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...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Amid persistent rumors that the Nationals may still be trying to boost their rotation with a late free agent signing, right-hander A.J. Cole gets another opportunity to show the Washington brass that he's capable of holding down the fifth spot in the rotation. Cole makes his second Grapefruit League start this afternoon when the Nationals host an Astros split squad in a game that will be televised live on MASN (and replayed twice this evening). In his first spring...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - When the Nationals traded for Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle and Brandon Kintzler in a pair of deals last July, the moves did more than fortify a struggling bullpen. Because Doolittle and Madson were under team control through 2018, and after Kintzler was re-signed this offseason, it ensured that the Nats would return the back end of their bullpen intact. But the trio's return has a ripple effect, keeping other holdover relievers in familiar roles and giving them another...

JUPITER, Fla. - Manager Davey Martinez didn't think twice about scratching Michael A. Taylor from Monday's lineup when the center fielder reported some tightness in his right side before the Nationals boarded the bus in West Palm Beach for the 15-minute drive to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. "He had a little bit of tightness in his right side," Martinez said after the Nats' 2-1 loss to the Cardinals. "I know he had an issue with it last year, so we're not going to take any chances right...

JUPITER, Fla. - Having seen teammate Stephen Strasburg succeed by pitching only from the stretch, Tanner Roark decided this offseason to start tinkering with a similar approach. Roark has continued working on his modified windup - mostly from the stretch, with a little side-to-side action to get some momentum - this spring and the results were immediately positive. The right-hander threw four scoreless innings against the Cardinals on Monday, allowing just one hit, walking none and striking out...

JUPITER, Fla. - Andrew Stevenson, who wasn't even in the starting lineup until Michael A. Taylor was scratched with mild tightness in his right side about a half-hour before first pitch, homered in the third to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead over the Cardinals. The wind has been knocking balls down in the outfield early on, but Stevenson's opposite-field poke off Luke Weaver had enough on it to carry over the wall in left. It was his first homer of the spring. Tanner Roark, making his third...