Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said newly acquired catcher Johnny Monell will compete for the backup job in 2014. The Orioles obtained Monell from the Giants tonight for cash considerations and placed him on the 40-man roster. Monell, 27, batted .275/.364/.494 with 27 doubles, two triples, 20 homers and 64 RBIs in 121 games with Triple-A Fresno this season. He's a career .267/.351/.456 hitter in seven minor league seasons in the Giants organization. Monell made his major...

The Orioles have acquired catcher Johnny Monell from the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations, according to a tweet from Andrew Baggarly of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. The 27-year-old Monell has spent his entire career in the Giants' minor league system, but was designated for assignment earlier this week. In 641 games over seven minor league seasons, the left-handed batter has posted a .267/.351/.456 line. He has spent most of the past four seasons at Double-A and Triple-A. He's...

Before rolling out of my house late yesterday afternoon, I looked up stats for a Sunday morning blog entry on backup catching candidates for the Orioles. I also was prepared to issue a warning against any snarky "slow news day" remarks. You know the rest. The Orioles acquired catcher Johnny Monell from the Giants for cash considerations and tossed him into the mix. Coincidence? Or did I make it happen? If it's the latter, I'll try to get you a frontline starting pitcher and a...

By now, it's no secret that the Nationals are looking into ways to bolster their starting rotation by adding another arm. It might be via free agency. It might be through a trade. Regardless, the chances of the Nats bringing in another hurler at some point prior to the date for pitchers and catchers to report to spring training appear to be pretty good. We've already seen some movement on the free agent market, with a number of starters inking deals before we even get to the Winter...

When I look ahead to the 2014 Orioles season, I can foresee the team's rotation getting a potentially big boost by someone already on the staff. Can Kevin Gausman be a real X factor for the 2014 Orioles? Gausman made just five starts for the Orioles last season with 15 appearances out of the bullpen. While some fans look at the stat sheet and see a player that is not yet ready for consistent major league success, I think back to a pair of starts the 22-year-old right-hander made in June that...

If the Orioles are going to bolster their rotation, which is a primary goal of executive vice president Dan Duquette, they'll probably need to re-sign Scott Feldman or pull off a trade. Their free-agent options are severely limited. They won't spend big and they're not enthused by the market. The Cubs seem determined to deal pitcher Jeff Samardzija - a report on CSNChicago.com listed the chances at 99 percent - which automatically links him to the Orioles. There's no way around...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving complete with some mix of family, food and football. If you're anything like me, you'll be munching away on turkey and stuffing for the next dozen meals or so, thanks to bags upon bags of leftovers that are now jammed into my fridge. Not that I'm in any way complaining. I think I could eat stuffing all day, every day. The market for left-handed relievers was fairly deep when free agency began a little less than a month ago, but over the last few...

They say time heals all wounds, but when it comes to baseball and the Orioles-Yankees rivalry, that may not be completely true. It was announced this week that former Oriole Mike Mussina's name will appear on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time and, at some point, it appears Mussina could get the call to the Hall. But if elected, will he go in as an Oriole or z Yankee, and how will fans of the club feel about that? Even after all this time, I don't think the wound of...

Is everyone eating turkey omelets and turkey hash this morning? The Orioles made it through Thanksgiving without being attached to a new trade rumor. For that, I am thankful. Monday is the deadline for tendering contracts to arbitration-eligible players, and executive vice president Dan Duquette indicated last week that all nine Orioles will receive offers - outfielders Nolan Reimold and Steve Pearce, left-handers Troy Patton and Brian Matusz, first baseman Chris Davis, catcher Matt Wieters,...

Right-hander Aaron Barrett made a huge jump this season. Going from low Single-A to Double-A doesn't happen every day. But Barrett showed he belonged with an amazing start to finish, displaying closer stuff, beginning all the way back in the 2012 Arizona Fall League. It all came together this month when the 25-year-old Barrett got one of those phone calls he had dreamed about. His contract was selected for placement on the Nationals' 40-man roster. "It is definitely something that I have...