Orioles third baseman Manny Machado hit 33 homers and drove in 95 runs in the 2017 season. That was just less than the 37 homers and 96 RBIs he produced in 2016. He was also the American League Player of the Month this past August, when he hit .341 with 12 homers and 35 RBIs. In August, Machado hit three grand slams in an 11-game span. The last one came on Aug. 18 and was a walk-off slam, turning a potential 7-5 loss to the Angels into a 9-7 win. If you don't think hitting three slams in 11...

Let's take a look at four more questions confronting the Orioles as the offseason really kicks in following the World Series. Last-place teams have lots of them. Questions, not World Series. I've been picking and choosing which ones to highlight. The level of importance varies, but each topic is worth discussing. Should the Orioles push to negotiate a new deal for Manny Machado beyond spring training? There's an ice-breaker offer, the preliminary kind that the Orioles presented Chris Tillman...

As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Gio Gonzalez, who enjoyed perhaps the best regular season of his career but once again struggled in October. PLAYER REVIEW: GIO GONZALEZ Age on opening day 2018: 32 How acquired: Traded from Athletics with Robert Gilliam for A.J. Cole, Tommy Milone, Derek Norris and Brad Peacock, December 2011 MLB service time: 8 years, 162 days 2017 salary: $12 million Contract...

Now that the World Series has ended, it is officially the first day without baseball. Miss it yet? We do, too. That's why MASNsports.com is bringing back our Throwback Thursday (#TBT) posts and combining them with our "Orioles Classics" series, which will air memorable moments in O's history on MASN throughout the offseason until pitchers and catchers report in February. We'll kick things off with an impressive, late-night gem some of you might have missed: The Orioles trailed the Angels...

Baseball America has released its top 10 Nationals prospects for 2018 and, to no surprise, the No. 1 prospect is center fielder Victor Robles. Robles is also No. 8 overall in the publication's Major League Baseball top 100 prospects list. This is the first time that Robles has been listed as the top Nationals prospect after right-hander Lucas Giolito held the top spot for three years. Giolito was traded with two other arms for center fielder Adam Eaton in December 2016. Baseball America noted...

Major League Baseball could be headed for an expansion to 32 teams while at the same time a reduction in games from 162 to 156. That is the potential plan being considered as written about recently in this column in Baseball America. Author Tracy Ringolsby suggests we could see Montreal and Portland, Ore., recieve expansion teams. That would lead to one league with four divisions of eight teams each. It would be a radical change for the Orioles, who would no longer be in a division with the...

The entire Orioles coaching staff has been invited to return for the 2018 season. Contracts were being sent out tonight, according to multiple sources. The deals are for one year. Orioles manager Buck Showalter had expressed a desire to keep the staff intact and the process unfolded today. The coaches have the freedom to decline the offers extended to them, but everyone is expected to come back. They just need to sign and return the contracts. Bench coach John Russell, hitting coach Scott...

As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Stephen Strasburg, who put together the best season of his career and capped it with a dominant postseason performance. PLAYER REVIEW: STEPHEN STRASBURG Age on opening day 2018: 29 How acquired: First-round pick, 2009 draft MLB service time: 7 years, 118 days 2017 salary: $15 million Contract status: Signed for $15 million in 2018, $35 million in 2019, $25 million...

With the conclusion of the World Series, baseball's offseason is officially underway. We know Nationals fans will be craving baseball while waiting 3 1/2 months until pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach in February, so we're bringing back our Throwback Thursday (#TBT) posts and combining them with our "Nationals Classics" series, which will air memorable moments in Nats history on MASN throughout the offseason. Each week, we will have a #TBT moment from the 2017 season to look...

The offseason can provide various doses of drama as important dates drop off the calendar. For the Orioles, the qualifying offer process should be duller than an insurance seminar. Teams must decide whether to extend the offer to its free agents within five days after the World Series. The Orioles should have 11 players on the market and none of them are expected to receive it. Only five players in the past five seasons have accepted the offer, including former Orioles catcher Matt Wieters in...