Sammy Solis, Felipe Rivero and Hector Silvestre are the three left-handers on the Baseball America top 30 of list Nationals prospects. Matt Purke remains on the depth chart. Baseball America editor-in-chief John Manuel says Solis has been able to have a little more time to develop thanks to the pitching in front of him. This is an important season for Solis, who made only five starts last season and threw just 18 1/3 innings. He was shut down in June last season with elbow discomfort. "Sammy...

Last year right around this time, the Nationals were penciling in the newly signed Nate McLouth as their fourth outfielder, confident that he would be able to play all three outfield positions at a high level and give Jayson Werth, Denard Span and Bryce Harper somewhat regular days off in order to keep those three fresh. The Nats inked McLouth to a two-year, $10.75 million contract last December - a hefty sum for a reserve, but a deal that the club felt would pay off thanks to McLouth's...

Throughout the Winter Meetings and the days that followed, Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette stated that the club was more likely to sign a free agent than make a trade. The Orioles reached agreement with left-hander Wesley Wright and outfielder Delmon Young on one-year deals, taking two free agents off the market, but their next move could come via trade. How else are they going to get that left-handed outfielder/designated hitter unless their interest in Nori Aoki...

Right now it appears the Orioles starting corner outfielders are Alejandro De Aza and Steve Pearce. David Lough could work his way into the mix. Maybe at some point during the season Dariel Alvarez or Henry Urrutia find their way to the team. Chris Davis is a long-shot candidate to play right field. The O's have Pearce and Christian Walker who could play at first if Davis somehow wound up an outfielder. I still see a fit for free agent Nori Aoki although the Orioles interest seems to be...

I wasn't necessarily surprised at the fan reaction on Twitter and in the comments section of this blog yesterday after the Nationals signed Dan Uggla to a minor league deal. Nats fans have seen quite a bit of Uggla over the last handful of years while he was with the Braves. And most of it hasn't been great. They saw him go from a Silver Slugger 2010 campaign with the Marlins in which he hit .287 with an .877 OPS and 33 homers, to a 2011 season with the Braves in which he still slugged 36...

The Orioles have been quiet since reaching agreement Wednesday with outfielder Delmon Young on a one-year deal. The warehouse is closed, though executive vice president Dan Duquette remains open for business if anyone wants to talk. The wrapping paper is still scattered under the tree, but the Orioles received an early present on Oct. 9 when shortstop J.J. Hardy signed a three-year, $40 million extension with a club option for 2018. Hardy could have gotten a bigger deal on the free agent...

A few news and notes from around the baseball world: * If reports are accurate that pitcher Hiroki Kuroda is heading back to Japan to pitch at age 40 next year, the Orioles will not be sorry to see him go. Kuroda went 38-33 with an ERA of 3.44 the last three seasons for the Yankees. He went 11-9 with a 3.71 ERA last year with a 1.14 WHIP and just 1.6 walks per every nine innings. That is solid pitching at any age. Against the Orioles, while Kuroda was just 3-3 in 11 career starts, he posted...

The Nationals have signed second baseman Dan Uggla to a minor league deal, the team announced, reuniting the veteran infielder with Mike Rizzo, who as the Diamondbacks' scouting director drafted Uggla in 2001. Uggla's minor league deal includes an invitation to big league spring training, where he will likely compete for the Nats' starting second base job. Uggla has big power potential, and displayed it from 2007-2011, when he hit more than 30 home runs five years in a row. Since then,...

Well, hello again, everyone. I'm back after a nice two-week trip out of the country, and while I missed out on much of the holiday season while I was away, I hope all of you enjoyed some quality time with your families and got some good food in ya. If you celebrate Christmas, I hope yesterday was merry and joyous. If you don't, I hope you enjoyed your Chinese food and a movie. What did I miss on the Nationals front while I was away? Well, not a ton, although the Nats did make one...

Is anyone surprised that some of baseball's biggest spenders this winter reside in the American League East? Is anyone surprised that list of big spenders does not include the Orioles? While it irks some of you, it should not be a big surprise. The Matt Kemp and Justin Upton rumors were nice and they were interesting, but they were never close to happening. The Red Sox are spending again, the Blue Jays are active again and the Yankees are still the Yankees and can flash a big checkbook...