SAN DIEGO - We've reached the finish line of the 2014 Winter Meetings at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. The Rule 5 draft will be held at 9 a.m. PST, followed by a frantic race to the airport. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad baseball world. The Orioles apparently will head home with a selection in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft and possibly a pick in the Triple-A phase. Last year, they took Michael Almanzar and Julio Borbon. The earth didn't shake. The only real excitement generated by...

SAN DIEGO - The Nationals have yet to make a move at the Winter Meetings, and based on what I'm hearing, nothing big is imminent at this point. But according to multiple sources, the Nats have been incredibly active here despite the lack of a completed deal, and they are plenty willing to engage in trade discussions involving some of their big-name players. Depending on who you talk to, you'll hear different deals that have been discussed. According to one source, a potential major trade with...

SAN DIEGO - Jon Lester is getting ready to earn $155 million for the Chicago Cubs. So that means teams that were trying to sign Lester are looking for other ways to fix their rotation. The Giants were in Lester and so were the Red Sox, Lester's former team. Lester could have gone to either of those teams that have a combined five World Series victories since 2004. Instead, he accepted the challenge of becoming the first player in history to win World Series with the Red Sox and Cubs, who...

SAN DIEGO - The Rule 5 draft is the last event of the Winter Meetings and takes place this morning at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Any player selected in this draft must remain on the selecting team's 25-man roster for the entire 2015 season or be offered back to his original club. Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft when they are not on their organization's 40-man roster and: * were signed at 19 or older and have been in the organization for four years; or * were signed...

SAN DIEGO - The cash continues to flow at the Winter Meetings at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Free agents are signing for big bucks, just as they did before executives flew to the West Coast, leaving some officials and scouts shaking their heads and wondering just how much higher the salaries can climb. "Can you believe some of the money these guys are getting for a couple outs?" asked Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette. Duquette says none of it impacts what the Orioles want to do...

SAN DIEGO - During his press briefing with Baltimore reporters today, executive vice president Dan Duquette said, "Very rarely do we sign high-profile free agents." The Orioles did sign Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez last year for a combined $58 million and gave up two draft picks to get that pair. But the messages seems to be pretty clear. While the Orioles are handing out millions in raises to their own arbitration-eligible players, they are very unlikely to dip into the deep end of the...

SAN DIEGO - The notion of free agent Max Scherzer reuniting with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, the man who drafted him in Arizona, was just too tantalizing a storyline to ignore at baseball's Winter Meetings. And then, on the day that Scherzer's agent, Scott Boras, held court for reporters pressed five and six deep for the better part of an hour, Rizzo went and threw cold water on the idea. In his daily briefing with reporters. Rizzo said the Nationals are not likely to get involved...

SAN DIEGO - Probably the biggest Nationals-related news that's come out at the Winter Meetings involves two players who are already on the roster. General manager Mike Rizzo today expanded on comments made by Matt Williams yesterday, saying that the Nationals plan to move Jayson Werth to left field next season, with Bryce Harper becoming their right fielder. Williams indicated that Werth could continue to see some time in right field, but Rizzo implied today that the switch will be on more of...

SAN DIEGO - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said he came close to trading for a pitcher today at the Winter Meetings. He had the foundation to get a deal done and "it didn't work out." No name given, of course. Duquette had a few new discussions today and said it's still more likely that the Orioles sign a free agent than pull off a trade. The Orioles have more meetings planned for later tonight. Officials are scheduled to fly out of San Diego on Thursday at 1 p.m....

SAN DIEGO - Agent Scott Boras drew the usual crowd of reporters and cameramen for his annual Winter Meetings Q&A with reporters in the lobby area of the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Asked about possible extensions for Orioles clients and pending free agents Chris Davis and Matt Wieters, Boras said the following: "I think there's a chance with all players. Dan (Duquette) and I talk a great deal. We obviously have to do their arbitration, annual contracts here soon. I think both players enjoy...