The Orioles have chosen Double-A Bowie outfielder Austin Hays as their Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year, a selection that seemed obvious for a long time. Hays, 22, batted a combined .329/.365/593 with 32 doubles, five triples, 32 home runs and 95 RBIs in 128 games at Bowie and Single-A Frederick. The Orioles selected his contract on Sept. 5, and last year's third-round draft pick has gone 7-for-27 with two doubles and a home run. Hays was named the Carolina League's Player of...

Tonight's Orioles-Yankees game will not start on time. As of about 6:40 p.m. it was raining steadily at Oriole Park and the tarp is on the field. No start time was announced and we'll keep you posted when we hear any updates. Earlier today, the Orioles announced that Single-A Delmarva lefty Alex Wells has been named their minor league Pitcher of the Year, winning the Jim Palmer Award. The 20-year left-hander from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia finished 11-5 with a 2.38 ERA for the...

Pitchers Tyler Wilson and Logan Verrett have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles announced the moves earlier today. The Orioles designated Verrett and Wilson for assignment on Friday, the same day that they purchased reliever Richard Rodríguez's contract from Norfolk. Verrett went 2-6 with a 5.10 ERA in 40 games with Norfolk, including two starts. He won both decisions with the Orioles while posting a 4.22 ERA in four appearances over 10 2/3 innings. Wilson,...

After a year in which he led the South Atlantic League in ERA and didn't walk a batter over his last 68 innings, Single-A Delmarva's Alex Wells has been named the Orioles minor league Pitcher of the Year. He wins the Jim Palmer Award. The 20-year left-hander from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia finished 11-5 with a 2.38 ERA for the Shorebirds. He also led the South Atlantic League in WHIP at 0.91 and finished tied for second in wins. Wells walked just 10 batters all year and fanned 113...

All but one of the Orioles' minor league affiliates have completed the regular season after Monday's games. Short-season Single-A Aberdeen (40-33) still has three games to play and is three games behind in the New York-Penn League wild card race. Single-A Frederick (68-71) and Double-A Bowie (72-68) will begin the playoffs at home on Wednesday night. While Frederick finished three games under .500, its second-half record (37-33) got the Keys in and they will host Lynchburg Wednesday and...

Tim Beckham's first six games with the Orioles earned him an award. The curtain call wasn't sufficient. Beckham has been named the American League's Player of the Week after collecting 14 hits in his first 24 at-bats following last Monday's trade that brought him over from the Rays. Beckham posted a .583/.600/1.167 slash line with three doubles, a triple, three home runs, six RBIs and six runs scored to earn his first Player of the Week honor. Among the league leaders, Beckham finished the...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The honors continued today for Single-A Delmarva pitcher Alex Wells. He was named the Player of the Month in the South Atlantic League. Wells went 3-0 with an ERA of 0.00, throwing 31 scoreless innings in five July starts. The 20-year-old lefty from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, allowed just 13 hits with no walks and 26 strikeouts. Both position players and pitchers are considered for this award. A few days ago, the Orioles announced that Wells was named their minor...

The Orioles are trying tonight to complete their second three-game sweep of the Royals at home in the past two seasons. Tim Beckham gets another start at shortstop, continuing to bat sixth against Royals left-hander Jason Vargas. Joey Rickard is in right field, Craig Gentry is in left and Caleb Joseph is behind the plate. Seth Smith is 6-for-18 with three doubles, a home run and four RBIs against left-handers this season, but he's out of the lineup tonight. He's a career .207 hitters versus...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette painted the Orioles today during at Q&A session with season ticket holders as a team that's trying to improve its starting pitching and make a playoff run in 2017. Duquette, sitting on top of the visiting dugout with manager Buck Showalter during the annual "State of the Orioles," seemed to challenge reports that the Orioles are in sell mode. He wasn't going to make a concession speech this afternoon. It felt more like a rally. "I still...

The Orioles are doing a lousy impression of a team that's focused on the future. Players hear and read the rumors. They're aware of the vulnerability of their top relievers. They, too, wonder how they can remain competitive if the bullpen, the team's undisputed strength, is torn down at the back end. One player told me yesterday that he'd be surprised if Zach Britton or Brad Brach isn't traded. Not necessarily both, but one of them. Britton and Brach sat next to each other yesterday before...

Not that more examples are required to drive home the point that the Orioles' rotation has been a mess, but Kevin Gausman's 71 earned runs allowed ranked highest in the majors before last night, followed by Ubaldo Jiménez and the Giants' Matt Moore with 68. Gausman's 20 starts were tied for first. It's a large sample size. Gausman brings a 6.39 ERA and 1.790 WHIP into tonight's game against the Rangers. Since tossing seven scoreless innings against the Rays, he's allowed a combined 13...