When Jhonny Peralta signed a four-year, $52 million free agent contract in November with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Orioles brass probably took note. Some feel the Peralta deal is a comp - a good comparison for a possible deal between J.J. Hardy and the Orioles. Hardy can be a free agent after this season and the Orioles say they want to re-sign him. They are both shortstops and both are 31. They have some similar offensive statistics, but Peralta is ahead of Hardy on offense with Hardy the...

VIERA, Fla. - After sitting out the first two bullpen sessions that he was scheduled to throw because of a side injury, Ross Ohlendorf took to the mound today and got in his first mound work of spring training. While all the other pitchers in camp had thrown at least one bullpen session this spring coming into today, Ohlendorf had been held out because of what he says was discomfort in his side. The discomfort subsided to the point that he was able to get in some mound work today, although his...

Following the lead of pitchers, all position players reported to Viera, Fla, this week, giving the Nationals a full camp. It's been a long winter, and nothing helps me get over the winter blues like baseball. Workouts are under way, meaning that there is a lot of news for Dan Kolko to report from sunny Florida. New manager Matt Williams has gotten his first look at the Nationals, including offseason acquisitions like Doug Fister and Jose Lobaton. He also got a look at reliever Jerry Blevins,...

VIERA, Fla. - Jayson Werth reported to camp on Tuesday. He took his physical yesterday. But today, reporters finally crossed paths with Werth for the first time since he arrived in Florida for the start of camp. Werth took part in today's first full-squad workout, getting in some defensive work and taking some batting practice on the back fields. He then chatted with reporters for nearly 20 minutes, covering a host of topics. On whether not having the "World Series or Bust" expectations...

VIERA, Fla. - Anytime a new manager or coach takes the reins of a team, the early stages of his tenure will be carefully analyzed to see how he handles his players and runs the ship. We've discussed how Matt Williams' first week running the Nationals has been very detail-oriented and planned out. There's a structure in place for how Williams wants things to go, and on the first day of full-squad workouts, his players got a good feel for the pace and focus with which drills will be run this...

What a week. After the media and fans spent most of the offseason speculating about how inactive the Orioles were, they had so much to talk about with the addition of two new pitchers this week. Suk-min Yoon was introduced to the media Tuesday. While Yoon was a likely starter for the Orioles, news broke just a few hours after Yoon was announced that has potential to send him to the bullpen. Proven starter Ubaldo Jimenez signed with the Orioles, giving the O's a top-of-the-rotation guy and...

VIERA, Fla. - When position players got into the first drill of the first full-squad workout of Nationals camp, Danny Espinosa didn't receive the first reps at second base. He didn't actually line up at second base at all. Instead, Espinosa was set up as the second shortstop to get infield work, backing up Ian Desmond in this morning's early drills. Anthony Rendon was the top second baseman in the drills - which included bunt plays and standard infield work - with Jeff Kobernus working...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles held a pitchers meeting at 1:15 p.m. today in the same room used for manager Buck Showalter's post-workout sessions with the media. Alfredo Aceves walked through the door at 1:01 p.m. and made a U-turn back into the hallway. "Alfredo's early to the meeting," Showalter said. "Nice going." Aceves is determined to make a favorable impression in camp, and not just with his arm. Suk-min Yoon and Ubaldo Jimenez threw bullpen sessions this morning while reporters...

Once you have given up the 17th and 35th picks in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, why not part with another one? That is a question the Orioles face now, as they have been linked to players like Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales on the free agent market. This morning on MLB Network, Ken Rosenthal said the Mariners and Orioles remain the most likely landing spots for Cruz, with his last team, Texas, still a possibility. Last summer, the Orioles traded a competitive balance pick to Houston in...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles introduced pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez at a 9:30 a.m. press conference today, the right-hander flanked by manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette. Agent Fernando Cuza also was in attendance. Here's a sampling: Duquette on Jimenez: "Overall, if you take a look at his body of work, he's one of the top 10 pitchers in the league over the course of his career. We're happy to have his leadership on our pitching staff. He's at the point of his...