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The Orioles have filled two holes on their roster in the last two days.
After reaching agreement with closer Grant Balfour yesterday on a two-year, $15 million deal, the Orioles have traded infielder Danny Valencia to the Royals for outfielder David Lough.
Lough, 27, batted .286/.311/.413 in 96 games for the Royals this season and played all three outfield positions. He finished eighth in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting, leading the group in Wins Above Replacement (WAR)...
The Orioles today announced that they have acquired outfielder David Lough from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for infielder Danny Valancia.
Lough, 27, batted .286/.311/.413 in 96 games for Kansas City in 2013, playing all three outfield positions. He finished 8th in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting, leading AL rookies in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) per both Baseball-Reference (2.7) and FanGraphs (2.4, tied with Tampa Bay's Wil Myers).
Among all outfielders that played...
The Syracuse Chiefs are the third Triple-A team the Nationals have had as an affiliate in their nine years of existence.
Today, the Nats announced that they'll be sticking with the Chiefs a while longer.
The Nationals have agreed to a four-year player development contract with the Chiefs, who play in the Triple-A International League. The deal will begin in 2015 and run through the 2018 season.
"This is the first PDC that we have signed with an affiliate in excess of two years and it...
The Washington Nationals today announced the signing of a four-year Player Development Contract extension (which begins in 2015) with the Syracuse Chiefs of the Triple-A International League through the 2018 season. Nationals President & General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Vice President/Player Personnel Bob Boone, Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Player Development Doug Harris and Director of Player Development Mark Scialabba made the joint announcement.
"This is the first PDC...
At the end-of-season strength and conditioning camp, right-handed pitcher Jake Johansen was one of the three strongest players on hand.
Johansen has the frame, a 6-foot-6 and 235-lbs., and worked very hard in his first season to command his tremendous fastball, which hit 94-96 mph and occasionally touched 99 mph.
Baseball America likes what its sees from Johansen. National writer Aaron Fitt has Johansen in the top 10 of the Nationals prospects.
No. 7 RHP Jake Johansen
"He has always had...
As of today, the Nationals almost certainly have their eight starting position players in place, barring some kind of shocking trade.
They definitely have their top four starters set in stone now that Doug Fister is on board, and have a lengthy list of hurlers who will compete for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, including Ross Detwiler, Tanner Roark, Taylor Jordan, Ross Ohlendorf and Nathan Karns.
We know how the back end of the bullpen will look, with Rafael Soriano returning as closer and...
The Orioles were working last night to set up closer Grant Balfour's physical for today in Baltimore.
Two seasons ago, the Orioles bullpen was the strength of a team that snapped a string of 14 straight losing campaigns. The club finally made the playoffs, and most of the credit could be found beyond the outfield fences - spitting sunflower shells, chewing bubble gum and waiting for the phone to ring.
The group wasn't quite as dependable in 2013, though abbreviated starts from the rotation...
While we continue to ponder whether the Orioles can sign catcher Matt Wieters to a long-term contract, or failing that, if they will trade him, here is another Wieters question.
Can he get his bat back to 2011 levels in 2014?
In 2011, Wieters hit .262 with 22 homers, 68 RBIs and had a .450 slugging percentage with a .778 OPS.
In 2012 he hit .249 with 23 homers, 83 RBIs, a .435 slugging percentage and a .764 OPS. Then last season he batted .235 (with a .287 OBP) with 22 homers, 79 RBIs, a...
So those Grant Balfour negotiations took a little while, huh?
Wow, that was protracted. But in the end, I see it as a win for the Orioles. They now have a closer locked up for the next two years and Jim Johnson would have been a free agent after 2014.
At the projected salary for Johnson in 2014, the Orioles did save some money that can be used elsewhere and they may have upgraded the closer's role.
I say may because Balfour will have to prove that he is better than Johnson. A 35-year-old...
Every year, right after the Baseball America Orioles top 10 prospects lists comes out, I rush to the phone to interview the writer of the list to get some insights on those players.
This year I had to interview myself. At least I didn't have any trouble reaching the guy.
It was exciting to be asked by Baseball America to do the O's list this year. They are the industry standard for prospects and when they talk about young players a lot of people listen. I tried to do a job worthy of their...