The Orioles' first division title in 17 years has brought more recognition to executive vice president Dan Duquette. Duquette has been named 2014 Major League Baseball Executive of the Year by the Sporting News, the announcement coming tonight during the annual general managers' meetings in Phoenix. Duquette received his award, which has existed since 1936, after being chosen by a panel of 33 major league executives. Voting concluded before the postseason. This is the second Sporting News...

The Orioles didn't factor into the Baseball Writers' Association of America Rookie of the Year voting, the results revealed last night on MLB Network. The White Sox's Jose Abreu was a unanimous choice in the American League, and none of the Orioles received a vote. The tide turns tonight. Buck Showalter is expected to be named AL Manager of the Year for the third time after being runner-up to the Angels' Mike Scioscia in the Sporting News voting. Showalter, Scioscia and the Royals' Ned...

It doesn't yet appear that Orioles fans have much reason to worry about watching the longest-tenured Oriole, Nick Markakis, play for another team next season. But if Markakis' agent is going to meet with other teams this week to see what is out there, the Orioles management can certainly do the same. One player that may be worth the Orioles looking at is free agent outfielder Nori Aoki. After playing in Japan for eight seasons, he has recorded a slash line of .287/.353/.387 the past three...

Outfielder Michael A. Taylor had a solid season at Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse that earned him a a tour with the Nationals in August and a September call-up. Taylor got into 17 games with the big club. His first big highlight came when he slammed a home run against the Mets at Citi Field. He also had three doubles, eight hits, five RBIs and earned three walks, batting .205. The jump that Taylor made in one season is a big story. I remember interviewing Taylor after he was named...

With the deadline passing for players to make decisions on qualifying offers, outfielder Nelson Cruz has rejected the one extended to him last week. Cruz was assured of turning down the Orioles' $15.3 million offer. It just became official this afternoon. The Orioles will receive a compensatory draft pick if Cruz signs with another team. Teams have made 34 qualifying offers over three seasons, including 12 in 2014. None have been accepted. Cruz continues to seek a minimum four-year deal...

The Nationals have agreed to minor league deals with infielder Emmanuel Burriss and right-handed reliever Manny Delcarmen, and both will get invitations to major league spring training in Viera, Fla. The 29-year-old Burriss signed a minor league deal with the Nats in December 2013 and hit .300/.377/.412 in 116 games at Triple-A Syracuse, where he played mostly shortstop. Burriss, a native of Washington, D.C., is a career .243 hitter in five seasons with the Giants, but hasn't played in the...

Major league general managers are convening in Phoenix starting today to meet with officials from the commissioner's office, go over potential rules changes, discuss what worked (and didn't) with expanded replay and initiate the process of filling roster holes in anticipation of the 2015 season. The reality is that few deals are made at the GM meetings. However, it's a venue where a lot of talks get started, with the hope of consummating deals a few weeks later at the Winter Meetings (which...

While it might seem like the World Series just ended a couple days ago, the general managers' meetings begin today in Phoenix, marking the first fairly significant event in the major league offseason. By "fairly significant," I don't mean that much wheeling and dealing typically happens during the GM meetings. If we come out of this four-day stretch with news of more than a couple of trades or big free agent signings, I'll be surprised. We're still early in the offseason, after all. But...

The Baseball Writers' Association of America announces its awards for the 2014 season this week, starting with the top rookies and finishing with the Most Valuable Players. Some races are obvious. Others are up for debate. Ballots were due the final day of the season, so October doesn't count. That's good news for the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, not so much for Madison Bumgarner, the Giants' World Series hero. Here's the scouting report on each of the ballots: Ballot with the most No. 1...

He had a very solid 2014 season pitching for Double-A Bowie at just 21, and right-hander Zach Davies has carried that over to the Arizona Fall League. After going 10-7 with a 3.35 ERA for the Baysox, Davies is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in six starts for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the AFL. In his last four starts, he has given up just one run over 17 innings. Davies has made steady progress since the Orioles selected him in Round 26 of the 2011 draft and he'll likely be as close to the majors as...