If you thought new Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez looked a little overwhelmed by all the attention at his introductory press conference this morning, you might be interested in the reason why. During his time with the Rockies, I dealt with Jimenez a couple of times while freelancing for MLB.com. I found him to be a confident, intuitive player, though one who was a little on the shy side. In my experience, he's a guy who cares more about pitching well, helping his team and being a good...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Miguel Gonzalez remains scheduled to throw a full bullpen session Friday afternoon. Gonzalez's back feels good following yesterday's 25-pitch session. "I feel great. No problems. I'm ready to work with the team now," he said. "I had it before and I knew exactly what I needed to do for a couple of days." Nick Markakis shaved the rest of his facial hair and his head. We almost didn't recognize him as he passed through the clubhouse. Same with Jemile Weeks, who cut...

VIERA, Fla. - Now that the gang's all here, it's time to see everyone take the field together as a group for the first time. All of the Nationals' position players have reported to camp and there were no issues with any of the physicals, according to manager Matt Williams. That means the Nats can have everyone take part in today's first full-squad workout of spring. Position players will work on bunt plays and various "fundamentals," and then will work on individual defensive drills...

VIERA, Fla. - It will likely take new Nationals manager Matt Williams a good while before he settles on a set lineup that he'd like to use during the regular season. First, Williams needs to see all his hitters take some cuts, both in the cage and in games, with his own eyes. Then, he needs to get a sense of where they feel most comfortable hitting in the lineup. Then, he needs to figure out what makes the most sense in terms of batting orders and how he can maximize the talent that he has...

The Orioles' top two pitching prospects are ranked among the top 20 prospects in all of baseball on the latest Baseball America top 100 list, which was released last night. Dylan Bundy was rated No. 15 with Kevin Gausman at No. 20. Baseball America ranked pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez No. 65 as he makes the list for the first time at age 20. Baseball America's John Manuel said two other O's prospects just missed this list with Hunter Harvey coming in at No. 108 and Jonathan Schoop at No. 110...

Three Orioles pitching prospects made Baseball America's top 100 prospects list that was released tonight. Dylan Bundy is ranked No. 15 with Kevin Gausman No. 20 and Eduardo Rodriguez No. 65. Two other Orioles came close to making the list. When Baseball America did its first draft of the top 100, pitcher Hunter Harvey was No. 108 and infielder Jonathan Schoop No. 110, according to BA's John Manuel. All five of those O's prospects made the ESPN and Baseball Prospectus top 100 lists while...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles held their first workout for pitchers and catchers - and the assorted position players who reported early - exactly one week ago. So much has happened since that morning. On the same day that the Orioles signed Korean pitcher Suk-min Yoon to a three-year contract, they reached agreement with pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez on a four-year deal. Yoon will be the first Korean-born player to suit up for the Orioles. Jimenez is the first free agent pitcher from outside the...

VIERA, Fla. - It was a pretty quiet day at Nationals camp today, with position players taking their physicals and working out with team trainers, and all pitchers getting the day off from bullpen sessions. How quiet a day was it? Well, the most exciting thing to happen out on the back fields during today's workout was when Mark Lerner's two schnauzers tried to attack Livan Hernandez, who apparently didn't come with the right approach when he tried to pet them. Onlookers got a good kick out...

VIERA, Fla. - Given how well-known he is across the baseball landscape and the level of talent he possesses, it's easy to forget that Bryce Harper is still just 21 and has played in just 371 games as a professional. Harper's skill set is vast, but he has some things he needs to improve upon, some ways that he can bolster his game. And he has an idea of a couple key areas that he'd like to focus on this spring. "Baserunning, that's huge for me this year," Harper said. "I'm going to...

The Orioles today announced that they have signed right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez to a four-year contract. Jimenez, 30, is 82-75 with a 3.92 ERA (1275.2IP, 556ER) in 212 career games (211 starts) with Colorado and Cleveland. Among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched since 2008, Jimenez ranks 6th in all of baseball with 0.7 HR/9.0 IP, tied for 7th with 195 starts, and 8th with a 1.57 GB/FB ratio, 61.1 ground ball percentage, and 8.35 K/9.0 IP. In that time, Jimenez is one of 10 pitchers...