Always wanted to rub elbows with Orioles manager Buck Showalter? Are you a charitable-minded sort, as attuned to the notion of helping kids are you are with Charm City sports history? Then do I have an event for you. Come Thursday, Jan. 19, one of Showalter's favorite charities, KidsPeace, is joining forces with Sports Legends Museum and the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum to offer "An Evening with Buck Showalter" at Sports Legends. Proceeds will benefit KidsPeace and the Babe Ruth...

The non-tender deadline passed at midnight, with the Nationals declining to offer left-handed relief specialist Doug Slaten arbitration. While the club can still re-sign Slaten - teams often will non-tender a player, then bring him back on a minor league deal at a lesser price, frequently with a spring training invite - it appears the Nationals and Slaten will sever ties. The Nats will look for a more reliable arm against left-handed hitters and Slaten will seek a team that has more of an...

Orioles pitcher Jake Arrieta says he's thrown on flat ground several times since undergoing surgery Aug. 12 to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. He's had "zero complications," and remains ahead of schedule and optimistic about being fully recovered long before spring training. "I'm healed up and ready to go," he said this morning at Dave and Buster's at the Arundel Mills Mall, where the Orioles are hosting 90 third- and fourth-graders from City Springs Elementary School in...

The Orioles today announced that they have declined to tender a contract offer to three players: outfielder Luke Scott, right-hander Willie Eyre and left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes, allowing them to become free agents. Scott, 33, was acquired by the Orioles on December 12, 2007 from Houston as part of a deal that sent SS Miguel Tejada to the Astros. He batted .260/.342/.485 with 84 home runs and 236 RBI in 471 games over four seasons with the Orioles. Named Most Valuable Oriole in 2010, a torn right...

If the Orioles are going to open the door to the Korean market, they'll have to choose a different item from the shelves. According to a tweet from MyKBO, which I began to follow last month, pitcher Chong Tae-Hyon has decided to stay in Korea rather than come to the U.S. Chong has signed a four-year, $3.1 million contract with the Lotte Giants. The Orioles reportedly offered the submarining right-hander a two-year deal worth $3 million. Executive vice president Dan Duquette confirmed during...

The Orioles just announced that they've non-tendered pitchers Jo-Jo Reyes and Willie Eyre, and outfielder Luke Scott. Brad Bergesen was offered a contract shortly before the midnight deadline. Scott, Reyes and Eyre have become free agents, but they could re-sign with the Orioles. Scott is a possibility to remain in the organization. Both sides are open to working out a new contract. Reyes went 5-8 with a 5.40 ERA in 20 starts with the Blue Jays and 2-3 with a 6.16 ERA in nine games (five...

The Nationals have announced, via their media relations department's Twitter account, that left-handed reliever Doug Slaten has been non-tendered, removing him from the 40-man roster and making him a free agent. While that doesn't preclude the Nationals from re-signing Slaten to a contract for a lesser amount than the $695,000 he made in 2011, it appears as if the lefty specialist will part ways with the club. He was claimed off waivers from Arizona in November 2009. Slaten's departure...

Three Tuesday quick takes for your reading enjoyment: * Albert Pujols has become the latest baseball player to sign an amazing megabucks free agent contract with a new team and then say it wasn't about the money. This came after the Los Angeles Angels introduced Pujols on Saturday after he signed a whopping 10-year, $254 milion deal with the club. "To tell you the truth, it wasn't about the money. I'm going to die saying that, because it wasn't about the money. It was about the...

As expected, the Orioles have decided not to offer a 2012 contract to outfielder Luke Scott, making him a free agent. Both sides are open to negotiating a new deal, so it's not necessarily the end of Scott's career as an Oriole. But he can sign with any club. Scott made $6.4 million this year, and his season was cut short because of a shoulder injury that required surgery. Scott has received encouraging reports from Dr. James Andrews, and the outfielder says he'll be a beast in spring...

The Orioles added to their infield depth and got a versatile player recently when they selected Ryan Flaherty from the Cubs organization in the Rule 5 draft. A left-handed hitter, Flaherty, 25, is a career .278/.346/.462 hitter in four seasons for the Cubs after being selected out of Vanderbilt with the 41st overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. He batted .280/.347/.478 with 53 extra-base hits and 88 RBIs in 132 games for Double-A Tennessee (83 games) and Triple-A Iowa (49 games)...