Henry Urrutia hit his first home run today for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League, and it came with the bases loaded. It also traveled a long way. Urrutia drove a ball off the top of the batter's eye in center field, according to a tweet from the league (@MLBazFallLeague). Urrutia's grand slam is part of a 2-for-3 day that's raised his average to .440 with six RBIs. He's serving as the designated hitter this afternoon while recovering from elbow soreness, but could return...

Former first-round pick Chris Marrero, once viewed as the Nationals' first baseman of the future, was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse today. This removes Marrero from the Nationals' 40-man roster and means that he'll become a minor league free agent after the World Series is over. The 25-year-old Marrero's time with the Nats is almost certainly now over. Marrero was taken by the Nats with the 15th overall pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Monsignor Edward Pace High School in...

The Orioles currently have 11 players eligible for arbitration this winter, which could produce another hike in payroll despite a few contracts coming off the books. MLBTradeRumors.com provided salary projections in the latest installment in its series. It includes service times for each player: Jim Johnson (5.165): $10.8MM Chris Davis (4.061): $10MM Matt Wieters (4.129): $7.9MM Bud Norris (4.068): $5MM Tommy Hunter (4.066): $3.1MM Brian Matusz (3.156): $2.1MM Nolan Reimold (4.004):...

Last night's game was perhaps the sloppiest I've ever seen the St. Louis Cardinals look. And man, did they pick a bad time to kick the ball all over the place. The Cardinals committed three errors in Game 1 of the World Series last night, but that doesn't even fully tell the story of how poorly they played defensively. In total, four unearned runs were allowed by the Cardinals. Nationals-killer Pete Kozma dropped a throw in the first inning that should have started a 4-6-3 double play and...

So how did the Orioles' pitching fare in 2013? A factual answer is, not as good as 2012. The team ERA went up from 3.90 to 4.20. The O's went from sixth to 10th in the American League in team ERA. The starters' ERA increased from 4.42 to 4.57 to rank 12th in the league. The bullpen ERA increased from 3.02 to 3.52 to rank sixth. To say the least, the Orioles need to do a better job of keeping the ball in the park next year. They allowed 202 home runs this season, up from 184, and they gave...

Right-hander A.J. Cole wrapped up his 2013 season at fall instructional league in Viera, Fla. It was the culmination of his first full season back with the Nationals after spending last season in the A's organization. In 2012, Cole went from high Single-A to low Single-A in the Oakland system. In 2013, Cole jumped from high Single-A to Double-A in the Nationals system. In his final seven starts of the season with Double-A Harrisburg, Cole went 4-2 with a 2.18 ERA and 49 strikeouts. He had...

I want to take a break this morning from talking about Orioles pitching coach candidates and revisit the AFL. Daryle Lamonica completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to Warren Wells, and ... Hold on, that's the American Football League. Let me try that again. I've got something here in my notes about the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators, but I'm pretty sure that's the Arena Football League. Stay with me. OK, Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia is swinging a hot bat in the Arizona Fall...

This season, Jordan Zimmermann emerged as an elite pitcher for the Nationals. After making the All-Star team for the first time, he finished the season with 19 wins and a 3.25 ERA. This week, we're throwin' it back to April, when Zimmermann threw his first career shutout. Watch the recap below and make sure to check back every Thursday for more memorable moments from 2013. Your browser does not support iframes.

Though the Orioles are excluded from the World Series again this fall, they had a busy day interviewing candidates for the vacant job of pitching coach. According to industry sources, the Orioles met today with Carl Willis, Andy Hawkins and Dave Wallace. Willis started the procession with an interview at 10 a.m. Rich Dubee met yesterday with team officials. Those are the four known outside candidates. No word on whether the Orioles are planning any more interviews, but they're expected to...

With a cannon for an arm, Matt Wieters makes it very difficult for opposing runners. This past season, he caught 24 baserunners stealing, but in this play, he had a little bit of help. And by a little bit, I mean a lot. With Desmond Jennings looking to take second, Wieters threw the ball to the wrong side of the bag. Lucky for him, Alexi Casilla made a spectacular play to get the out. Watch the play below and make sure to check back every Thursday for more memorable moments from 2013. Your...