Could the Nationals land the top free agent for the second straight year? Last January, it was ace Max Scherzer, and now the Nats are hot on the heels of free agent outfielder Jason Heyward, ranked the best among position players on many free agent boards. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com was first to report the Nationals diving deep into the Heyward sweepstakes and also adds that Heyward already has a $200 million offer from one team. The Cubs and Cardinals, Heyward's 2015 club, are also...

The Winter Meetings are being held in suburban Washington D.C., next year. If I'm still on the beat and haven't gone completely insane, it will be nice to hop in my car after the Rule 5 draft and walk through my front door in about an hour. I might volunteer to drop off the new player at Camden Yards, though it's out of my way. The Orioles left Nashville yesterday with only a Rule 5 pick, as if visited by the ghost of Winter Meetings past. They later claimed left-hander Edgar Olmos off...

It seems like the Chris Davis situation has been hanging over the Orioles' heads for weeks now. But we only found out about his $150 million offer from the Orioles when it was first reported by MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko on Tuesday night. Yep, it has only been a few days. Now maybe the O's offer was made before then, but we've only publicly known about it since Tuesday evening. In the court of public opinion featuring Orioles fans, it seems Davis is coming up second. The consensus...

The Washington Nationals acquired right-handed reliever Trevor Gott and minor league right-handed pitcher Michael Brady from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for infielder Yunel Escobar and cash considerations on Thursday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. A hard-throwing right-hander, Gott joins the Nationals after appearing in 48 games for the Angels in 2015, including his Major League debut on June 14 vs. the Oakland...

NASHVILLE - The Orioles made a move today as their front office returned to Baltimore, claiming left-hander Edgar Olmos off waivers from the Cubs and designating outfielder Junior Lake for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster. Olmos, 25, went 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 20 games (two starts) with Triple-A Tacoma. He also pitched in six games (two starts) with the Mariners, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA. In 199 career minor league games (73 starts), Olmos has gone 16-38 with a...

The Orioles today announced that they have claimed left-hander Edgar Olmos off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Junior Lake has been designated for assignment. Olmos, 25, went 1-1 with a 3.55 ERA (13 ER/33.0 IP) and 34 strikeouts in 20 games (two starts) with Triple-A Tacoma and pitched in six games (two starts) with the Seattle Mariners, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA (seven earned runs/14.0 innings pitched) in 2015. In 199 career minor league games (73...

NASHVILLE - Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo waited until the end of the Winter Meetings to make a splashy move. Coming off arguably his best season at the plate, Yunel Escobar has been dealt to the Angels for reliever Trevor Gott. Gott was originally selected in the sixth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft before being traded to the Angels in July 2014. The 23-year-old made his made his major league debut last June and posted a 3.02 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 48 appearances. Gott, whose...

You may have noticed that I didn't file my blog post from Nashville yesterday. As soon as I shot Dan Duquette's interview, I hopped on a plane for a flight home to prepare for O's FanFest. While I left a day early - and with lots of leftover editing work for my colleague, Bobby Blanco - I still had a full experience at the Winter Meetings. However, I did have to miss the Rule 5 draft, (my favorite day of the Winter Meetings). You can read more on the Rule 5 here. Meanwhile, while Buck...

NASHVILLE - Before we head to the airport, a few final words on Chris Davis. I think the Orioles' offer is big and legit, and they clearly made it known they want Davis back. As we all know by now, they can't - and seemingly won't - wait on him much longer. It's go time for the 2016 roster. Dan Duquette is more aware of this than anyone. He's got irons in the fire in several places and appears ready to move on from Davis at any minute. He may have already done that for all we know. It...

NASHVILLE - The Orioles added three players to their organization in today's Rule 5 draft, the final event of the Winter Meetings. They selected outfielder Joey Rickard from Tampa Bay in the major league phase. He must stay on the roster all year or be offered back to the Rays. The O's added two pitchers in the Triple-A phase of the draft. These players are not on the big league roster and are minor league players. They can be assigned to any affiliate for the 2016 season. First, the club...