Not that you'll be shocked by this news, but Baseball America has selected pitcher Dylan Bundy as the No. 1 prospect in the Orioles' organization. Bundy, the club's top pick in the 2011 draft, receives the honor without throwing a single professional pitch. Shortstop Manny Machado is ranked No. 2 on the list, followed by infielder Jonathan Schoop, pitcher Parker Bridwell, infielder/outfielder LJ Hoes, infielder Nicky Delmonico, infielder Ryan Flaherty, third baseman Jason Esposito,...

The Nationals have claimed third baseman Carlos Rivero off waivers from the Phillies, per a team-issued press release. The 23-year-old Venezuelan hit .270 with 36 doubles, 16 homers and 71 RBIs between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2011. He was primarily a shortstop at the start of his minor league career in the Indians' organization, but switched to third base almost full-time last season when he joined the Phillies. The addition of Rivero gives the Nationals 37 players on...

The Washington Nationals today claimed third baseman Carlos Rivero off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The 6-foot-3 Rivero hit .275 with 36 doubles, 15 home runs and 66 RBI while spending a majority of the 2011 season with Double-A Reading. Rivero, 23, is a career .258 hitter with 146 doubles, 47 homers and 358 RBIs in 720 games spanning seven seasons as a professional. He...

Enough days have passed since the Winter Meetings that I wanted to bring up Prince Fielder's name again. The timing just seemed right. And I was developing a twitch. I'm not going to make any guarantees regarding Fielder except that I'll mention him again in a few weeks if he's still on the market. You can take that one to the bank. The Orioles didn't appear to have much interest in Vladimir Guerrero last winter, but they kept monitoring the situation, the market dried up, owner Peter...

The Nationals announced Monday that their Gulf Coast League affiliate will have a new manager in former collegiate coach Tripp Keister. Keister brings two decades as a coach at the collegiate level and major league amateur scout to his new position as skipper of the GCL Nationals. While at Wesley College in Dover, Del., Keister led the Wolverines to a 157-92-1 record since 2006, including the Capital Athletic Conference championship game in 2010. His six years as coach was the best run in...

The Orioles just sent out a press release confirming that they signed outfielder Endy Chavez to a one-year deal. Chavez passed his physical after agreeing to terms over the weekend and is officially a member of the organization. Chavez, who turns 34 in February, batted .301/.323/.426 with five home runs and 27 RBIs in 83 games with the Texas Rangers this year. He's a career .274/.313/.373 hitter in 10 major league seasons. "Endy is a tremendous defender and gives us needed depth in the...

The Orioles today announced that they have signed free agent outfielder Endy Chavez to a one-year contract. Chavez, 33, batted .301/.323/.426 with five home runs and 27 RBIs in 83 games for the American League champion Texas Rangers in 201. In 10 major league seasons, Chavez has batted .274/.313/.373 for six teams and appeared in the playoffs twice, in 2006 with the New York Mets and 2011 with Texas . "Endy is a tremendous defender and gives us needed depth in the outfield," said Orioles...

Long before the hope embodied by Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman was the face of the Nationals. When the team was still trying to gain a foothold on the D.C. sports scene, when vestiges of the Expos hadn't yet been eradicated from towel carts and equipment bags, it was Zimmerman who provided optimism for the future. His selection as the transplanted team's first draft pick in 2005 was a watershed moment, an opportunity for then-general manager Jim Bowden to select a player...

FanFest autograph vouchers will go on sale Saturday, Jan. 7 at 10 a.m. at www.orioles.com. A preview of the sessions will be available at the team Web site no later than 9 p.m. on Jan. 6 to allow fans to plan for the next morning's purchase. Details regarding the number of autograph vouchers available, the cost, and more will be announced shortly after Jan. 1 by the team. Just as last year, when the new autograph procedures debuted, all proceeds generated from the sale of autograph vouchers...

The posting portion of the Yu Darvish sweepstakes is over and the Texas Rangers were the winner, with a reported record bid of $51.7 million. That gets them 30 days to negotiate with the Japanese right-hander in hopes of knocking out a long-term contract that's expected to push their total investment in Darvish well over $100 million. Is it just me, or do you sometimes feel like baseball executives are playing with Monopoly money? The Nationals didn't place a bid on Darvish, despite...