SARASOTA, Fla. – John Means joined teammates in spring training warmups this morning, but his throwing distance looked more like a football practice. Deep bombs to his intended target. Long, long tossing to get his arm loose before heading to the row of mounds. Means didn’t have his first offseason bullpen session until Jan. 30, with the club slow-

SARASOTA, Fla. – Kyle Bradish said he’s “very confident” that he can recover from his elbow injury and be a major contributor to the 2024 Orioles. Bradish was diagnosed in January with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain. “I’m feeling really good right now,” he said this morning. “I’m going to take it day by day, trust the process and the schedule

For now, we have to put on hold any talk that this might be among the best O’s rotations ever. They added a stud pitcher in 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, but on the first day of spring training we saw that injuries subtracted, at least for some period of time, two starters. We’ve seen better days in Birdland. Right-hande

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – When MacKenzie Gore returned home in October and contemplated his season, the Nationals left-hander focused on the two extremes he experienced. “Some good and some bad,” he said. “I’ve really just got to figure out why I was good at times, and why I wasn’t. Fix that and go into this year.” Gore truly did pitch at both ends o

SARASOTA, Fla. – Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter used to make a point about the unpredictability of baseball by quoting one of his favorite sayings. If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. It’s supposed to apply to life, but it also works with sports. Think you have every angle covered before spring training and discover on

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It was something of an offhand comment, thrown in near the end of a longer answer to a question about his bench options to begin the season. But what Davey Martinez said Wednesday made a few ears perk up. “We’re going to have a battle for center field with Young and Robles,” the Nationals manager said in his first media sess

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg was sitting on his couch with wife Anna Claire when she suddenly went from spouse to source. “I didn’t have my phone on me,” Westburg said this morning. “We were watching a movie and she’s like, ‘Hey, who is Corbin Burnes?’ It was just a random question for her to ask. I was like, ‘Why do you ask?’

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Mason Thompson was enjoying what he believed was a productive offseason. Determined to bounce back from an erratic 2023, the Nationals reliever set out to make some mechanical changes to his delivery, and a couple weeks ago faced a live hitter near his home in Texas for the first time this year. Everything was going swimming

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles’ pitching depth will be tested early. Kyle Bradish will begin the season on the injured list with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right elbow. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection and begins a throwing progression on Friday. John Means is a month behind the other pitchers after experiencing elbow sore

During a season where he turned 30, the Orioles Ryan O’Hearn became a middle-of-the-order hitter on a 101-win Orioles club that finished atop the American League East. Not bad for a player who was in the big leagues part-time between 2018 and 2022 with Kansas City. His career line with the Royals was .219/.293/.390/.683. He elevated his game with B