Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette was a guest on MASN's "Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" yesterday and talked about the Jim Johnson trade. He said when you look at the trade you'll have to look at other players the O's sign in the next few weeks. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweeted this yesterday: "Jim Johnson trade was an obvious salary dump for Baltimore. Source said Orioles could be using money to pursue outfielder Nelson Cruz." Cruz was among 13...

The Nationals have added pitcher Doug Fister as the No. 4 starter to their rotation. And while the debate about whether or not they have the best rotation in the National League, there's one question that remains: How did they get one of the American League's top pitchers for a utility infielder (Steve Lombardozzi), a lefty reliever (Ian Krol) and a low-level prospect (Robbie Ray)? The answer is that the Tigers are in a cost-cutting mode. And even though they have one of the most generous...

The Orioles played their final game on Sept. 29. Are they any better today? No. About the same? No. It's still early, right? We're not supposed to be fooled by the flurry of trades and signings. We haven't reached the Winter Meetings yet. This date qualifies as "early" for the offseason. But the Orioles have backpedaled by removing Jim Johnson, Nate McLouth, Brian Roberts, Scott Feldman and Jason Hammel from the roster. Oh yeah, and Manny Machado had knee surgery. So, how's your day...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette phoned into "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" earlier today on MASN. Not surprisingly, last night's trade was the first topic of discussion. What motivated the Orioles to send closer Jim Johnson to the Athletics for infielder Jemile Weeks and a PTBNL? "Jimmy did a nice job and that was a difficult choice for us, but we were looking to create some flexibility for the team to go out and staff some of the other areas. And we think we'll be able...

Since July 2011, Doug Fister has been with the Detroit Tigers, a team that made the postseason in each of the last three years and made it to the World Series in 2012. He's built friendships there and has pitched in a strong starting rotation. The 29-year-old is now eager to have some of those same experiences in D.C. Fister found out last night that he had been traded to the Nationals, who will now be his third organization in six major league seasons. Both he and fellow Tigers right-hander...

With the holiday season underway, the Orioles will host a youth baseball tournament and help a worthy cause this Saturday, December 7. The Orioles invite Sarasota area residents to bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program to the Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex in Twin Lakes Park anytime between 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., then stay to watch games played as part of the Suncoast Travel Ball's Toys for Tots Baseball Tournament. Donated toys will be...

The Nationals acquired a frontline starter in right-hander Doug Fister on Monday, and now turn their sights on the rest of the 25-man roster. It appears now that the starting rotation is almost set for 2014, with Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez and Fister the top four. Where does this leave Ross Detwiler? Nationals executive vice president Mike Rizzo said it is not so much about Detwiler as it is that the Nats now have options for that spot this season, where they didn't...

Reporters didn't get a chance to discuss the Doug Fister trade with Mike Rizzo last night because Rizzo had previous obligations, but we were able to fire questions at the Nationals general manager just a bit ago during a conference call. Rizzo said that the Nationals had been talking with the Tigers about a possible trade for a starting pitcher dating to just before the general managers meetings in November, and they initially "kicked the tires" on three of Detroit's right-handed options...

Jim Johnson is known as a stoic figure on the mound and inside the clubhouse. Nothing seems to faze him. Not the pressure situations in the ninth inning or the blown saves or the fan criticism. It wasn't until Johnson began to talk about his tenure with the Orioles, which ended with last night's trade to the Oakland Athletics, that the emotions bubbled to the surface. Johnson choked up several times during a phone conversation while reflecting on the past two years and the role he played in...

The trade of Jim Johnson sure brought on an avalanche of reaction, much of it questioning the return the Orioles got in Jemile Weeks from Oakland. In acquiring Weeks, the Orioles got a player who didn't even play much in the majors last year and has not been able to duplicate his big league success of 2011, when he hit .303 in 97 games. It appears Weeks is not being handed the second base job, so the O's did not get back a top prospect or a player guaranteed to be a regular in exchange for...