And asked ... and asked again ... I was told by an industry source tonight that the Orioles "weren't believed" to have placed a bid on Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki. That's the closest I've come to a firm confirmation. The Brewers won the rights to negotiate with Aoki with a $2.5 million bid, according to Yasuko Yanagita of Hochi Shimbun via Twitter. Aoki's team, the Yakult Swallows, accepted the bid. The Brewers have an exclusive 30-day negotiating window to work out a contract...

So I've noticed that some fans are aggravated by the Orioles' lack of impact moves this offseason. Very little gets past me. I understand why season ticket sales aren't going to spike for Matt Antonelli, Taylor Teagarden, Ryan Flaherty, Dana Eveland and Tsuyoshi Wada. But also keep in mind that the Orioles are addressing their lack of depth (and, in Teagarden's case, lack of a backup catcher, which every team needs.) That's just one of the many chores laid at the feet of executive vice...

I tweeted this earlier today, but I'll mention it in the blog, as well. The Orioles have agreed to terms with outfielders Antoan Richardson and Lee Cruz on minor league deals. They also agreed to terms with reliever Jon Link, as they continue to seek depth for the upper levels of their minor league system. Richardson, 28, is an interesting acquisition because the Orioles drafted him in the 27th round in 2001 and 2002, but they failed to sign him. He signed with the Giants, who drafted him in...

According to a baseball source, the Nationals were not one of the teams to place a bid on Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish through the posting process, which ended at 5 p.m. Wednesday. That takes the Nationals out of the mix for a right-hander, who is described as the best pitcher not currently in the major leagues and helps to better explain general manager Mike Rizzo's hesitance to address the subject publicly. The news was first reported by The Washington Post. If Darvish isn't in...

According to this tweet from the Houston Chronicle's Zachary Levine, the Nationals have signed right-handed reliever Jeff Fulchino, who split last season between the Padres and Astros. In a five-season career that has also included stints with the Marlins and Royals, the 32-year-old Fulchino is 9-10 with a 4.84 ERA in 163 relief outings. He was 1-4 with a 5.71 ERA in 2011. Manager Davey Johnson has stated his preference to have both right- and left-handed long men in his bullpen, but...

So much for a slow day at Camden Yards. The Orioles just announced that they've hired Danny Haas as the club's national crosschecker. Haas spent the last 10 seasons as an amateur scout in the Boston Red Sox organization. In case anyone is confused by the term "crosschecker," here's a handy guide. Here's the rest of the Orioles' press release: Haas, 35, most recently served as Boston's Southeast Crosschecker. He was East Coast Crosschecker in 2010 and worked as the club's Upper...

The Baltimore Orioles today announced that Danny Haas has been hired as the club's National Crosschecker. Haas spent the last 10 seasons as an amateur scout in the Boston Red Sox organization. Haas, 35, most recently served as Boston's Southeast Crosschecker. He was East Coast Crosschecker in 2010 and worked as the club's Upper Midwest/Northeast Crosschecker from 2006-09. Red Sox major league players signed during that time include Ryan Kalish (ninth round in 2006), Ryan Lavarnway (sixth...

The Orioles have brought in a new executive vice president and scouting director. It was logical to assume that more changes were coming to various departments. Dan Duquette has made a few hires and done some restructuring, and it continued yesterday. Confirming this report from FOX Sports, Duquette has reassigned pro scouts Todd Frohwirth, Jim Howard, James Keller, Ted Lekas, Lee MacPhail IV and Jim Thrift to the amateur side. Dave Engle and Bruce Kison will remain in their current...

With Randy Knorr leaving Triple-A Syracuse to be the Nationals bench coach, Tony Beasley will move up to manage the Chiefs this season, according to MiLB.com. (Updated: The Nationals are expected to announce the complete minor league coaching staffs early next week.) Matt Lecroy goes to Double-A Harrisburg to manage the Senators after leading the Single-A Potomac Nationals last season. Brian Daubach is still listed as the manager at Low-A Hagerstown, and his coaching staff remains intact....

The shroud of secrecy around the bidding process for Yu Darvish - which is starting to feel like an Oliver Stone screenplay instead of an elongated baseball transaction - is slowly starting to lift, and Nationals fans hoping the Japanese pitcher would take the mound in D.C. may not like what it's revealing. According to this story in the New York Post, the Blue Jays have placed the winning bid for Darvish, a proffer upwards of $50 million intended to blow away the Nippon-Ham Fighters, who...