The first of the big free agent dominoes has fallen, and it's Jordan Zimmermann, who is soon to be an ex-National. The Tigers have reportedly agreed to terms with the right-hander on a deal that would pay Zimmermann about $110 million over the next five years. The contract is, of course, pending a physical, a process that should be completed later this week before the Winter Meetings convene in Nashville. MLBTradeRumors.com had predicted that Zimmermann could be in line for a deal worth $126...

In exactly one week, I'll be boarding a flight to Nashville for the Winter Meetings and complaining loudly every step of the way. That's a lot of complaining when you factor in the number of steps from the front desk to the elevators and media workroom at the spacious Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. You're handed a map and wished good luck. Then you spend the next five days hopelessly lost. Forget about chasing rumors. I'll be preoccupied with searching for the lobby and my...

Former Orioles executive Andy MacPhail said pitching was fragile and expensive, thus the "grow the arms" philosophy. Try to develop your own young and lower-salaried pitchers rather than overpay for those with another team. He was sure right about the expensive part. As of Friday, J.A. Happ is earning on average $12 million per season to pitch from 2016-18 for the Toronto Blue Jays. When I look at Happ's track record, I see mediocrity. He has a career ERA of 4.13 anda WHIP of 1.367. Maybe...

We know the Nationals want to remake their bullpen for 2016, and we also know that that potentially means significant changes over the corps of relievers who ended the 2015 season in Washington. But right now, there are more questions than answers when it comes to general manager Mike Rizzo's plan to reconfigure his relief corps. While the two biggest questions seem to be right-handers Drew Storen and Jonathan Papelbon, and while at least one of those arms could be gone before or at the Winter...

There is so much discussion and speculation right now about what players the Orioles may look to sign and/or re-sign. We'll all wait to see how this offseason is going to play out for the team. But, especially with the starting pitching staff, next year's Orioles are also going to need better production from a few players to be a good team in 2016. When MLB Network recently looked at the American League East, analysts Bill Ripken and Carlos Pena spent as much time talking about current...

More than a few eyes were raised in recent weeks when the Nationals signed a succession of guys who play center field to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training. To be honest, the Nats usually wait a little deeper into the offseason before this news trickles out, and they routinely make a formal announcement only after all of their signings of this kind are in the fold. To recap, the Nats have inked Reed Johnson, Chris Heisey and Logan Schafer - three veteran...

At what point do you concede that it's time to dispose of the Thanksgiving leftovers? When the cranberry sauce from the can loses its jiggle? When the white meat begins to resemble the dark meat? When the drumsticks limp to the trash can? How about when you're surprised to find yams in the fridge before realizing they're actually the mashed potatoes? Or when the last slice of pumpkin pie becomes a perfect match for the last slice of key lime pie? I'm thankful for a strong stomach and the...

We are continuing our focus on news from the fall instructional league at the Nationals training facility in Viera, Fla. The first two capsules were on hitters Blake Perkins and Victor Robles. We will volley back and forth now between hitting and pitching and turn our attention to 2014 first round selection Erick Fedde. Fedde, at 6-foot-4 and 180 lbs., pitched a total of 64 innings between short-season Single-A Auburn and low Single-A Hagerstown. He moved to Hagerstown on Aug. 11. In his final...

When the Nationals acquired Yunel Escobar from the A's in January, general manager Mike Rizzo said the veteran infielder's lure was his ability to play strong defense at both second base and shortstop, and promised that playing on natural turf at Nationals Park would be a better fit for the now 33-year-old than the unforgiving artificial surface that had hampered him at Tropicana Field, where he played the previous two seasons for the Rays. Escobar's .314/.375/.415 slash line in 139 games...

There is labor peace in Major League Baseball. There was a time when that was not close to true, but now it is. Since April, 1995 there has been one work stoppage in the National Football League, two in the National Hockey League and three in the National Basketball Association. During that time span, there were none in MLB. The players and owners obviously don't always see eye-to-eye on everything, but they both realize that the sport overall is incredibly healthy and it is now a business...