Right-hander Aaron Barrett just wrapped up a spectacular year, both personally and professionally. The Nationals prospect had an outstanding season as a reliever, moving up from low Single-A Hagerstown to high Single-A Potomac. As the season came to a close, there were more surprises in store for Barrett. He knew he was going to get married to his fiancé, Kendyl, but the Nationals also rewarded him with an invitation to pitch in the Arizona Fall League. So Barrett got to enjoy a one-day...

The Washington Nationals today selected the contracts of right-handed pitchers Erik Davis and Nathan Karns. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. In his first season as a relief pitcher, Davis went 8-3 with five saves and a 2.71 ERA in 48 appearances with Harrisburg of the Double-A Eastern League and Syracuse of the Triple-A International League in 2012. The 26-year-old posted nine holds and 9.1 strikeouts per 9.0...

The Nationals announced tonight that they have added right-handed pitchers Erik Davis and Nathan Karns to their 40-man roster. The moves protect the two players from the Rule 5 draft, which will be held on the final day of the Winter Meetings, on Dec. 6. Davis, 26, went 8-3 with five saves and a 2.71 ERA in 48 appearances between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse in 2012. He was acquired from the Padres in the Alberto Gonzalez trade in March 2011. Davis is also 3-0 with a 0.56 ERA...

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired outfielder Trayvon Robinson from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for infielder Robert Andino. Robinson, 25, batted .215/.272/.330 (62-288) in 90 major league games over the past two seasons with Seattle. The switch-hitter appeared in 46 games (39 starts) in left field for Seattle in 2012. Robinson hit 73 home runs and stole 169 bases in 754 games over eight minor league seasons after being drafted in the 10th round of the 2005 First Year...

The Orioles have traded infielder Robert Andino to the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Trayvon Robinson, giving the club another option in left field while thinning out their surplus at second base. Also, the Orioles added infielder Jonathan Schoop and left-hander Mike Belfiore to their 40-man roster, protecting both players in the Rule 5 draft, which will be held Dec. 6 at the Winter Meetings in Nashville. They outrighted pitcher Oliver Drake, a 43rd-round pick in the 2008 First-Year Player...

Washington Nationals Executive Vice Present of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo today was named the Executive of the Year by the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Rizzo will officially receive the award, presented annually since 1967 by the Boston chapter of the BBWAA, at a ceremony on Jan. 24 in Boston. Rizzo's 2012 Nationals led MLB in victories (98) and run differential (+137) en route to ending D.C.'s 79-year postseason drought. Four...

General manager Mike Rizzo's Nationals made the playoffs for the first time in team history, posting the best record in the majors in the process. His team's skipper won Manager of the Year. His teenage center fielder won Rookie of the Year. He had four players make the All-Star team, had three win Silver Sluggers and one win a Gold Glove. Now Rizzo has gotten some national recognition himself. Rizzo has been named Executive of the Year by the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers'...

By 11:59 p.m. Eastern time tonight, the Orioles will have to set their 40-man roster for the Rule 5 draft which will be held Dec. 6 during the upcoming Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn. Essentially the rules state that a player in your organization that is not on your 40-man roster can be taken by another team in the Rule 5 draft if the player was drafted and signed at age 18 or younger and has five years with your club, or the player was drafted and signed at 19 and older and has four years...

Brian Roberts is lifting weights, running and hitting off a tee in Sarasota. He doesn't really think about his surgically repaired hip, and the concussion symptoms are forgotten unless he's asked about them. Starting at second base on opening day? That's the plan. Playing beyond 2013? Ditto. And, yes, Roberts will attend FanFest on Jan. 19 at the Baltimore Convention Center. To say it's all good right now would be an understatement. The key is to maintain it. "I'm doing as well as...

The Orioles today announced that they have named Matt Haas National Crosschecker. Haas, 40, joins the Orioles organization after four years as a Regional Crosschecker for the Miami Marlins. Prior to his time with the Marlins, Haas spent four years as a Midwest Area Scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks and six years as a Midwest Area Scout for the Boston Red Sox. Some of Haas' notable signings as an area scout include Kevin Youkilis (8th round, 2001), Collin Cowgill (5th round, 2008) and Josh...