SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles third baseman Manny Machado arrived in the clubhouse at 9:15 a.m. this morning and currently is having his right knee checked. He's expected to meet with the media - it's a small contingent - before leaving the Ed Smith Stadium complex. Reliever Tommy Hunter called out Machado's name, walked across the room and gave him a big hug. Machado later made his way down the rows of lockers to embrace teammates, including Dylan Bundy, Parker Bridwell and Ryan Webb. Webb and...

The Washington Nationals acquired catcher Dan Butler from the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, in exchange for left-handed pitcher Danny Rosenbaum. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Butler, 28, joins the Nationals after six seasons in the Red Sox organization. The right-handed hitting catcher appeared in seven Major League games for Boston in 2014, starting five behind the plate and going 4-for-19 (.211) - with three doubles. Over the course of...

The Nationals lost one of the catchers at the high levels of their minor league system earlier this offseason when they released Jhonatan Solano, who was out of options entering the 2015 season. Over the last 24 hours, they've added two catchers who could help improve their organizational depth behind the plate. Yesterday morning, the Nats signed 30-year-old backstop Steven Lerud, a former third-round pick who has only 15 career plate appearances at the big league level but has 807 games of...

SARASOTA, Fla. - We've reached the final day of the Orioles' minicamp at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. Players will bolt around noon. I'll try to find my way to the Tampa airport for a 7 p.m. flight home after filing more notes and meeting one last time with manager Buck Showalter. My daughter got engaged last night. My head's still spinning. Manny Machado's arrival figures to be the highlight of the morning. The Orioles want to check his right knee. The media wants to hound him about...

It is a fair question that some fans have been asking: If the Orioles have an outfielder like Dariel Alvarez that is almost ready for the majors, why not turn right field over to him come April rather than sign another outfielder? After all, Jonathan Schoop won the second base job at spring training last year. Could Alvarez do that in Sarasota this year? While that seems possible, it doesn't seem likely. Alvarez has just one full minor league season under his belt and has played just 44 games...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The most interesting nugget of news today involved South Korean pitcher Suk-min Yoon, who won't be invited to major league camp next month, according to manager Buck Showalter. Yoon was removed from the 40-man roster and outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk on Aug. 30 after going 4-8 with a 5.74 ERA in 23 games, including 18 starts, with the Tides. He's set to make $1.75 million this season as part of his three-year deal that's worth a guaranteed $5.575 million. "Maybe he'll...

SARASOTA, Fla. - New Orioles hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh was scheduled to fly back home this afternoon, but he's staying an extra day at the minicamp to meet third baseman Manny Machado. Coolbaugh didn't have much work to do today beyond getting acclimated to his new surroundings and checking out a few position players who took their cuts in the batting cage. "Get around some of the kids that are here for the minicamp, introduce myself and start building that rapport, relationships with...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles held their second minicamp workout today under a bright blue sky. Yesterday's rain gave way to gorgeous sunshine, allowing eight pitchers to throw off mounds. Hunter Harvey and Parker Bridwell were in the first group, followed by Mychal Givens and Brian Gonzalez, Jon Keller and Pat McCoy, and Eddie Gamboa and Mike Wright. Calvert Hall graduate Alex Murphy drew the short straw and had to catch Gamboa's knuckleball. He survived the experience. A small group of...

There are all sorts of league-mandated deadlines involving arbitration-eligible players during the offseason. And boy, is it entertaining, thrilling stuff. Is that sarcasm jumping off the page at ya, or what? To start the process off, teams must tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players (players with at least three years, but fewer than six years of major league service time) by a certain date early in the offseason. The teams and players then have time to negotiate a deal for the...

The weather may be frigid, but don't worry. We know a way you can keep warm! Over the next two days, you can enjoy a pair of "Nationals Classics" on MASN HD. First, watch one of the best games of Jordan Zimmermann's career from the 2013 season. You also don't want to miss one of the many comeback wins the Nationals had in 2012. Here's what's on deck this week on MASN HD: Tuesday, Jan. 13, 7 p.m.: Zimmermann outdueled the Reds' Homer Bailey on April 26, 2013. Zimmermann threw a...