While the rest of us wait to find out whether the Orioles re-sign Brian Roberts, bring in another second baseman or choose an in-house candidate, Ryan Flaherty has been working out at Camden Yards and receiving tips on hitting from a member of the organization's Hall of Fame. Flaherty left the frigid weather in Maine and headed to Baltimore. When we spoke over the phone yesterday, he was visiting a friend down in Fort Lauderdale. This guy avoids snow like it's a runner trying to break up a...

Taking a look at some random Orioles notes. These are courtesy of the club's public relations staff from the club's 2013 season summary: * The Orioles drew 2,357,101 fans in 2013, marking the first time since 2005 (2,624,740) the Birds drew over 2.3 million fans. * Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy were two of four players in the majors to win Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger Awards in 2013, joining Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt and St. Louis' Yadier Molina. * The Orioles led the majors with 212 home...

The stack of e-mails and tweets from today's "Wall to Wall Baseball" show on MASN included one about Rule 5 pick Michael Almanzar and how his presence on the 25-man roster may impact Danny Valencia. Almanzar was a curious selection. He's a right-handed hitting corner infielder who isn't regarded as a plus defender, though his arm is plenty strong. Valencia is a right-handed hitting corner infielder - he's going to get more reps at first base in spring training - who actually plays a...

You'll have to forgive Adam LaRoche if he wasn't totally up to date on the moves the Nationals had made over the last week or so. Seated at a table at the Occidental Grill on Pennsylvania Avenue last night, a couple of reporters briefed LaRoche on the Jerry Blevins trade and Corey Brown being designated for assignment, and LaRoche quietly took it all in. It was the first Nats news he had heard since leaving the country to be part of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin...

The news that the Orioles are interested in signing A.J. Burnett has received mixed reviews, judging by the comments on this blog. And those comments are the only ones I care about. Could I possibly be in the minority of people who think it makes sense for the Orioles? They won't hand out four- or five-year contracts to free agent pitchers. They're not comfortable offering three years to someone like Bronson Arroyo. Many of us are trying to wrap our heads around Phil Hughes getting a...

So who will be in left field for the Orioles next year? Is there a chance it could be Henry Urrutia? Before the first 20 comments start screaming this means the O's won't add an outfielder, it doesn't mean that at all. I am writing this blog speculating and wondering about Urrutia and not because anyone with the organization is handing him that job. That is just not so. So now, having said that, could he be the guy? Urrutia drew plenty of praise for his bat in the Arizona Fall League....

The Orioles aren't expected to make any announcements tonight. I've been told it's "status quo," with a lot of executives and agents traveling today. I guess it's harder to leave Lake Buena Vista, Fla., than I realized. Nothing new to report on closer Grant Balfour, who continues to put the Orioles and other teams on hold. "There are plenty of closers on the market," said executive vice president Dan Duquette. "I'm not that concerned about it. We'll see how things go. We're...

I'm not going to point out that it's still early in the offseason. Not with the Winter Meetings behind us and the Orioles' best acquisition being reliever Ryan Webb. Let me stress again that I really like the Webb signing. The Orioles stepped up with a two-year, $4.5 million deal for a quality sinkerballer who will be a valuable option in the sixth-to-eighth innings. He was in great demand and the Orioles acted quickly, which certainly goes against their reputation. Unfortunately, they...

When you look back, there is always that moment, that moment where you are that close. It might happen in your personal life, your job or in your day-to-day activity. For a baseball player, it is always about that moment when you get the call to the majors or you don't. It happens quickly for some, takes a long time for others, and most never get that coveted call, the call to the big leagues. For right-handed pitcher Josh Wilkie, he believes he was close to a possible call at the end of the...

The Nationals have announced the signing of three players to minor league contracts: first baseman Brock Peterson, right-handed reliever Manny Delcarmen and catcher Brian Jeroloman. All three players also receive invitations to big league spring training. Peterson is an interesting signing. A former 49th-round pick back in 2002, he appeared in 23 games with the Cardinals in 2013, his first taste of the big leagues at age 29. He went 2-for-26 (.077) with two RBIs, two walks and 11...