SAN DIEGO - The headlines after the second day of baseball's Winter Meetings have been going through the Windy City. The Chicago White Sox and Cubs are making all the news. The fans in Chicago need some relief. Each team won 73 games last season and finished 17 games out. The White Sox were fourth in the American League Central, the Cubs last in the National League Central. The White Sox acquired Jeff Samardzija in a trade from Oakland and signed closer David Robertson to a four-year, $40...

SAN DIEGO - Now that you've had time to digest the nuggets of information coming from executive vice president Dan Duquette's session with the media earlier today at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, here are some expanded quotes that went along with them. "We've met with a bunch of agents on outfield options and a couple of pitching options, so we were sharpening our focus on the market in those two areas," he said. "We've got a much better idea of what the market is in the outfielders and...

SAN DIEGO - In his daily video interview today with MASNSports.com at the Winter Meetings, I asked Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette about minor league outfielders Dariel Alvarez and Mike Yastrzemski. Alvarez has been ranked as the organization's No. 5 prospect by Baseball America and Yastrzemski is No. 9. Duquette says both have a chance to impact the big league roster in 2015. "We like Alvarez. I mean he had a great year last year. Made good contact, hit over .300 at Double-A...

SAN DIEGO - Orioles general manager Dan Duquette made it through today's media session at the Winter Meetings without fielding any questions about the Blue Jays. Must be those reports that Paul Beeston will return as Toronto's president/CEO in 2015. Duquette said he spoke to "a bunch" of agents and had trade discussions with four or five executives concerning outfielders and relievers. He's looking for left-handers and right-handers. After noting that the market is starting to take shape,...

SAN DIEGO - The Orioles brass will be honored in San Diego here tonight. Baseball America will host its awards gala and among the winners are Dan Duquette as BA's Executive of the Year and Buck Showalter as BA's Manager of the Year. They have just one manager award for all of baseball, so it is not an American League-only award. John Manuel, Baseball America's editor-in-chief, told me why their organization chose to honor Duquette. "For Dan Duquette, four years ago, you'd see him at the...

SAN DIEGO - Here is a video taped yesterday at the Winter Meetings with ESPN's Keith Law. Watch the video for the full interview, in which we talked about the Orioles' need for an outfielder and other moves that they might make. Law agreed with me that the Orioles should have some financial flexibility right now with the departures of Nick Markakis, Nelson Cruz and Andrew Miller. The money they might have signed Markakis with is available for use elsewhere. "I think it gives them the...

SAN DIEGO - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette is meeting today with the representative for free agent Delmon Young, and the club is viewed as a favorite to re-sign the veteran outfielder. One scout from another organization considers the Orioles an overwhelming favorite despite Young's preference for a two-year deal. The club seemed reluctant earlier in the offseason to guarantee more than one year. The Orioles are in the market for right-handed and left-handed bats for the...

SAN DIEGO - We're back! The organized chaos of the Winter Meetings is once again under way from the Manchester Grand Hyatt. As always, we're providing you with behind-the-scenes action and a roundup of top headlines and rumors. If you're not doing so already, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Here's what's going on so far. Headlines * Scout that signed Jon Lester now drafts players for Orioles - Steve Melewski * The lobby buzz on Brian Matusz - Roch...

SAN DIEGO - We're aware of the free agent infield targets that the Nationals might be looking at this offseason. Asdrubal Cabrera is an option, and general manager Mike Rizzo said last night that he's kept in touch with veteran's agent thus far this winter. Jed Lowrie is another possibility, although a few teams are reportedly considering him as a potential fit at third base for their respective clubs. A source tells me, however, that the Nats aren't looking too heavily at the free agent...

SAN DIEGO - Among the many former big league players here at the Winter Meetings that is now a broadcaster is Aaron Boone. He is part of a three-generation major league family and he hit a famous playoff home run in 2003. Now Boone is an analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Baseball with frequent appearances on Baseball Tonight and other studio programming. He joined ESPN in 2010 after a 12-year big league career. Boone knows something about clubhouse chemistry and he feels it is important when...