A Rays official says nothing is imminent on the trade front regarding shortstop Jason Bartlett, and that most of the talks with clubs have been "bullpen-centric." Various reports are surfacing that talks with the Orioles are dead. We're heading up to Andy MacPhail's suite in a few minutes. Also, I'm told the Nationals had some interest in former Orioles outfielder Lou Montanez, but that may no longer be the case. Montanez is getting ready to play winter ball in Puerto Rico. Former...

The Orioles are clearly in the market for pitching, especially the bullpen variety. But what about the rotation? With four spots looking pretty set - with Guthrie, Matusz, Arrietaand Bergesen - who will round out that rotation? O's manager Buck Showalter said today he is open to a possible competition in camp between Chris Tillman and Zach Britton for that fifth spot. The O's still have plenty of time to add a starter which could send both young guys back to the minors. But that is not...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter just finished a lengthy interview session with reporters. One interested spectator was Luke Scott, who lives about an hour away and showed up with the usual winter beard and carrying an envelope with color photographs of the kills from his latest hunting trip. Not for the squeamish. Trust me. Showalter spoke about Josh Bell's efforts to get in better shape. The Orioles pushed him to avoid playing winter ball and instead place more emphasis "on some things he...

Enough dirt has been dumped on the possibility of Paul Konerko signing with the Orioles, but I'll break out the shovel one more time. Konerko's agent, Craig Landis, met in the lobby with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf a few minutes ago, and they headed up one of the elevators for another round of talks. I'm told again that Konerko has no interest in playing for the Orioles. He lives in Arizona and the White Sox train in Glendale. He also wants to end his career on a winning team. Also,...

Multiple reports surfaced earlier today that the Orioles and Braves have held trade talks regarding Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami. MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski recently got confirmation from an industry source. Kawakami, 35, is owed $6.67 million, and the Braves would have to eat a large chunk of it. They seem willing to do so. The Orioles made offers to Kawakami and Koji Uehara two winters ago. Uehara accepted their proposal, of course, while the Braves signed Kawakami, who's 8-22...

An MLB source has confirmed reports that the Orioles and Braves have talked about a possible deal where the O's would acquire Japanese pitcher Kenshin Kawakami. Those talks started a while ago and other teams are also talking with the Braves and it's believed Pittsburgh is one of those teams. Atlanta would take on some of his salary and Kawakami is due to get $6.67 million in 2011. The O's pursued Kawakami as free agent two years ago when they also pursued and signed Koji Uehara. Perhaps...

If the deal that is rumored -- Nolan Reimold to Tampa for Jason Bartlett, one for one -- is truly in the works, I vote no on that. I can still hear the words of one-time Aberdeen manager Andy Etchebarren in my ears."Nolan Reimold will hit 40 homers in the Majors one day," Etchebarren said a few years back. While some now may think that is far-fetched, Reimold still is pretty young and has big power potential. Do the O's need Bartlett bad enough to give up a promising young player? Have...

He is still probably not well-liked by Orioles fans, but despite that little Mike Mussina thing, I respect Cito Gaston. He was just honored by commissioner Bud Selig here at the winter meetings along with Lou Piniella, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre for their service in the game. After the press conference, I asked Gaston his take on the economics of the game, especially as it applies to the AL East, where fans of his organization, Toronto, and fans of the O's can feel a hopelessness about...

A few quick off-the-field news items, and then you can quickly return to our extensive Winter Meetings coverage: Nationals hitting coach Rick Eckstein will donate his kidney to his brother on Wednesday, according to Bill Ladson. Kidney disease runs in the Eckstein family. Rick's brother Ken, who will receive the kidney, had a previous transplant in 1991. Rick and the entire family are huge proponents of organ donation. Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner is blogging from the Winter...

The common feeling here among executives and scouts is that the Orioles are more likely to re-sign shortstop Cesar Izturis if they land a big bat at first base. We can debate whether Adam LaRoche would constitute a big bat. The Rays wanted reliever David Hernandez for Jason Bartlett, and they're still more interested in acquiring bullpen arms. Same with the Twins in any deal involving J.J. Hardy. It seems like every team here is looking for relievers. Again, we go back to Hernandez's...