The Orioles today announced that Kristen Hudak has been named Director, Public Relations. Hudak, who returns to the Orioles' market after three and a half years at ESPN, will oversee the public relations department, including corporate communications, media relations, online communications, photography, and team publications. She will begin her duties on Monday, December 29, reporting directly to Greg Bader, Vice President, Communications & Marketing. As a Senior Publicist at ESPN, Hudak...

After a week filled with rumors at the Winter Meetings, the Nationals returned home to Washington, D.C. Two days later, your favorite Nationals players and coaches attended NatsFest, giving fans a taste of the upcoming baseball season. To hold you over until spring training, we will continue to air some of the greatest games in Nationals history on MASN HD. This week, we are airing two "Nationals Classics" from last season, including Jordan Zimmermann's no-hitter and yet another Ryan...

The Nationals and outfielder Bryce Harper have reached a settlement on his 2015 salary and avoided a potentially contentious grievance hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday in New York. The two sides appeared headed for the grievance hearing, which Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo likened to an arbitration hearing, where teams take great pains to point out all of a player's shortcomings. But things took a curious turn over the weekend when Harper failed to appear as scheduled at NatsFest,...

So should I take a day, or even a few hours, away from the usual fare on this blog each day to try something different? "You'll hear crickets," I said to myself when I had this thought last night. "Going to do it anyway," I answered back. Don't worry, I don't have these conversations out loud and only I know I am talking with myself. No reason for concern. So on to today's topic ... How did you become an Orioles fan? Tell me about your first game and/or the start of your fandom....

The weekend is over and the Orioles lost another outfield candidate with Melky Cabrera agreeing to a three-year, $42 million deal with the White Sox. Where do they turn? Executive vice president Dan Duquette has made it clear that the Orioles are more likely to sign free agents than make trades. They still need outfielders who bat from the left and right side, but the list of appealing options is paper thin. Peter Gammons tweeted yesterday that the Orioles "are being pushed to take Colby...

Quantifying Adam LaRoche's importance to the Nationals over his four-year stint isn't difficult. Yes, there was the left-handed bat in the middle of the lineup that supplied necessary power. But LaRoche's prowess with the leather was something that came up over and over again at NatsFest as his now ex-teammates lamented his departure as a free agent. LaRoche was the kind of steady but stellar defender whose glovework often gets overlooked - not because it's not spectacular, but because...

The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation held a star-studded fundraiser called "Beltway Baseball" Friday night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C. Former Orioles great, Hall of Famer and foundation co-founder Cal Ripken Jr. brought along Nationals manager Matt Williams to speak to fans and help raise funds to help at-risk youth across the country. Williams said he was thrilled to be a part of the fundraiser. "When he calls, I say yes," Williams said. "The foundation is fantastic and they...

An Orioles official told me yesterday that they're still working on a minor league deal with pitcher Chaz Roe. It's going to get done. I'd expect the deal to include an invitation to spring training. Roe appeared in 21 games with the Diamondbacks in 2013, posting a 4.03 ERA. He got into three games with the Yankees this season, allowing three runs (two earned) and three hits, walking three and striking out four in two innings. Roe worked the eighth inning in Game 2 of a Sept. 12...

Looking back at the last few days, there were 19 blogs written in this space, covering the Orioles at the Winter Meetings from Monday to Thursday before we headed back to the East Coast. Here is another look at some of the quotes from those we interviewed and what they had to say. MLB Network's Harold Reynolds on what O's should do: "If (the Orioles) make a trade, of all the names that have been mentioned, I think Justin Upton is the best move for them. He's 26, 27. If you can lock him up...

The Nationals rotation is deep enough that left-hander Ross Detwiler, a 10-game winner in 2012 couldn't crack it in spring training and was traded to the Rangers earlier this week after struggling to adapt to a bullpen role. The Nationals are already salivating over the future arrival of stud pitcher Lucas Giolito, a 20-year-old righty who hasn't pitched above low Single-A and is rated baseball's 13th-best prospect by Baseball Prospectus. Righty A.J Cole is on the horizon, too, maybe as...