FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Orioles aren't expected to announce their latest roster cuts until later tonight or in the morning. They'll send out a couple of pitchers. The pitching this afternoon was spotty, to put it mildly. Hunter Harvey earned a passing grade from manager Buck Showalter following a 9-8 loss to the Twins and left-hander Richard Bleier was a groundball machine in the eighth, the only baserunner reaching on shortstop Engebl Vielma's fielding error. Left-hander Joely Rodriguez...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - There's been both good and bad from A.J. Cole today against the Astros. But enough bad to outweigh the good and put the Nationals in a 3-0 hole after three innings. The good? Cole has been very aggressive, challenging hitters and moving the ball around the plate, resulting in a pair of strikeouts each against Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, two of the more dangerous hitters in the Astros lineup. After yielding a solo homer to Marwin Gonzalez with one out in the first,...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Danny Valencia really loves to hit the lefties. Valencia led off the top of the second inning today with a long home run to left field off Twins southpaw Adalberto Mejía, who tried to get a 91 mph fastball past him. Didn't work. Hunter Harvey tossed a scoreless first inning, stranding two runners after Miguel Sanó's two-out double and Eduardo Escobar's walk. He also threw a wild pitch. Harvey struck out Brian Dozier on a 95 mph fastball that caught the inner half of...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Orioles have reduced their camp roster to 55 today with five more cuts. Pitchers Stefan Crichton, Michael Kelly and Yefry Ramirez have been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, and left-hander Andrew Faulkner and outfielder Jaycob Brugman have been reassigned to minor league camp. The yearly reminder that players on the 40-man roster are optioned and non-roster players are reassigned. Also, the assignments to Norfolk can be adjusted later, with Double-A Bowie always a...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Nationals manager Davey Martinez had no significant update on the status of center fielder Michael A. Taylor, who was scratched from Monday's Grapefruit League game in Jupiter with tightness in his right side. But for now, it doesn't appear as if the Nationals view Taylor's injury as anything major. "Same as yesterday," Martinez said this morning. "He's stiff (on the) right side. They're going to treat him and he's going to be day-to-day." The Nationals don't...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Davis doesn't think it's going to be much longer before he's cleared to resume throwing and gets back into the Orioles lineup as the final weeks play out in spring training. Davis is sidelined with discomfort in his right elbow/forearm, but an MRI Saturday didn't reveal any structural damage. He continues to receive treatment and was able to crack a few jokes this morning - starting with a mock meltdown into tears - while providing the latest update at his locker. "I...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Trey Mancini is playing first base and Manny Machado is included on the Orioles' trip to Fort Myers for today's game against the Twins. Mark Trumbo is serving as the designated hitter and Caleb Joseph is catching. Relievers listed on the lineup card behind starter Hunter Harvey include Richard Bleier, Joely Rodriguez, David Hess, Jesus Liranzo, Lucas Long, Paul Fry and John Means. The bench includes Pedro Álvarez, Alex Presley, Chance Sisco, DJ Stewart, Cedric Mullins,...

You could once find scouts that felt there was a good possibility that Chance Sisco would never catch in the majors. But he's already done that. You could also find some that said he is the future catcher of the Orioles. He is still trying to become that. Drafted by the Orioles with the 61st overall pick out of a California High School in 2013, he has seen all levels of the O's farm. It began with Sisco batting .371 that summer in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and .340 the next year for...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Seth Romero, the Nationals' first-round pick in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft, was sent home from spring training on Monday for violating an unspecified team rule, a Nationals spokesman confirmed. It is unclear exactly what rule Romero, a 21-year-old left-hander who was taken with the 25th overall selection in the draft, may have violated and how long he will be absent from camp. Yahoo Sports was first to report that Romero had been sent home from spring training....

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles have inched past the halfway point of spring training. More players will be removed from the camp roster, the competition for various jobs will be narrowed. Manager Buck Showalter said it's too early for a noticeable increase in "tempo." But it's coming. "After the off-day, I don't think we're quite that far into it yet," he said. "We've got 20-something days after the break." With Erick Salcedo reassigned to minor league camp, the in-house choices for...