DALLAS - Bill Castro was hired today by the Orioles as their bullpen coach. He joins the club after 37 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers organization, the last two as pitching advisor for Latin America. Castro spent 18 seasons on the Brewers' major league coaching staff, including the first part of the 2009 season as pitching coach. He previously served as bullpen coach from 1992-2008 and was the pitching coach for the Dominican Republic during the 2006 World Baseball Classic. "It means a...

DALLAS - Unless something drastic happens, the Orioles won't complete any deals tonight. However, executive vice president Dan Duquette says he's made "good progress" in trade talks today and hopes to finalize one or two after Thursday's Rule 5 draft. Duquette is staying in Dallas until late in the day, which makes me glad that I booked my flight back to Baltimore at 6:20 p.m. Any trades would involve pitching, which has been Duquette's main priority since he arrived at the Hilton...

DALLAS - The Nationals will have to change their plans for the Rule 5 draft, which will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, the last activity at baseball's Winter Meetings. The Nationals, who have picked first in the past two Rule 5 drafts, will have the 16th selection. General manager Mike Rizzo said the Nationals are weighing whether to make a selection. At the Orlando Winter Meetings last year, they took relievers Brian Broderick from the Cardinals (with the 16th pick in the first round) and...

DALLAS - Twins center fielder Denard Span apparently is off the market, the Nationals continue to express an interest in Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and if they don't land the leadoff hitter/center fielder they've established as a priority for the offseason, the Nats are confident Ian Desmond can handle the job at the top of the lineup. General manager Mike Rizzo covered a lot of ground during his afternoon briefing with reporters - just like the swift flychaser he wants patrolling the...

DALLAS - Another huge domino fell today when the Marlins agreed to terms with left-hander Mark Buehrle on a four-year, $58 million contract. The Orioles were in no danger of having their toes crushed. They weren't anywhere near Buehrle. New executive vice president Dan Duquette says he won't go more than three years for a free-agent starting pitcher. Never has, never will. I wanted the Orioles to jump into the Buehrle bidding, but he held out for a fourth year and got it from a team...

DALLAS - Mike Rizzo told reporters Wednesday afternoon that the Nationals had pretty much made their best and final offer to free agent Mark Buehrle and that the team was awaiting an answer from the left-hander. The Nationals didn't have to wait long for a response: Buehrle has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $58 million deal to join the Miami Marlins. That gives the Marlins three high-profile, big-money free agents - closer Heath Bell, shortstop Jose Reyes and Buehrle - along with new...

DALLAS - I had a chance to interview Jim Callis of Baseball America today here at the baseball Winter Meetings in Dallas. He spent quite a long time discussing the Orioles and their farm system with me. It's no secret that right now, the Orioles have a farm system ranked by just about everyone in the bottom third of all teams in baseball. I asked Callis what he thought the issues were for the Orioles recently in struggling to produce better prospects. "I don't think it's necessarily been...

Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr did not have first baseman Tyler Moore much last year, but realizes what an asset the Mississippi State star can be and why he resides on the 40-man. With the recent injury to Chris Marrero, it is likely that Moore will see a ton of time in Triple-A Syracuse at first base. 'You just can't deny the numbers of the year," Knorr said. "They are incredible. Some people just have the knack for driving in runs. They just know how to do it. He hits a home run when...

DALLAS - When he etched his name in baseball history on Aug. 7, 2007 by giving up Barry Bonds' 756th career homer in San Francisco, then-Nationals lefty Mike Bacsik basked in the spotlight. He's never really grown tired of talking about the pitch that will forever link him with the game's most prolific home run hitter. Bacsik, now 34 and retired for three seasons since he last threw a ball in anger, is still talking. He's a sports talk host on a Dallas-area radio station and has been...

DALLAS - Looks like the Nationals are, indeed, one of the three finalists to land free agent left-hander Mark Buehrle. A major league source just confirmed for me that the Nats are still in the Buehrle sweepstakes. During his briefing with reporters Tuesday, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he thought once Buehrle had whittled down his list of possible destinations, the process of choosing a team would move swiftly. Apparently, all three of the offers Buehrle is weighing are similar...