SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles have signed Alex Liddi to a minor league deal. A team official confirmed it earlier this morning. Liddi, 27, appeared in 49 games with Triple-A Norfolk in 2013. He spent the 2015 season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas in the Royals system, batting .287/.324/.474 with 39 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs and 56 RBIs in 128 games. Liddi, a native of Italy, batted .208/.266/.370 in 61 games with the Mariners over parts of three seasons, the last in 2013. Ashur...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Welcome to Day 2 of Orioles minicamp at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, where you'd find frost on the pumpkins if they were part of the décor. The temperature is supposed to soar into the low 60s today as a group of pitchers throw bullpen sessions in front of manager Buck Showalter and his staff. I'll provide injury updates later on pitcher Jeff Beliveau and catchers Jonah Heim and Chris O'Brien. Spoiler alert: They're all good. O'Brien's father, Charlie, played 15...

The instructional league roster consists of the top prospects in the Nationals organization. Upon further examination, it is impressive to notice that there are more Latin players, specifically those from the Dominican Republic, than ever before on the list. In the system, you could put together a whole team of Dominican Republic all-stars with the Nationals. "No doubt about it," Nationals pitching coordinator Paul Menhart said. "That's how good of a job that (vice president of...

Before Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo acquired outfielder Ben Revere in a trade with the Blue Jays for reliever Drew Storen on Friday night, the main offensive question skipper Dusty Baker faced was who to place at the top of his batting order. Revere's arrival in Washington solves that issue. "He's hit at the top of the lineup each stage of his career," Rizzo said. "He's got a propensity to steal you a base in big situations and he's the type of leadoff hitter that is very tough...

In an attempt to improve a starting rotation that ranked 14th in the American League last year in ERA at 4.53, the Orioles may be running out of solid options for an upgrade. At this point, free agent right-handers Yovani Gallardo and Ian Kennedy are out there. But both were projected to potentially get four-year deals in the $50 million range. On top of that, the Orioles would have to give up the 14th pick in the draft to sign either. While Gallardo went 13-11 with a 3.42 ERA for Texas last...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Did we learn anything of importance yesterday on the first day of minicamp? Well, Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy insist that they're 100 percent physically. Harvey said he's thrown three bullpen sessions, which might make a few people nervous in the organization. They don't want him pushing it and risking a more serious injury to his elbow. Bundy continues to long-toss from 150 feet. A mound session isn't far off, but the Orioles like how he's learned to take his foot off...

If you're anything like me, you love a good pitchers' duel. You know, the games that are knotted up at 0-0 or sit at 1-0 into the late innings. Well, today ... we're not looking back at that. In fact, it's pretty much the opposite. If I'm not watching the low-scoring games I generally prefer, there's nothing that can top huge home runs. Now let's multiply that by four. In an early September game in Toronto, the Orioles teed off four times, scattering home runs all around Rogers...

One of the knocks on Ben Revere is his defense or lack thereof. Mostly, the criticism begins with his arm strength. It was something Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo addressed with the media hours after acquiring Revere and a player to be named later from the Blue Jays for reliever Drew Storen and cash. "He's a good defensive center fielder with a short-throwing arm, a poor throwing arm," Rizzo said. "But beyond that, he's got good range angles and (takes) good routes to the baseballs...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter spoke briefly today with the players attending minicamp before turning it over to pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti. "I talked to them for about five minutes before Wally and Dom did their thing, congratulated them on being invited and appreciate them coming," Showalter said this afternoon while sitting in his office at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. "They didn't have to come. This is completely voluntary, but the...

Roch Kubatko, whose around-the-clock coverage of the Orioles has appeared on MASNsports.com since August 2008, was today named a co-winner of the Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award by the Salisbury, N.C.-based National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. It's the second time Kubatko has been recognized as Maryland Sportswriter of the Year, having previously won the award in 2004 when he was on the Orioles beat for The Baltimore Sun. This year, he shares the award with Sun...