With such a large gathering in our blog community, it's impossible to get everyone in agreement on most topics. And it's a good thing because the varying opinions lead to some terrific debates. Especially the civil ones. Certain players on the free agent market have their supporters and detractors. The same goes for manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette. Some fans endorse a full rebuild going into the 2018 season, conceding that the club won't re-sign Manny...

In reviewing a week's worth of stories and comments here over the past several days, we had some interesting discussions. Today, we will take a look back at three of them. On Tuesday, we looked at the cases for and against trading Orioles closer Zach Britton. The lefty is projected to earn a salary of $12.2 million through arbitration this coming season. He has just one season left of team control before he hits free agency. The Orioles could deal the lefty, put some salary savings toward...

The Nationals took some grief earlier this fall for firing an experienced manager like Dusty Baker and handing over a 97-win team challenged to win a World Series right now to a first-time skipper like Dave Martinez. Who knew they'd actually end up hiring one of the most experienced guys of the six who filled major league managerial openings this fall? The Yankees' surprise hire of Aaron Boone over the weekend was the final piece to the puzzle, yet another inexperienced managerial hire for a...

As long as we're touching on various camp competitions that await the Orioles after they begin full-squad workouts and Grapefruit League games, we should consider what's happening at shortstop. It could be about the players or the people within the organization who have their preferences. The job seemed to belong to Tim Beckham without dispute following the July 31 trade that brought him over from Tampa Bay. And especially after he batted .394/.417/.646 in August with 10 doubles, two triples,...

The Nationals tendered contracts to Anthony Rendon, Tanner Roark, and Michael A. Taylor today, procedural moves that needed to be completed before an 8 p.m. deadline that presented many other clubs with far more pressing decisions. In previous years, the Nats have faced some tough choices at this deadline, opting to non-tender players like Ben Revere, Craig Stammen, John Lannan and Jesus Flores whose performance didn't match the salaries they would have been guaranteed to make via the...

Now that J.J. Hardy is no longer on the team, which player on the Orioles would be the best defensive shortstop? The answer to that is almost certainly Manny Machado. But would the Orioles move a player who has proven to be an elite defender at third base over to short? There has been some discussion among national reporters recently on the topic and it was discussed during a segment Friday morning on MLB Network's "Hot Stove." We have yet to hear the thoughts on this from either manager...

The Orioles' spring training camp will be littered with competitions in a few months. Not the filthy, gulls circling variety. A much smaller scale, but still littered Jobs won't be handed to catcher Chance Sisco and outfielder Austin Hays, two of the top position prospects in the organization. They will be given the opportunity to head north for the March 29 opener against the Twins at Camden Yards, but the rest is up to them - and whatever other moves are made by executive vice president Dan...

The Orioles have tendered contracts to every player currently on their 40-man roster, taking the course of action deemed the most obvious. They were parked in a drama-free zone when it came to their seven arbitration-eligibles. Third baseman Manny Machado, second baseman Jonathan Schoop, starter Kevin Gausman, relievers Zach Britton and Brad Brach, shortstop Tim Beckham and catcher Caleb Joseph were offered contracts prior to the 8 p.m. deadline. Machado, Britton and Brach are entering their...

The Orioles aren't done handing out minor league deals. And they're certainly not done addressing the pitching depth in their system. Another wave of signings were announced today with right-handers Christian Binford, Perci Garner and Asher Wojciechowski, and left-handers Jason Gurka and Luis Lugo. The Garner news broke late last night, with confirmation coming via the pitcher and his agency. Gurka, 29, is back with the organization that drafted him in the 15th round in 2008 from Angelina...

The hot stove has barely produced a flicker so far, and that's in no small part due to the long, slow dance that eventually will result in transactions involving two big-name guys: Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani. Both are kind of holding up the market right now, but there are signs both are moving toward making decisions about where they want to play in 2018. Ohtani, who officially was posted by the Nippon-Ham Fighters on Friday, will sign with a major league organization by December 22....