Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette told me yesterday that he's still working on the spring training roster with manager Buck Showalter. The club is expected to add at least one more player to a minor league deal before heading south. Former hitting coach Jim Presley remains under contract with the Orioles after being reassigned following the 2014 season, but it hasn't been determined whether he's going to work for them in some capacity. There were early talks of giving him a...

It's been almost three weeks since Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo stunned the baseball world by signing free agent pitcher Max Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million contract. On Friday, a candid Scherzer spoke on Detroit's WDFN radio about what led to his choice to leave the motor city for the nation's capital to become the game's highest paid right-handed pitcher. "I realize how fortunate I am and how blessed I am to be in this position," Scherzer told WDFN. "This was never about...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette confirmed today that the club is headed to an arbitration hearing with outfielder Alejandro De Aza on Feb. 20 in St. Petersburg, Fla. The sides exchanged figures last month, at which point the Orioles decided to "file to go" rather than make a serious attempt to negotiate a settlement. De Aza submitted $5.65 million and the Orioles countered at $5 million. He made $4.25 million last season. I've heard that talks were limited despite a modest...

Earlier, we took a look at the top 10 prospects in the Orioles farm system and today we expand that to look at a list of the club's top 30 prospects according to Baseball America. You can find it all in the publication's Prospect Handbook. A review of the top 10: 1. Dylan Bundy 2. Hunter Harvey 3. Christian Walker 4. Chance Sisco 5. Dariel Alvarez 6. Zach Davies 7. Tim Berry 8. Mike Wright 9. Mike Yastrzemski 10. Jomar Reyes Now a look at the rest of the list with notes on each...

It hasn't been a quiet offseason for Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth. At this point, I'm sure you've seen the TMZ-like images of Werth entering a Fairfax County jail to serve part of a five-day sentence after pleading guilty to a reckless driving charge. It was the result of being pulled over last July after exceeding 105 mph in his Porsche on Interstate 495 in Virginia. Though embarrassing, this will not interfere with the season in any way, as Werth will finish his sentence shortly. On...

So the Orioles have settled 10 of their 11 arbitration cases before they went to any hearings. Shouldn't it be 11-for-11? It probably should. The lone case to resolve is with outfielder Alejandro De Aza. The player is seeking $5.65 million with the club offering $5 million. Can't the sides just meet in the middle? What is the holdup here? Will there really be a hearing over such a small difference? Even Scott Boras can resolve an arbitration case. When asked about this during FanFest, De...

The day after a visit from the commissioner of Major League Baseball, the work and progress goes on for the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in southeast D.C. Executive director Tal Alter has been here since the academy was just an idea, and has watched the facility grow from its first shovel in the dirt to a living, breathing entity that is making an impact on the lives of dozens of school-age children in the surrounding neighborhoods. "We are a start-up, that's for sure," Alter said. "We...

The Orioles continue to piece together their camp roster, which apparently won't exceed 59 players. They've settled on their invites from inside the organization and may add someone else from outside. I'm told that the current head count includes outfielder Nolan Reimold, though he may not sign his contract until arriving in Sarasota. The more I check, the more I'm certain that the Orioles are headed to an arbitration hearing with outfielder Alejandro De Aza. I keep getting confirmation....

With just about two weeks remaining until pitchers and catchers report, we begin our daily position-by-position breakdown of the Nationals. We lead off with catcher. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has assembled one of best starting pitching rotations in the past few decades. The staff possesses a unique array of pitches and personalities. Manager Matt Williams and pitching coach Steve McCatty will mostly rely on Wilson Ramos to handle each of them behind the plate throughout the...

On Saturday, more than 16,000 fans gathered at the Baltimore Convention Center to kick off another season of Orioles baseball. The MASN booth stood in the middle of the excitement, offering fans ways to win prizes and take photos with their favorite players. One of the biggest hits of the day was MASN's #SwagGrab claw machine. We rewarded our Twitter followers with an opportunity to try their hand at the arcade game, where they had chances to win Orioles gear, autographed memorabilia or suite...