Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette received a nice ovation today, with many fans rising to their feet as he was introduced at FanFest for the Q&A forum for season ticket holders. Manager Buck Showalter received a prolonged standing ovation, as expected. The reception for Duquette was the real curiosity following reports all winter that he might leave for Toronto. "Sometimes there is substance to them and sometimes there isn't," Duquette said. "There was substance to it, but I...

While Chris Davis met with a large group of reporters here today at FanFest, Orioles pitcher Tommy Hunter, his close friend, talked about the O's first baseman. Davis has one game still to serve on his suspension and he'll miss opening day. Does Davis have some repair work to do in the Orioles clubhouse? "Not with me," Hunter said. "We're good friends. I am sure there are mixed emotions in the clubhouse. I can't speak on everybody's behalf. The guy is a great friend to me and he made a...

The Nationals might have graduated a number of their top prospects to the major leagues in recent years (see: Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon), but they still have one of the more talented minor league systems in baseball, according to one analyst. ESPN.com's Keith Law ranks the Nats ninth in his list of the top farm systems, and places six Nats minor leaguers on his list of the top 100 prospects in baseball entering the 2015 season. Because the Nats have seen a number of their...

The Orioles are holding their annual FanFest today at the Baltimore Convention Center, which figures to keep me busy for approximately 12 hours. I tend to arrive early and stay late. Players, former players, executives and coaches will meet with reporters throughout the day behind the main stage, giving us 10-15 minutes to interview each one. We may need more time with Chris Davis, who joins Manny Machado, Tommy Hunter and Chris Tillman in the first wave around 11 a.m. I talked to Machado,...

At the tender age of just 22, Jonathan Schoop realized his dream to play in the major leagues. He did it after just 70 games at the Triple-A level and he hit 16 homers last year for the Orioles, more than he'd ever hit in any minor league season. But Schoop knows there is more development to come for him and his game, and in an interview yesterday, he repeatedly stressed that he needs to get better and is very motivated to take his game to another level in 2015. Schoop was among a group of...

The Orioles today announced that they have agreed to terms with outfielder Steve Pearce on a one-year contract, thus avoiding arbitration. Pearce, 31, batted .293/.373/.556 with a career-high 21 home runs and 49 RBI in 102 games with the Orioles in 2014. He was named co-AL Player of the Week along with outfielder Adam Jones, June 30-July 6, after batting .333 with three home runs and nine RBI in that span. Originally selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the eighth round of the 2005 First Year...

The upcoming season will be a great opportunity for top pitching prospect Lucas Giolito to show what he can do against the best hitters in the Carolina League pitching for high Single-A Potomac. As he said last week, he is ready to come out "guns a-blazing," now two years out from Tommy John surgery. He admitted that he has felt 100 percent healthy for over a year, feeling strong enough and confident enough in his arm as he rolled to a 10-2 record for low Single-A Hagerstown in just 98...

The Orioles are down to three unsigned arbitration players after agreeing to terms today with Steve Pearce on a contract for the 2015 season. Pearce will receive $3.7 million, exactly at the midpoint after the sides exchanged figures. Pearce submitted $5.4 million and the Orioles countered at $2 million. He made $850,000 last season. It was a breakout year for Pearce after the Orioles released him on April 25 and re-signed him four days later. He set career highs in games (102), plate...

As I writer, I know the advice: Avoid cliches. That means I shouldn't write about fathers and baseball any more than I already do, and I certainly shouldn't pull out the line from "Field of Dreams": "Hey dad, wanna have a catch?" I'm going to do both, and more, because as a writer I also understand that sometimes you have to break the rules. This is one of those times. My dad nearly died over the holidays. He went into cardiac arrest while participating in the Military Bowl parade as...

The Orioles made newly acquired outfielder Travis Snider available to the media this morning on a conference call that lasted about 15 minutes and also included executive vice president Dan Duquette. Here's a sampling of quotes from Snider: On his reaction to the trade: "It's always a little bit of a surprise just the way things transpired. Going into the offseason, my wife and I had conversations, and family members, about the possibility of finding a different organization, and at that...