Some pitchers use their old high school or college teammates as their catcher during offseason bullpen sessions. Some pitchers throw to their fathers during the winter. Others strap their personal trainers up in catching gear and have them on the receiving end of a few dozen fastballs. Gio Gonzalez has recruited someone with slightly better credentials to catch his offseason bullpen sessions: former Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. Gonzalez and Posada have met up each of the last two Tuesdays at...

As the baseball industry long suspected, the free agent floodgates burst open once Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka finally chose a team. Yes, Ty Wigginson and Endy Chavez signed minor league deals. Taking a closer look, I also see that Matt Garza's four-year, $50 million deal with the Brewers finally became official after a suspicious delay in the announcement that had me wondering whether he failed his physical. Then I thought, that rarely happens anymore. Grant Balfour signed a two-year,...

Five Orioles have been ranked among the top 101 prospects in baseball by Baseball Prospectus. Here is how Baseball Prospectus rated the five O's on its list released this morning: No. 10 - Kevin Gausman No. 15 - Dylan Bundy No. 58 - Hunter Harvey No. 61 - Eduardo Rodriguez No. 82 - Jonathan Schoop Before last season, Baseball Prospectus rated Bundy No. 4, Gausman No. 13 and Schoop No. 80. Now Rodriguez and Harvey join that list. Here is a breakdown of American League East prospects on this...

Of all the interviews that were conducted at NatsFest yesterday, if I was asked which was the most interesting, I'm pretty sure Danny Espinosa's 10-minute chat with reporters would take the cake. We got a lot of updates on throwing programs, a lot of offseason workout updates. But as always, Espinosa was brutally honest in his session with reporters, and provided some interesting information on his 2013 season and what he expects in 2014. Espinosa says that he's been told he'll be able to...

Orioles pitchers and catchers report to the spring training complex in Sarasota on Feb. 13. Maine residents arrived in the middle of January. Ryan Flaherty needed to escape the cold and proceed with his workouts before heading to Baltimore for FanFest. He's going to show up as the favorite to start at second base. Does his status change his offseason routine? "Not really," he replied last week on WBAL Radio. "I've taken a lot from what I've learned the last couple years and I've tried...

The Nationals announced that more than 8,400 people showed up today at NatsFest. Hope everyone who did had a blast. Unfortunately, as is almost always the case with these events, I was pretty much stashed away in a media work room, making the walk from the interview area to my laptop and then back to the interview area. Wish I could've seen more of the sights and sounds around the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center. Here are a handful of final notes and quotes from a jam-packed...

While Bryce Harper still has a little ways to go in his rehab from offseason knee surgery, Stephen Strasburg's rehab is complete following a surgical procedure to remove loose bodies from his right elbow back in October. Strasburg says that he went through a brief six-week rehab period following the surgery, but that he's now back to his normal offseason routine. As a result, he expects to be full-go when spring training begins in a few weeks. "(The offseason routine) really hasn't...

Even before his Nationals career was over, Livan Hernandez was talking about how he'd like to return to the organization once he had thrown his last pitch. He wanted to be able to work with young pitchers, impart the knowledge that helped him forge a 17-year major league career, five of those seasons spent in a Washington uniform (and two before that north of the border with the Expos). Now it appears that dream may become a reality. Appearing at NatsFest on Saturday, the 38-year-old...

It was not a World Series win. It was not even a playoff win. But on the night of Sept. 6, 2012, the Orioles won a huge game against the New York Yankees behind an eighth-inning homer barrage. What brings that game to mind was that is was replayed recently on MASN and I got into a Twitter conversation with fans about whether that was the best home crowd we've ever seen at Camden Yards. That, of course, is subjective - personal to each of us and some would not agree. That night, some fans...

Whatever the Nationals want him to do is just fine with Tanner Roark. "If they want me to throw one pitch to one guy, I'll do it," he said. "Anything to help out the team. It's a different mindset. Starting, you've got four days to prepare yourself. Relieving, you flip that switch right away once you hear that phone ring. Everybody looks back to see who's name will be called. But I like starting, I guess." Coming off a spectacular 2013 campaign where he went 7-1 with a 1.51 ERA in 14...