SARASOTA, Fla. - Outfielder Nelson Cruz is flying from the Dominican Republic to Miami this afternoon and is expected to drive to Sarasota tonight. Cruz and the Orioles reached agreement today to a one-year, $8 million contract with another $750,000 possible in incentives based on time spent on the major league roster. In keeping with their policy, the Orioles won't comment on the deal until Cruz passes his physical. However, multiple industry sources confirmed it this morning. Because...

At the start of free agency, MLBTradeRumors.com projected that slugger Nelson Cruz could get a three-year contract worth $39 million. As we know, things change, and so did this free agent market. Today, the Orioles agreed to a one-year deal with Cruz worth $8 million plus incentives. Was that a deal the Orioles simply had to take? Sure seems so, and after earlier giving up their first-round pick next June (17th overall) for Ubaldo Jimenez, they will now part with the 55th pick for Cruz. That...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles were supposed to take the field at 10 a.m. for their pre-workout stretch, but it's been pushed back another hour. Players are still busy with photo day. Executive vice president Dan Duquette walked through the media workroom earlier this morning. I asked whether he had anything to say, my fingers on the home row of my keyboard. "Still working on it," he replied with a grin. The Orioles are working to finalize a deal with outfielder Nelson Cruz, according to...

VIERA, Fla. - Full-squad workouts will get slightly more interesting starting today, as live batting practice sessions will start this morning out on the back fields by the Nationals' minor league complex. For those who are unaware, live batting practice is when an actual pitcher is throwing to actual hitters, although there is an L-screen in front of the pitcher and the hitters often spend the first couple live BP sessions just looking at the pitches go by them. Hitters call that tracking...

The Phillies' decision to turn in an unsigned college draft pick to the NCAA for engaging the services of an agent acting as an advisor appeared this week to at least temporarily hurt their standing in the eyes of some agents who take care of those college baseball players. It also might, in turn, have an adverse effect on their opportunities to sign some players later. One agent had said the "Phillies are out." The Phillies apparently alerted the NCAA that Oregon State left-hander Ben...

It sure seems like one signing has energized a fanbase. The Orioles signed pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez to a four-year deal and suddenly no one is posting here that the team will finish in last place, is cheap, is too slow to act or will win just 70 games this year. Will that one signing make the difference for the Orioles on the field this year? I guess we will find out, but it sure has made a difference, at least so far, with the enthusiasm of a fanbase that was waning. Now fans seem to be...

SARASOTA, Fla. - If the Orioles don't sign another free agent, it could rival Super Bowl III or Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas for biggest upset in sports. It just seems inevitable. With all that smoke, there's got to be fire. It also could mean that a new pope has been elected, but I'm going with fire. The Orioles are in on any combination of Kendrys Morales, Nelson Cruz and Ervin Santana, depending on who's doing the reporting. The only certainty is that the club has held discussions with...

Today is the first day of the accelerated development program for the Nationals prospects in Viera, Fla. Earlier this week, we got an exclusive look at the roster, so now let's break down some of those roster highlights. Focusing on the pitchers, right-handers Lucas Giolito, Jake Johansen, Dakota Bacus and Austin Voth, and left-hander Brett Mooneyham are on this roster. It will be intriguing to see how standout pitchers from the Dominican Republic, such as right-handers Pedro Encarnacion,...

VIERA, Fla. - We can talk all we'd like about where Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman are going to hit in the batting order this season. And believe me, there will be plenty of blog posts about those very topics over the next handful of weeks. But the guy who will set the tone for the Nationals lineup this season is Denard Span, who will be back in the leadoff spot in his second season in D.C. Span had a shaky 2013 campaign that featured a rough first half of the season and a...

VIERA, Fla. - Manager Matt Williams made the drive to Kissimmee a bit ago for a meeting with Major League Baseball officials regarding the new replay rules that will be instituted this season. MLB asked Williams to drive in so that the new rules could be explained in detail, giving the teams complete knowledge of what will be allowed and when. I'll be interested to hear tomorrow what exactly Williams learned at the meeting and how the Nationals plan to try and use these new rules to their...