Of all the free agent starting pitchers on the market this offseason, I felt that Tim Hudson was one of the guys who might have made the most sense for the Nationals if he had been available at a reasonable price. Hudson knows the National League East well from having spent the last nine years with the Braves. He has a career 3.44 ERA, and outside of a fluke ankle injury this season, has been very durable over the course of his career. Hudson wasn't looking for a long-term deal, meaning the...

For an organization that often lagged behind plenty of others in international signings, there is evidence now that the Orioles are finally making some gains in that area. Last year, just three international players signed by the O's were among their top 15 prospects, according to Baseball America. Now the Orioles have five international players who will likely be ranked among their top 15 prospects. In Baseball America's O's top 30 prospects list published last winter, Jonathan Schoop was...

Looking to add more left-handed depth to their bullpen, the Orioles have signed reliever Kelvin De La Cruz to a one-year contract. De La Cruz, 25, was a combined 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA and seven saves in 67 1/3 innings and 50 relief appearances this year for Double-A Chattanooga (three games) and Triple-A Albuquerque (47) in the Dodgers system. He finished third in the Pacific Coast League and set a career high with 11.26 strikeouts over nine innings. De La Cruz held left-handed hitters to a...

The Orioles today announced that they have signed free agent left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz to a one-year contract. De La Cruz, 25, was a combined 3-1 with seven saves and a 2.67 ERA (67.1IP, 20ER) in 50 relief appearances for Double-A Chattanooga (3G) and Triple-A Albuquerque (47G) in the Dodgers organization in 2013. He finished third in the Pacific Coast League and set a career-high with 11.26 K/9.0IP. De La Cruz held left-handed hitters to a line of .217/.298/.261 in 106 plate appearances,...

Tim Hudson is no longer an option to join the Orioles' rotation. But when one door closes ... Hudson reportedly has agreed to a two-year, $23 million contract with the Giants that may include a full no-trade clause. The details are unfolding. The Orioles liked Hudson and were seen as a potential match, but they never made an offer. Would you give Hudson, a 38-year-old pitcher who recently had a pin removed from his ankle, $23 million? I'd be more inclined if it weren't my money. And...

The Orioles today signed four players to minor league contracts, adding two pitchers and two outfielders from four different organizations. They signed right-handed pitcher Brock Huntzinger, left-handed pitcher Nick Additon, and added outfielders Chih-Hsien Chiang and Kyeong Kang. The 25-year-old Huntzinger went 5-2 with a 1.83 ERA in relief last year pitching between Double-A and Triple-A in the Red Sox organization. A third-round draft pick in 2007, he worked 68 2/3 innings, allowing 51...

Last month, I wrote about the Orioles' plans to commemorate their 60th anniversary in Baltimore next season by wearing a patch on their right sleeve. Well, they unveiled it this morning in a tweet. This is the fourth consecutive season that the Orioles will wear a patch on their right sleeve. They sported one in 2011 with "Baltimore" or "Orioles" in script, depending on the jersey. The 2012 patch commemorated the 20th anniversary of Camden Yards, and the 2013 patch honored Hall of Fame...

The Nationals recently completed their first strength and conditioning camp for prospects at their training facility in Viera, Fla. As I reported earlier, this camp was administered by the Nationals' strength coaches and personnel and was focused on preparing prospects for their individualized offseason conditioning regimen. A major factor in this camp was the importance of nutrition for each prospect, re-emphasizing the standards the organization set for its 250 players during the season...

As a whole, the Nationals bullpen pitched to a 3.56 ERA in 2013, 17th-best in the majors. Nats relievers had a .252 batting average against (24th-best), put up a 1.29 WHIP (16th-best) and allowed a .679 OPS against (12th-best). Those aren't horrendous numbers, but it was clear that the Nats' bullpen dropped off from 2012, when that unit ranked seventh in the league with a 3.23 ERA and delivered big innings down the stretch in the team's postseason run. Improving the bullpen will be one...

While fan challenge winners Brady Doyle and Bella Ronca may not be able to snag line drives or smash home runs as well as Ryan Zimmerman, they proved that that they could take down the Nationals third baseman in an Xbox battle. Thanks to MASN's annual fan challenge, the duo had the opportunity to meet Zimmerman and take him on in a game of MLB 2K13. Doyle and Ronca submitted a video during the season, challenging Zimmerman to try to beat them in a game of MLB 2K13. Eventually, their video was...