No matter what moves they make or don't make this winter, the Nationals are going to enter the 2018 season as the overwhelming favorite to win the National League East again. It's hard to imagine, quite frankly, a scenario in which that wouldn't be the case. That doesn't mean the Nats are guaranteed to win their third consecutive division title and fifth in seven years. Just ask the 2013 and 2015 clubs about the perils of assuming anything. But on paper, the Nationals are once again going...

With Hall of Fame ballots made public on Monday, we can renew the debate over selecting players known to have used performance-enhancing drugs or who fall in the category of suspicion. The confessors and the denials after names appeared in the Mitchell Report. Pros who also are cons. (Did the last one work? Because I really wanted to make it happen.) Former second baseman Joe Morgan, a prominent member of the famed "Big Red Machine" in Cincinnati, sent out an email yesterday via the Hall of...

Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan has written a letter to baseball writers, urging them not to vote for players that have been tied to performance-enhancing drugs. Morgan didn't mention players by name, but pitcher Roger Clemens (54.1 percent of the vote last year) and outfielder Barry Bonds (53.8 percent) have been moving up in vote percentage each year, getting closer to the 75 percent needed to be enshrined. When Clemens and Bonds were first on the ballot in 2013, they were at 37...

The Orioles used one of their favorite methods to address their need for pitching depth. Executive vice president Dan Duquette has acquired minor league right-hander Konner Wade from the Rockies for international signing bonus slot money, according to an industry source. I'm told that the trade was consummated last night, but neither team has announced it. Wade, who turns 26 next month, is a former seventh-round pick in 2013 out of the University of Arizona. He's 29-35 with a 4.05 ERA and...

The holiday season has arrived, so that means turkey, wine and cheese, shopping, bright lights and a month of Hall of Fame voting discussions. Members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America started receiving their ballots in the mail to consider the 2018 class for induction into Cooperstown. There are 19 newcomers among the 33 players on the ballot, including Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Johnny Damon and Omar Vizquel. There are seven candidates that have at least 50 percent of the vote...

Happy Thanksgiving, Birdland! From our MASN family to yours, we hope you have a happy and joyful holiday with family and friends. Thanks for watching along and following us on social all year long! Since we know you're going through baseball withdrawal during this football-heavy time of year, we're giving you a few dramatic O's moments to help get you through the next week. Earlier this season, the Orioles and Tigers competed in a bizarre back-and-forth marathon at Comerica Park with...

Last year's Hall of Fame ballot included the first inductee who played part of his career for the Nationals. This year's ballot includes the guy who threw the first pitch in Nats history and became a longstanding fan favorite. Livan Hernandez is one of 19 players listed on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this winter, a ballot that also includes 14 returning candidates who each received at least 5 percent of the vote last year. Hernandez, owner of a career 178-177 record and 4.44...

The Orioles set their 40-man roster yesterday with about two hours to spare before the deadline imposed by Major League Baseball. Seven spots remain open as the Orioles navigate through the offseason and attempt to add pitching and at least one left-handed bat. They also could make a pick in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 14. Only teams with room on the 40-man are eligible to participate. Serious consideration was given to left-hander Luis Gonzalez and infielder Steve Wilkerson, but they weren't...

When the Orioles made talented, young right-hander Hunter Harvey the 22nd pick in the First-Year Player Draft in 2013, it was inevitable that he would make the 40-man roster someday. But Harvey had no idea it would come after he had dealt with several injuries and one major surgery. Harvey once again has the look of a top 100 pitching prospect and now he is one of 33 on the Orioles' 40-man roster. He joined pitcher David Hess and catcher Austin Wynns as 40-man additions yesterday. Now that...

The Orioles have filled three of the 10 open spots on their 40-man roster. Pitchers Hunter Harvey and David Hess and catcher Austin Wynns were added today and no longer are eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft that's held on the final day of the Winter Meetings on Dec. 14 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. No other players from inside the organization can be placed on the roster before the Rule 5 draft. Harvey, 22, was the 22nd-overall pick in the 2013 draft whose career was slowed by a myriad of...