capping a workmanlike season that saw the right-hander take the ball from opening day until final outing, the dominant start-to-finish season that had eluded him. Yes, there were some speed bumps along the way, just to test his mettle. His spot in the rotation changed when staff ace Max Scherzer's start of the season was delayed by a fractured...

As much as he wanted to bring back Brandon Kintzler and keep the back end of his bullpen intact for the 2018 season, Mike Rizzo admittedly thought the Nationals would be at a disadvantage in negotiations. Kintzler, who recorded 29 saves this season (28 while with the Twins), figured to get offers to close somewhere else. And sure enough, he did. Only to decide to re-sign with the Nationals after all. "I think there were those offers to go pitch the ninth inning exclusively, to have more save...

It is the moment every playoff team never wants to have happen. The smack of handshakes, bear hugs and pats on the back in any other situation would be a welcome sight, but the sounds of these gestures after a Game 5 loss are eerily hard to take. Harder to stomach than a loss in the playoffs might be the feeling of not being called on to contribute when you were set to start a pivotal season-saving game, then ended up not being used at all. Such was the plight of right-hander Tanner Roark as he...

The Nationals' first major league signing of the offseason still isn't official because Brandon Kintzler still needs to pass his physical. But that didn't stop those who were at Nats Winterfest on Saturday from raving about the re-signing of the veteran reliever, which preserves the three-man unit that so effectively locked down games late this season. "That was awesome to see," said Sean Doolittle, who along with Ryan Madson joined Kintzler to form the so-called "Law Firm" bullpen over...