When I asked Dan Duquette back at the Winter Meetings if the Orioles would consider signing a player that had a PED-related suspension, he indicated they would consider doing that. "We do our due diligence on all the players," Duquette said then. "I think that, you know, being part of Major League Baseball, there is program in place that deals with that. Once it's dealt with, I think the players can go back to work." It may not be the most popular stance, but that is pretty much my...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are expected to announce later today that Nelson Cruz passed his physical and signed a one-year contract. I'd expect the press conference to be held on Tuesday. In a related story, the Orioles are on the verge of shattering the record for most press conferences in one week. Did you know that Ubaldo Jimenez and Alexi Casilla were Little League teammates? Neither did I until manager Buck Showalter dropped that little nugget on reporters during one of his...

VIERA, Fla. - Following today's workout, a handful of Nationals players gathered in the bullpen at Space Coast Stadium, held Venezuelan flags and offered their support to the people of Venezuela, who have been dealing with violent clashes throughout their country as of late. Reports out of Venezuela are that at least eight people have died within the last two weeks due to violent protests of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Supporters of Maduro have clashed with his critics, and violence...

VIERA, Fla. - Stephen Strasburg's repertoire already features a four-seam fastball that last season ranked second in the major leagues in average velocity among qualified starters. He has a sharp, knee-bucking curveball. And he has a changeup that often makes hitters look silly given how much movement it has and how fast it is relative to most changeups. Today, during Strasburg's first live batting practice session of spring, he showed off a new pitch - a slider, which he's been working on...

VIERA, Fla. - While the rest of the pitchers in his throwing group took part in their first live batting practice sessions of spring today, Ryan Mattheus remained sidelined with what he said is an upper chest injury. Mattheus has been shut down since Tuesday, he revealed today, after feeling discomfort in the chest following his second bullpen session of spring. He will undergo an MRI and will wait on the results, which will reveal exactly what's going on that's causing the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Brian Matusz and Kevin Gausman will each throw one inning as starters in Wednesday's first intrasquad game in Ed Smith Stadium. The game will last seven or eight innings and is closed to the public. Wei-Yin Chen and Bud Norris will each throw an inning in Thursday's intrasquad game, which will last four or five innings. The Thursday game is open to the public on one of the back fields. Still don't know the starting time. Chris Tillman will start Friday's exhibition...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Nelson Cruz is taking his physical today in Sarasota, but a confirmation on his signing won't come before Monday. The Orioles are waiting to get the results before announcing Cruz's one-year, $8 million deal, which includes a possible $750,000 in incentives. Dylan Bundy increased the activity in his throwing program today. Not only did he move up from 150 to 90 feet for extra throws, he "pitched" off flat ground from 60 feet to team executive Brady Anderson. Anderson put...

SARASOTA, Fla. - If Nelson Cruz takes his physical today as scheduled, the results may not come back until Monday, which would likely push back a press conference to the following day. One of Cruz's former teammates with the Rangers is glad that the veteran outfielder is joining the Orioles after agreeing yesterday to a one-year, $8 million contract. Chris Davis has been a strong and outspoken opponent of steroid use. He resents the suspicions and outright accusations that his 53-homer...

VIERA, Fla. - It's a really foggy morning down here in Viera and more rain might be on the way throughout the afternoon, but the Nationals will try and get in a full workout today despite the conditions. Players were required to report before 7 a.m. today for photo day, in which they move from station to station and have their picture snapped by various outlets as well as team photographers. The area atop the morning schedule that usually holds Matt Williams' daily motivational quote...

Less than two weeks ago, everyone was buzzing when Korean pitcher Suk-min Yoon tweeted a selfie of himself in an Orioles hat. That late night photo feels like it happened ages ago. Let's recap how we got here, shall we? At the time, the Orioles still had not made a big offseason move, leaving the Baltimore fan base frustrated as the O's began spring training. A few days later, the Orioles officially announced a three-year, $5.575 million deal with Yoon, but national writers were already...