President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail tackled a variety of subjects following the Rule 5 draft. For example: On what he's accomplished at the meetings: "We have made some progress on the left side of the diamond. We made some progress with Koji. We have some other things we think we have in the offing that are encouraging. So by and large, we're happy that we're able to make a couple trades, bring a free-agent back subject to a physical, and other encouraging conversations. It was...

A couple of readers have asked about and offered opinions about J.J. Hardy and his defense at shortstop. Here is what Andy MacPhail said about Hardy's defense: "We like his defense. If you look at those UZR ratings, he is very top of the chart. We think he'll provide us more offense and he is a good defender." Is he as good as Cesar Izturis? "You know it depends. Izzy was so solid for us and JJ is as well." You characterized first base yesterday as still being deep in options, but...

The Washington Nationals selected right-handed pitchers Elvin Ramirez and Brian Broderick in the Major League phase of today's Rule 5 Draft. Additionally, the club selected right-handed pitcher Michael Allen in the Triple-A phase of the Draft. Nationals Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Ramirez, 23, went 4-4 with a 4.16 ERA in 52 relief appearances last season with Single-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton in the New York Mets organization. In...

The Orioles today selected RHP Adrian Rosario from the Milwaukee Brewers organization in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 draft. With the selection, the Orioles now have 34 players on their major league roster. Rosario, 21, spent most of 2010 pitching for Class-A Wisconsin, where he was 4-0 with two saves and a 4.50 ERA (32.0IP, 16ER) in 14 games. He also appeared in five games for Rookie-level Helena, where he was 1-0 with one save and a 1.26 ERA (14.1IP, 2ER). In the Triple-A phase of...

The Orioles certainly took a young arm, that at least on the stat sheet, looks far away from the Major Leagues. Right-hander Adrian Rosario is just 21, from Santiago, Dominican Republic. The O's took him in today's Rule 5 draft with the 4th pick and he would have to stay on their 25-man Major League roster all season. Rosario began last season with Helena of the short-season Pioneer League in June, after I would guess he had pitched in extended spring training for the Brewers. At Helena,...

I've got a ton of work staring at me, so I'll have to just approve the comments quickly and get back to your questions later. Sorry. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail confirmed that the Orioles re-signed Koji Uehara to a one-year deal with a vesting option. Uehara will earn a base salary of $3 million, and incentives can increase the total to $5 million. The vesting option for 2012 is based on games finished and appearances. Uehara earned $5 million this season and would have...

Here are some comments from Andy MacPhail on Adrian Rosario, the right-handed pitcher the O's took from the Milwaukee organization in this morning's Rule 5 draft: "Big bodied, lack of experience, good arm kid that captured the imagination of our guys. He has a chance to grow into something, whether he is ready or not, we'll find out. Didn't feel like we could miss the opportunity to take a chance on him. "Interestingly enough, Milwaukee took one of our guys and we took one of theirs....

With the fourth pick in today's Rule 5 draft, the Orioles selected right-hander Adrian Rosario, 21, from Milwaukee's Triple-A affiliate in Nashville. Rosario was 4-0 with a 4.50 ERA and two saves in 14 games covering 32 innings at Single-A Wisconsin this year. He also went 1-0 with a 1.26 ERA and one save in five games covering 14 1/3 innings with Helena of the Pioneer League. He walked 18 and struck out 59 for the year. The Orioles had 33 players on their 40-man roster when the morning...

As we approach the Rule 5 draft, the Orioles have made two trades and re-signed their closer. So much for "doubtful," right Andy? Multiple reports confirm that the Orioles and Twins completed a deal after midnight that will send shortstop J.J. Hardy to Baltimore for minor league pitchers Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson. The Orioles also would receive utility infielder Brendan Harris, which doesn't bode well for Robert Andino. I'd also put away my Cesar Izturis jersey unless you're into...

Can't a guy even get five hours of sleep around here. Around 6 p.m. yesterday, Andy MacPhail said he thought there would not be any moves last night. Guess he meant other than the contract for Koji Uehara and the trade for J.J. Hardy. Other than that, the last few hours have been quiet. We've had seemingly nonstop rumors about the O's for two days and the news comes practically overnight. Hope they don't get the idea to start scheduling their games now at midnight. Anyway, if the price...