NASHVILLE - It wasn't a loud week in the Music City for the Nationals, but as the Winter Meetings wrap up, Washington made some noise and - according to general manager Mike Rizzo - laid plenty of groundwork for the remainder of the winter. The Nationals aimed to sign Darren O'Day, the best free agent reliever on the market, when they arrived in Nashville, but the right-hander decided to remain in Baltimore with a four-year deal. But the Nats didn't come away empty-handed in their search for...

NASHVILLE - The Orioles today added an outfielder from the Tampa Bay organization, right-handed hitting Joey Rickard, in the Rule 5 draft. Between three teams last year, Rickard hit .321/.427/.447 with 28 doubles, eight triples, two homers and 55 RBIs. He stole 23 bases and scored 62 runs. The Rays selected Rickard, a Las Vegas native, in the ninth round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arizona. Rickard began the 2015 season in high Single-A ball, moved to Double-A...

NASHVILLE - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette will board his flight home today with a Rule 5 pick and optimism that more players will be added in the coming days. Duquette isn't done after choosing outfielder Joey Rickard from the Rays in the Rule 5. "I always like to try to get the core of the team before Christmas, but it doesn't always work that way," he said. "It doesn't always work that way to get the club set up for the holidays. A couple years ago, remember we got to...

NASHVILLE - The Nationals survived this morning's Rule 5 draft without losing any players. They passed on their pick in the major league portion of the draft, then selected Marlins minor league third baseman Zack Cox during the Triple-A phase. The Cardinals drafted Cox with the 25th overall selection in the 2010 First-Year Player draft after an All-American season at the University of Arkansas, where he set records for batting average (.429) and hits (102). Cox reached Triple-A Memphis in 2012...

The Orioles today announced that they have selected outfielder Joey Rickard in the Rule 5 Draft from the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Rickard, 24, batted .321/.427/.447 (127-396) with 28 doubles, eight triples, two home runs, 55 RBI, and 23 stolen bases in 117 games between Class A-Advanced Charlotte (23 games), Double-A Montgomery (65 games), and Triple-A Durham (29 games) last season. Originally...

NASHVILLE - When was the last time you heard or read this sentence? The Detroit Tigers have a strong bullpen. As the Winter Meetings end, the Tigers are the American League team with the most dramatic makeover at this point in the offseason. And the Boston Red Sox are right there in the argument. When the Tigers dominated the AL Central with four titles from 2011 to 2014, the problem for manager Jim Leyland was always a thin bullpen. Who knows what the Tigers would have accomplished in those...

Haven't you heard? The Oriole Bird is now on Twitter! The Bird made its debut quietly on Wednesday of the Winter Meetings. Tweet! Tweet! Is this thing on? -- The Oriole Bird (@OrioleBird) December 9, 2015 Before long, however, the Oriole Bird was his normal outgoing self, tweeting back to fans, holding giveaways and so much more! They say Twitter is for the birds. Well, here I am! Helllooo, #Birdland! pic.twitter.com/Id56vpOZ6x -- The Oriole Bird (@OrioleBird) December 9, 2015 Fans...

NASHVILLE - And the winner of the most improved team in the National League is - drum roll, please - the Arizona Diamondbacks. As the Winter Meetings conclude, the Diamondbacks, who had 79 wins last season for a 15-win improvement from the previous year, have added balance to the NL West. No longer is the division a two-team race between the Giants and the Dodgers. "They have so many good young players," Giants manager Bruce Bochy says. "They play solid defense. They score runs and now they...

NASHVILLE - The Orioles chose outfielder Joey Rickard from the Tampa Bay Rays organization in today's Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings. Rickard, 24, batted a combined .321/.427/.447 with 28 doubles, eight triples, two home runs, 55 RBIs and 23 stolen bases at three levels of the Rays system, including Triple-A Durham. He hit .360/.437/.472 with six doubles, two triples and 11 RBIs in 29 games with the Bulls. Rickard plays all three outfield positions. It's clear that he's got speed and...

NASHVILLE - Multiple trips to the disabled list for Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman forced former Nationals manager Matt Williams to shuffle players around his infield throughout last season. Besides playing both middle infield positions, defensive wizard Danny Espinosa even appeared at first base and third base for the first time in his life. "I look at their infield defense, they had everybody on the infield out of position, and that's tough to do," new manager Dusty Baker said during...