Antonelli signing official (Chong Tae-Hyon not official)
Antonelli signing official (Chong Tae-Hyon not official)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Infielder Matt Antonelli passed his physical today, signed a major league contract and was officially added to the Orioles' 40-man roster. The Padres made Antonelli, 26, the 17th overall selection in the 2006 First Year Player Draft. He spent 2011 with Double-A Harrisburg (four games) and Triple-A Syracuse (86), batting a combined .298/.390/.457 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. He finished in the Top 10 of the International League in on-base percentage. Antonelli is a career .264/.373/.406...
Orioles sign free agent infielder Matt Antonelli
Orioles sign free agent infielder Matt Antonelli
Josh Land
Orioles
The Orioles today announced that they have signed free agent infielder Matt Antonelli to a major league contract. Antonelli, 26, was the Padres' first round selection (17 th overall) in the 2006 First Year Player Draft. He spent 2011 with Double-A Harrisburg (four games) and Triple-A Syracuse (86 games) in the Nationals' system, batting a combined .298/.390/.457 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs, finishing in the Top-10 of the International League in on-base percentage. Antonelli is a career...
Deciphering interest in Street (and Chong Tae-Hyon)
Deciphering interest in Street (and Chong Tae-Hyon)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The Orioles reportedly have talked to the Rockies about acquiring closer Huston Street, which leads to two not-so-bold assumptions: They're still considering the possibility of moving Jim Johnson into the rotation, and they'd prefer using Kevin Gregg in more of a set-up role. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote about the Orioles' interest in Street, who was 1-4 with a 3.86 ERA, nine walks, 55 strikeouts and a 1.217 WHIP in 58 1/3 innings. That's the highest ERA and WHIP of his career....
Will fans hang in there if it takes a while to rebuild the Orioles?
Will fans hang in there if it takes a while to rebuild the Orioles?
Steve Melewski
Orioles
The blog I wrote about Dan Duquette's interview on Boston radio over the weekend sparked some debate about how soon Orioles fans should expect Duquette to make their team a winner. Some fans wrote that Duquette could or should go buy the top free agents to try and make the team a winner next year. Some fans believe that, after 14 losing seasons, Duquette and the club owe the fans that. But Duquette cannot overcome 14 years of losing and recent seasons where the minor leagues have taken a...
This, that and Luke Scott
This, that and Luke Scott
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The American League's Most Valuable Player will be announced later today. Will it be Jacoby Ellsbury, Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander or someone else? I didn't have a vote. I picked Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon for AL Manager of the Year, so my work here is done. The Phillies acquired former Oriole Ty Wigginton from the Rockies yesterday for a PTBNL or cash. Wigginton played third base, first base, left field and right field for the Rockies...
Harper, Norris selected to 2011 AFL Top Prospects Team
Harper, Norris selected to 2011 AFL Top Prospects Team
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Scottsdale Scorpions Derek Norris and Bryce Harper were named to the Arizona Fall League 2011 Top Prospects Team, which was announced over the weekend. The team was selected by managers and coaches in the AFL under the criteria of fall league performance and which prospects were most likely to have successful major league careers. Harper was tied for third in the AFL with six homers, finished third with 26 RBIs and hit safely in 19 of his final 20 games. He began the fall campaign going for...
Luke Scott: "When they're ready, I'll be ready"
Luke Scott: "When they're ready, I'll be ready"
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The Orioles must decide in the next three weeks whether to offer Luke Scott a contract for the 2012 season or let him become a free agent. Scott has no idea which direction the Orioles are leaning. And he's not pushing them. "They're still getting things squared away with the new GM," Scott said last week, referring to new executive vice president Dan Duquette. Scott's agent recently contacted the Orioles again to find out whether they planned to non-tender the veteran outfielder/DH,...
Baseball America's top Nats prospects - No. 5: Brian Goodwin
Baseball America's top Nats prospects - No. 5: Brian Goodwin
Byron Kerr
Nationals
The Nationals were very impressed with the speed and hitting ability of outfielder Brian Goodwin at instructional league. The coaches marveled at his speed from home plate to first base and were equally appreciative of his work at the plate. The way Goodwin played in Viera, Fla., showed a little bit of the potential and a great deal of the talent that the Nationals were looking for when they selected the speedy outfielder early in the First-Year Player Draft in June. Baseball America has also...
Revisiting the 40-man moves
Revisiting the 40-man moves
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Now that the dust has settled from yesterday's 40-man roster activity, I wanted to chime in with a few observations. First of all, please keep in mind that the Orioles can eliminate players from the 40-man and add others from outside the organization - whether it's someone acquired via free agency, a trade or the Rule 5 draft. The only restriction is they can't add someone from within the organization, so the minor leaguers currently exposed to the Dec. 8 draft will remain that way. I...
Duquette's interview on Boston radio
Duquette's interview on Boston radio
Steve Melewski
Orioles
In his first few days on the job as Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations, Dan Duquette made the Baltimore media rounds. He was on many talk shows and was interviewed often. While he was polite to all, there seemingly was not too much to be learned from his comments. We didn't get any major insight into his plan to revamp the Orioles. We didn't get many specifics. While fans and reporters are still trying to get a handle on what kind of job Duquette will do and how he will...