The Orioles confirmed today that former Braves special assistant Dom Chiti has been hired as bullpen coach. Chiti joins new pitching coach Dave Wallace, who previously served as Atlanta's minor league pitching coordinator. Bill Castro and Scott McGregor were offered positions in the organization. However, Castro said he will pursue other opportunities. McGregor will return to his former role of pitching rehab coordinator in Sarasota. Prior to working in Atlanta, Chiti was part of the Rangers...

The Orioles today announced that they have named Dom Chiti as their new bullpen coach. Chiti, 54, has worked in front offices, or on major or minor league staffs, since 1982. He joins the Orioles from Atlanta, where he had served as Special Assistant to the General Manager since 2008, additionally serving as Pitching Development and Special Assignment in 2013. Prior to working Atlanta, Chiti was part of the Texas organization, where he served in multiple roles from 2002 through 2008. Chiti was...

Mesa beat Surprise9-4 behind Matt Purke, Richie Mirowski, Steven Souza Jr. and Brian Goodwin on Saturday in the Arizona Fall League. Purke went four innings, scattered five hits, allowed two runs, two walks and struck out three. He is now 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA. Souza went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a stolen base. It is his 10th stolen base of the season. Goodwin went 1-for-5 and is batting .315. Souza is batting .368. Mesa led 3-0 and 6-2 early, and the bullpen hung in for the win. The...

It turns out that new Nationals manager Matt Williams might need to tweak his coaching staff a little more than we originally thought. The Nats have granted permission for third base coach Trent Jewett to interview for the Mariners' bench coach position under new manager Lloyd McClendon, according to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. Jewett was expected to return to the Nats as third base coach, but when McClendon was hired as the new skipper in Seattle, Jewett's name immediately began being...

Another day brings the latest set of important events in baseball. The GM/owners meetings begin today in Orlando. There won't be a flood of trades and signings during these three days, but the groundwork is often laid for further discussions at next month's Winter Meetings in Orlando. Players tendered qualifying offers must decide today whether to accept or decline. The Orioles aren't impacted here, since none of their eligible free agents were given offers. The Sporting News Executive of...

The Orioles are facing a dilemma. They need to improve their starting pitching to get back to the playoffs. But the pitchers who seem likely to get long-term deals this winter don't look worth signing even if the O's would consider that avenue. And the pitchers on the other end of the free agent class may not even be upgrades on what is already in the rotation. Is it possible that a club that needs to improve its starting pitching won't be able to add a single pitcher that can truly help...

Just a couple of days after Denard Span was named the Nationals' recipient of the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award, there's a report that the Nats might be open to trading their speedy center fielder. According to CBSsports.com's Jon Heyman, officials from competing teams say that the Nats "appear willing" to listen to offers for Span, who hit .279/.327/.380 this season and was a finalist for a Gold Glove this season after going the entirety of the 2013 campaign without allowing...

In case you missed my update last night, the Orioles want to keep former bullpen coach Bill Castro in the organization. I'm not sure in what capacity, but there's apparently a spot for him. Dom Chiti has been hired as Castro's replacement, and he's valued by the Orioles almost as much for his scouting abilities as his work with pitchers. The Orioles will tap that resource. Chiti must have really wanted to get back in uniform, and back in a teaching mode, to leave a front office position...

Henry Urrutia had another strong game for the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs. The Orioles' 2013 minor league Player of the Year is batting .410 in 16 AFL games with three doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs. Urrutia is slugging .607 with an OPS of 1.069 and is batting over .400 against both left (.412) and right-handed pitchers (.409). Over his last three games, Urrutia is 8-for-13 with a homer, three runs and five...

Now that the Orioles have settled on a new bullpen coach, with the hiring of Dom Chiti expected to be announced Monday, the focus shifts to the two supposed in-house candidates. Scott McGregor and Bill Castro weren't contacted about the pitching and bullpen coach openings. The Orioles chose Braves minor league pitching coordinator Dave Wallace for the former job, and he had a strong voice in the decision to hire Chiti, a Braves special assistant. McGregor will return to his former role as...