Wondering how Moylan would fit in bullpen
Wondering how Moylan would fit in bullpen
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
As the GM meetings began Monday morning in Orlando, Fla., the Orioles already had their first "interested in" report. Which is similar to "in on." Don't let the phrasing confuse you. The bullpen always is a priority with the Orioles, no matter the returnees, and MLB.com's Mark Bowman wrote that they've expressed interest in right-hander Peter Moylan. There doesn't seem to be a nagging need for one if factoring in right-handers Brad Brach, Darren O'Day and Mychal Givens. Moylan led the...
Mancini places third in AL Rookie of the Year voting
Mancini places third in AL Rookie of the Year voting
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Never in the true running to win this year's American League Rookie of the Year Award due to the historic bashing in the Bronx, the Orioles' Trey Mancini settled for a third-place finish tonight in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. It's an honor just to be nominated. And to be a finalist, which was confirmed last week. The Yankees' Aaron Judge was a unanimous winner, of course, garnering all 30 first-place votes for 150 points. The Red Sox's Andrew Benintendi was...
Gutierrez and McGowin leading Mesa toward AFL title game
Gutierrez and McGowin leading Mesa toward AFL title game
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Despite playing only 10 games, third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez is leading his Arizona Fall League team in batting with a .414 average. His club, the Mesa Solar Sox, are 15-10-1 and have a 2 1/2-game lead atop the East Division with only a handful of games remaining. Gutierrez has 12 hits, a triple, a homer, six runs and eight RBIs. All 12 of those hits have come in his last eight games, where he has gone 12-for-25 (.480). He missed several games in the middle of the AFL season after getting his...
Previewing BBWAA awards week
Previewing BBWAA awards week
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
It's awards week in baseball, with the big four - MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year - set to be handed out over the next four nights by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Despite their success and deep roster of players who enjoyed impressive seasons, the Nationals have an opportunity to emerge with only one of these four awards. Both Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg are finalists for the National League Cy Young Award (along with Clayton Kershaw). Anthony...
Will Mychal Givens' role become more prominent in the future?
Will Mychal Givens' role become more prominent in the future?
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Can a pitcher with zero career saves be a future closer for the Orioles? If that pitcher is right-hander Mychal Givens, I believe the answer is yes. He has the velocity, has the stuff, is durable and has the mentality, in my opinion, which might be the hardest of all to find in a late-inning pitcher. One key trait of any closer is the ability to bounce back after he blows a save. Take a bump in the road and fly past it. Givens seems to be able to shake off tough outings quickly. Givens had a...
Erratic this season, Solís is hardly a sure thing for Nats
Erratic this season, Solís is hardly a sure thing for Nats
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Sammy Solís, who labored through an erratic season. PLAYER REVIEW: SAMMY SOLIS Age on opening day 2018: 29 How acquired: Second round pick, 2010 draft MLB service time: 2 years, 84 days 2017 salary: $545,700 Contract status: Under team control in 2018, arbitration-eligible in 2019, free agent in 2022 2017 stats: 1-0, 5.88 ERA, 30 G, 1 SV, 26 IP, 22 H, 17 R, 17...
Week in review: A look at how far the O's have to go and other topics
Week in review: A look at how far the O's have to go and other topics
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Time for another look at some stories and topics we've touched on here in the past week. Feel free to comment on any or all three once more. On Monday, we got a lot of responses to the question, "How far away are the Orioles?" The 2017 club stayed in the race into September. In fact, on the night of Aug. 30, the Orioles won their seventh straight game. They were 1 1/2 games behind the Twins for the second American League wild card and 2 1/2 behind the Yankees for the first wild card. But in...
Britton figures to stay in bullpen in 2018
Britton figures to stay in bullpen in 2018
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
My recent dive into the ol' mailbag went swimmingly, so to speak, but I neglected one question that turns into an obsession every winter as the Orioles try to fix their rotation. It comes in many forms. It's the ooze of offseason inquiries. Is there any chance that Zach Britton becomes a starter again? Is there any talk of Zach Britton becoming a starter again? Could Zach Britton become a starter again? Why aren't the Orioles at least thinking about making Zach Britton a starter again? It's...
Sorting through minor league free agents with Orioles connections
Sorting through minor league free agents with Orioles connections
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
As the Orioles sift through the batch of minor league free agents who could fill out rosters at the upper levels of their farm system, they're going to stumble upon some familiar names. Reunions are unlikely, though a few of them may intrigue you. Others may cause you to run screaming into the night. The list includes former Orioles outfielder Henry Urrutia, who finished the season with the Red Sox's Double-A affiliate in Portland, Maine. The Orioles released Urrutia on May 25 and the Red Sox...
Another look at strikeouts and their impact on the O's offense
Another look at strikeouts and their impact on the O's offense
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Barring a batter reaching on a third strike and a wild pitch, not much good comes from a strikeout. Certainly, some good can come from a walk. Orioles fans know their team well and the Baltimore offense in recent seasons has featured too many strikeouts and too few walks. This was a problem again in the 2017 season. The Orioles' strikeout rate of 23 percent of all plate appearances by the team ranked as fifth-most in the American League this year. The team walk rate of 6.4 percent ranked last...