SARASOTA, Fla. - The six eligible Orioles filed for arbitration today, as expected: Pitchers Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, Bud Norris and Troy Patton; first baseman Chris Davis; and catcher Matt Wieters. The two sides will exchange figures Friday as a starting point for contract talks. Hearings will be scheduled at a later date if agreements can't be reached. Normally, they split the difference and avoid the process. Either way, the players are under team control, making it one of the most...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter estimated that five or six pitchers threw bullpen sessions today, though none of them with maximum effort in the middle of January. Showalter appreciated that left-hander Mike Belfiore came to Sarasota on his own. "That's pretty impressive," Showalter said. Belfiore, 25, drew an audience that included Showalter, pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti. "They told us to take it easy," Belfiore said. "Effort level was...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles have signed right-hander Luis Vizcaino and infielder Brock Bond to minor league deals. They do not include an invitation to spring training. Vizcaino, 39, pitched in Mexico last year, posting a 1.40 ERA and recording 25 saves with Yucatan, and hasn't been in the majors since 2009 with the Indians. He's 35-30 with a 4.33 ERA in 11 seasons and 543 games. Vizcaino broke into the majors with the Athletics in 1999 and also has pitched for the Brewers, White Sox,...

The Orioles have announced they will conduct an open tryout to find ballgirls and ballboys for the 2014 season - the team's 60th anniversary season - at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Saturday, March 1. The judges will include members of the Orioles' front office, former players and local media personalities. Outgoing and athletic men and women ages 18 and older who are interested in serving as ballboys and ballgirls for the Orioles during the upcoming 2014 season are invited to try out for...

The Orioles today announced that they have added Chris Correnti to their major league Athletic Training staff as Assistant Athletic Trainer. Correnti has served as a performance consultant to the Orioles organization since the start of the 2012 season, working from club's Sarasota, Fla., complex. Correnti began his career in professional baseball in 1990 with the Houston Astros organization before joining the Boston Red Sox organization in 1994, where he remained in various roles through the...

The Alex Rodriguez suspension story is raging on, and who knows when it might run off a cliff and be gone forever? The answer is: not any time soon. After getting his PED-related suspension reduced to 162 games - all for the upcoming season - A-Rod is going to federal court in an attempt to get arbitrator Frederic Horowitz's decision overturned. A-Rod is also suing the players union, which is upset for two reasons. One, the union has been trying to help him; and two, A-Rod made critical...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles pitcher T.J. McFarland tweaked his right knee about three weeks ago while working out. He had the knee examined today and appears to be fine, though he had it wrapped at the mini-camp at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. Manager Buck Showalter said McFarland was sent to a doctor today "as a precaution." Hunter Harvey's father, former major league closer Bryan Harvey, is at the mini-camp and attended today's meeting. Former Orioles bullpen catcher Ronnie Deck has been...

Spring training is less than a month away. It seems like just yesterday that the regular season ended. Well, not really. Personally, I'm ready for the season to start again. Although Alex Rodriguez dominated baseball news over the last few days, reporters thankfully had reason to write about something else. I don't know about you, but I'm suffering from exhaustion from A-Rod-gate. * Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are focusing the remainder of the offseason on adding a...

While most of the sporting news in the D.C. area was focused on the Redskins' new coach, life still went on with the Nationals. Congratulations to Jay Gruden on the new gig. Really, I'm happy for you, but we're here to talk baseball. And by baseball, I mean no Alex Rodriguez conversations. He's banned from this entry. We're talking good, clean topics this week. See what I did there? * It was almost a year ago that Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez was honored by his hometown, Hialeah, Fla....

SARASOTA, Fla. - It's been raining hard for most of the morning at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. Players are taking their swings in the indoor batting cage. Pitchers will have to throw under cover. The sun is starting to peek through the clouds. It could be sunny and humid within a matter of minutes. The weather changes in the blink of an eye down here. Jack Cust arrived this morning, greeted a couple of reporters at his locker and headed to the cage. He's trying to land a minor league deal...