VIERA, Fla. - Yesterday, I mentioned that manager Matt Williams and new third base coach Bobby Henley were seen practicing signs in an empty Space Coast Stadium about two hours after nearly all the players had left the facility for the day. What exactly were Williams and Henley doing? Why couldn't they just practice those signs over dinner or in a meeting room? Turns out, Henley wanted to make sure that he had a good view of Williams from the third base coach's box here at Space Coast...

VIERA, Fla. - You can add Adam LaRoche, Denard Span, Tyler Moore, Eury Perez, Mike Fontenot and Will Rhymes to the list of position players who have arrived to camp early. The left side of the Nationals' clubhouse - the side occupied by the position players - is slowly starting to fill up. LaRoche strolled into the clubhouse early this afternoon with a lengthy beard on his face and his son Drake right on his heels. The LaRoche boys are back in town. The beard, which features a grey patch...

Sometimes you meet people in life that have the amazing ability to smile and stay upbeat even when they experience tough times. That describes Jim Hoey pretty well. Many O's fans may not even remember Hoey, who announced his official retirement from baseball today. The Orioles drafted the tall, hard-throwing right-hander out of Rider University in Round 13 in June 2003. He may be best known for being part of a trade. Hoey and Brett Jacobsen were traded by the Orioles to Minnesota on Dec. 9,...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Though the Orioles still haven't made the signing of Suk-min Yoon official today, they cleared a spot for him on the 40-man roster by designating utility player Jimmy Paredes for assignment. The Orioles claimed Paredes off waivers from the Marlins on Saturday. The Royals claimed Paredes this afternoon, according to a tweet from the organization. We hardly knew him. The Orioles will announce the Yoon signing shortly. Yoon, 27, agreed to a three-year deal on Thursday and...

VIERA, Fla. - There's only so much you can take out of bullpen sessions early in spring. There's no one standing in the batter's box. There's no umpire. There are only a couple dozen people watching on instead of 30,000. And, well, pitchers are throwing in a bullpen that has nine other mounds, and typically four other pitchers getting in their own work. That said, you can't help but try and pull something substantive from these sessions, as hard as that can be sometimes. That's what we...

Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs manager Billy Gardner was in the Tampa Bay Rays organization for several years and had a chance to skipper newly acquired backup catcher Jose Lobaton while with the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. "I always liked the way he handed the pitching staff," Gardner said. "That was the one thing that stood out. He was a good communicator. He took a lot of pride in running the pitching staff and calling the game." Gardner worked with Lobaton in 2009, 2010 and parts of 2012...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Suk-min Yoon and agent Tad Hun Yo made another brief appearance at the Ed Smith Stadium complex this afternoon. The Orioles will announce Yoon's signing around 1 p.m., with the press conference expected to be held Tuesday at noon. The Orioles will hold their first full-squad workout on Wednesday. As of now, Rule 5 pick Michael Almanzar is the only member of the 40-man roster who hasn't reported to camp. Delmon Young and Ivan DeJesus Jr. showed up today. We're still...

In his quest to become the #FaceofMLB, Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper needs your help. Harper destroyed Brewers' right fielder Ryan Braun in the first round of voting, by a margin of 91 percent to 9 percent. In the second round of voting, the competition is a bit tougher. Harper now faces Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in the MLB Network-sponsored contest. How can you help Harper get past the National League Cy Young winner? Simply send a tweet (or a few) using the hashtags...

VIERA, Fla. - Matt Williams' comments yesterday about the Nationals having an "open competition" this spring between Anthony Rendon and Danny Espinosa for the team's starting second base job seemingly drew a lot of attention from fans. Rendon came up as a rookie last season, adapted on the fly to a position he had barely played since Little League, and fared pretty well. He improved at second base as the season went on and showed some offensive promise, despite the fact he made his big...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are expected to announce the signing of Korean pitcher Suk-min Yoon later today. A press conference wouldn't be scheduled before Tuesday. The Orioles also will announce a corresponding 40-man roster move. Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez will play catch this morning and hopes to throw his bullpen session on Tuesday. Gonzalez's lower back tightened Saturday during a rundown drill and the Orioles skipped his scheduled session the following day. "I'm a lot...