The Orioles opened a spot on their 40-man roster yesterday and opened up themselves for more rumors and speculation. Steve Pearce was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk, the latest twist in a bizarre 2012 for the outfielder/first baseman/weary traveler. Let's review: March 27: Released by the Minnesota Twins March 29: Signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees June 2: Purchased by the Orioles from the Yankees July 28: Selected off waivers by the Houston Astros Aug. 27: Purchased by the...

As I see it, the current state of the Orioles' rotation is good. On the plus side, the Orioles have some depth, some youth, some very good arms and some youngsters on the rise. On the downside, they have a few pitchers that dealt with injuries last year and some young pitchers that have been consistent with their inconsistency. If spring training began tomorrow, some of the following pitchers would be candidates for rotation spots. The 2012 Orioles staff seemed to benefit from the...

The Orioles today announced that they have outrighted outfielder Steve Pearce to Triple-A Norfolk. Pearce, 29, batted .254/.321/.437 in 28 games in two stints with the Orioles in 2012. Overall, he batted .229/.315/.396 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 40 games with Baltimore, Houston and the Yankees last season. With the move, the Orioles now have 39 players on the 40-man roster.

Given the contracts that Edwin Jackson (four years, $52 million), Anibal Sanchez (five years, $80 million) and Zack Greinke (six years, $147 million) have scored this offseason, can you imagine what any of the Nationals' top three starters would fetch on the open market if they were all free agents this offseason? What type of deal would Gio Gonzalez land after winning 21 games, posting a 2.89 ERA and notching 207 strikeouts in 2012? How much money would a 26-year-old Jordan Zimmermann...

I can't figure out the baseball market. Mid-level talent is rewarded with outrageous contracts ...and then left-hander John Lannan signs for a guaranteed $2.5 million and catcher A.J. Pierzynski signs for $7.5 million. Bargains, right? Just as they did last winter, the Orioles will hold a mini-camp of sorts at Camden Yards in the days leading up to the Jan. 19 FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center. It's mostly set up for pitchers on the 40-man roster, though Kevin Gausman and Mike...

The Nationals have seen three of their former arms sign deals this week. John Lannan signed a one-year deal with the Phillies, Tom Gorzelanny signed a two-year deal with the Brewers, and Edwin Jackson agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal with the Cubs. The Nats, however, have yet to make a deal with Adam LaRoche. Baseball America released its list of the top 10 prospects in the Nats' organization, which includes third baseman Zach Walters. In case you missed it, read more on these...

Add ESPN's Jayson Stark and a few anonymous baseball executives to the chorus of Orioles' fans that are disappointed in the team's lack of significant offseason moves to date. While the Orioles have added some players they like, none have yet have fallen under the "big splash" department or have produced much excitement among the fans. Of course, the Orioles have plenty of offseason left to make additions and they have pointed out a few times now that they really like the team they...

While the Orioles have yet to make a big splash this offseason, they made various minor moves this week, including the addition of Adam Greenberg. Greenberg, who many remember from the incident in 2005 where he was beaned by the first pitch he ever saw in the major leagues, agreed to a minor league deal with the Orioles yesterday. Greenberg had his second major league at-bat last year with the Marlins, which can be seen here. Three other players inked minor league deals this week. First...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette remains in talks with the agent for left-hander Joe Saunders - just one of the names linked to the club today. Duquette met once with Saunders' representative, Greg Genske, during the Winter Meetings in Nashville, referring to it as a "preliminary" discussion. There has been additional contact and negotiations continue, as the Orioles seek to add a veteran starter to their rotation before spring training. Saunders reportedly had an offer on the...

Five days after the World Series ended, the Nationals had a choice to make: extend Edwin Jackson a qualifying offer, or cut ties with the veteran right-hander completely. If the Nats presented Jackson with the qualifying offer and he accepted it, he would have been on the books for a one-year, $13.3 million deal in 2013. If he declined the qualifying offer and signed elsewhere, the Nats would receive a valuable compensatory draft pick, which would come between the first and second rounds of...