While Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo continues his search for a pitcher, a center fielder and some bench help, baseball's offseason calendar continues to move on. Next up is Monday's midnight deadline for teams to tender contracts to its arbitration-eligible players, and the Nationals have some decisions to make. Of the seven players eligible for arbitration, some decisions will be relatively easy. Outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse, left-hander John Lannan, and right-handers...

The Orioles were expected to have a contingent, including manager Buck Showalter and new international scouting guru Fred Ferreira, in the Dominican Republic this weekend to scout Cuban-born Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes is a 26-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder who defected from Cuba in 2011. He batted .333 with 33 home runs and 99 RBIs during the 2010-2011 season with the Cuban national team. He has yet to officially establish residency and become a free agent, but that could happen any...

On the surface, the Nationals' trade earlier today sending right-hander Collin Balester to the Detroit Tigers for right-hander Ryan Perry is a bit of a head-scratcher. But what looks like a straight-up deal of similar pitchers who had hit proverbial dead ends with the organizations that drafted them is actually more of a minute tweak for each club. Let's tackle Balester first. The 25-year-old was drafted by the Expos in 2004, and while he showed promise as a starting pitcher early in his...

If anyone asks which one of my blog entries has attracted the most comments, I'll just refer back to yesterday. The total has climbed to a dizzying 592, which shatters the previous record of ... I have no idea. But I know that it's destroyed. The Orioles must decide Monday whether to tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players. One name fell off the list when they designated reliever Willie Eyre for assignment to make room on their 40-man roster for new pitcher Dana Eveland. Brad...

The Washington Nationals today acquired right-handed reliever Ryan Perry from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Collin Balester. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Perry, 24, joins the Nationals after going 5-6 with 29 holds, two saves and a 4.07 ERA (73 ER/161.1 IP) in 149 relief appearances spanning three seasons with Detroit. Detroit's first-round selection (21st overall, University of...

While the Nationals didn't make any headlines during the Winter Meetings, the team won't finish the week without at least one move. According to a press release, the Nationals have acquired right-handed reliever

The Nationals are closer to pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training in Viera, Fla., as the team sizes up what they could have in a talented and deep relief corps for 2012. New Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr, the former Syracuse Chiefs manager, was pleased with the staff he worked with in Triple-A last season. He sees some of those pitchers, either already with the Nationals or close to it, possibly becoming permanent fixtures in the bullpen this upcoming campaign. So who jumped...

Even if the Orioles didn't make a lot of moves, the group from MASNsports.com had an eventful run at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. We set records for readership, so thanks for that, and we had fun covering and blogging about anything and everything. Before we left Big D, we finally saw the sun come out, and Roch and I had time for one last video to discuss what did happen, what didn't and what still could. Check it out here.

It may be chilly in the mid-Atlantic, but there are warm thoughts ahead. Like Florida-warm. Specifically, the planned community of Viera, home to Space Coast Stadium and spring training headquarters of the Nationals. The Nationals have announced their reporting dates for the 2012 edition of spring training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 19, position players are due in Feb. 23 and the first full-squad workout is scheduled for Feb. 23. Now, if the club will just announce its Grapefruit...

Even with the Orioles not making many moves and not generating many rumors, somehow the Winter Meetings still seemed very busy for those of us on the MASN team covering the Orioles and Nationals in Dallas the last few days. It's nice to be home. I hope the readers here enjoyed the coverage and videos that we featured in this blog the last few days. I was sitting in the press room between Roch Kubatko and the Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck. Yes the barbs were flying fast and furious with a...