It continues to be a quiet offseason for the Nationals. (Though to be more accurate, it continues to be a quiet offseason for nearly every franchise in the sport.) The good news is that we are inching closer to baseball season. Pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach in a mere 34 days.
So let's take some time this morning to answer your burning questions about the Nats. Ask about what moves they still may make before the start of spring training. Ask about players already on the...
Only eight of the 17 pitchers at the Orioles minicamp in Sarasota threw off a bullpen mound over the course of three days. Richard Bleier had sessions on Monday and yesterday.
I'm including Ryan O'Rourke in the group of invitees because the Orioles wanted to check on him following ligament-reconstructive surgery on his left elbow that forced him to miss the 2017 season. O'Rourke and Dariel Ãlvarez, who had the same procedure on his right elbow, are in rehab mode.
David Hess played catch,...
There was a time when you could find scouts who felt that Chance Sisco would never improve enough on defense to ever catch an inning in the major leagues. You don't hear that talk anymore - and he did, in fact, catch in the majors after a call-up last September.
Now the talk more centers on just how much has Sisco improved as a pro on defense, how well will he do throwing out runners and how ready he is for a big league opportunity.
In 2018, his chance could truly arrive, no pun intended.
The...
The 2017 season was the year of the triple play for Baltimore. One of the rarest feats in baseball, the Orioles accomplished it twice in two different ballparks almost three months apart. The first was on May 2 at Fenway Park and was a bit unconventional. A popup from Jackie Bradley Jr. failed to meet J.J. Hardy's glove, but he quickly tossed the ball over to Jonathan Schoop, who tagged Mitch Moreland before touching second to force Dustin Pedroia out, then fired it over to Chris Davis to get...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles' latest minicamp provided an opportunity for manager Buck Showalter and some of his coaches to check on the Ed Smith Stadium complex after it incurred damage from Hurricane Irma and with new sod being laid on the Camden Yards replica field. A scoreboard is going up later this winter and the batter's eye must be replaced. Netting beyond the outfield fence will save baseballs from being lost in the pond or oncoming traffic. Trees have been cleared out - some by...
As we continue our Throwback Thursday posts, we'll defer to Bob Carpenter and his handy-dandy scorebook for this week's memorable moment from last season.
We rarely get to see two of the best players in baseball go head to head, with Bryce Harper playing in the National League East and Mike Trout in the American League West. But the stars aligned - so to speak - in 2017 as the former MVPs met in, where else, the City of Angels for a two-game set.
And, boy, did they put on a show from the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles concluded their three-day minicamp at the Ed Smith Stadium complex this morning with Richard Bleier throwing his second bullpen session.
Bleier was the only pitcher on a mound today and the only one cleared for multiple sessions this week.
This is the fifth year in a row that the Orioles have held their minicamp in Sarasota.
Dariel Ãlvarez did some long-tossing again while rehabbing from ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. As I wrote in my last...
Fans encouraged to purchase online at Orioles.com
Individual tickets for all 16 of the Orioles' Spring Training games at Ed Smith Stadium will go on sale this Saturday, January 13 at 10:00 a.m. ET. It is recommended that fans purchase tickets online.
Fans interested in season tickets, five-game flex-plans, or group tickets, or those wishing to receive additional Spring Training ticket information, may call the Orioles Spring Training office at 941-893-6312.
Spring Training tickets for Orioles...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Dariel Ãlvarez no longer is resistant to making the switch from outfielder to pitcher. He's embracing the idea with a surgically repaired elbow and a new attitude.
Ãlvarez is playing catch at minicamp, which wraps up later today, and said via translator Ramon Martinez that he's scheduled to throw off a flat mound by the end of the month.
"I've been doing the rehabilitation and I feel pretty good so far," said Ãlvarez, who had the procedure in April, was released...
Fifteen games and 28 plate appearances is hardly enough sample size to make legitimate evaluations of a young ballplayer. And yet even in his brief, end-of-season stint with the Nationals, Victor Robles turned a whole lot of heads.
It was impossible not to notice the 20-year-old outfielder, who dazzled in his performance, in his athleticism and in his composure following his September promotion from Double-A Harrisburg. Heck, the Nationals were so impressed themselves that they included him on...