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...

Nelson Cruz still hasn't officially declined the Orioles' $15.3 million qualifying offer. The announcement will come later today. Meanwhile, the Orioles are trying to reach agreement with Cruz and Nick Markakis on multi-year deals. "We're still working on it," said executive vice president Dan Duquette. A deal with Markakis remains the most likely outcome. Cruz will have to come down from four years. The general managers' meetings begin today in Phoenix. Too bad they can't take the place...

He's not a minor leaguer that will sit atop various prospect lists or have Nationals fans clamoring for his jersey this winter. But Rafael Martin had a tremendous 2014 campaign, and he's now dominating winter league action, as well. The 30-year-old reliever appeared at three different levels of the Nats' minor league system this year, and put up a stellar 1.39 ERA in 58 1/3 innings over 38 appearances. Martin struck out 66, walked just 12, had a 0.806 WHIP and allowed only one home run all...

The Orioles will explore trade options as well as check the free agent market while attempting to upgrade their roster. In that regard, it's going to be a typical winter. According to multiple sources, they spoke to the Blue Jays about first baseman Adam Lind and were unable to agree on a return before he was traded to the Brewers last weekend for pitcher Marco Estrada. The Jays wanted first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce, according to sources, but the Orioles weren't willing to part...

If we could magically produce an Orioles Mount Rushmore, which four Orioles do you put on the mountain? There have been six Orioles that have had their numbers retired. They are the six elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and the six that have statues at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. How do you pick just four? No. 4 - Earl Weaver is the greatest manager in O's history. His career winning percentage is .583. Cooperstown called Earl in 1996 and the Earl of Baltimore died Jan. 19, 2013,...

Adam Jones returned from last night's Rawlings Gold Glove Award ceremony in New York with continued confidence that the Orioles will re-sign Nick Markakis, whose agent remains in negotiations with the club. Jones, Markakis and shortstop J.J. Hardy received their awards last night. "I've been speaking with him a lot," Jones said following today's dedication ceremony at the Westport Boys and Girls Club in Baltimore. "We've been friends for the last seven years. Man, time's flying. "I...

We all saw in 2012 what Tyler Moore is capable of. That season, Moore put up a .840 OPS and hit 10 home runs in just 156 at-bats in his first taste of the big leagues, putting himself on the radar of Nationals fans and seemingly positioning himself as, at the very least, a productive bench bat on the major league roster going forward. Things haven't worked out as planned. Moore hit .222 with a .607 OPS in 63 games in 2013, then hit .231 with a .685 OPS this last season, shuttling back and...

Orioles reliever Tommy Hunter is entering his final winter of arbitration eligibility before he can test free agency. He's not losing sleep over it. Or his sense of humor. "I had a good second half for that," said Hunter, who posted a 1.77 ERA in his last 43 appearances. "It's a roller coaster, baseball is, and you try to ride those upward climbs as long as you can. Hopefully, it continues in Japan and continues next spring training, and hopefully I start off the way I ended this year and...

Trying to project or predict a major league team's future payroll is a difficult proposition. But we can at least make some projections that could get us in the ballpark, no pun intended. Here is a look at a projected 25-man Orioles roster for 2015 and what it might cost the club. Right up front, I will say I included Nick Markakis, but did not include Nelson Cruz, Andrew Miller or Delmon Young. I did not include T.J. McFarland, who could potentially start in the minor,s but did include Ryan...