When Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias was interviewed on the MASN telecast on Monday night in Baltimore, he was asked if any players had jumped out at him during summer camp. Elias cited catcher Pedro Severino and outfielder Cedric Mullins and said there are plenty of others that have looked good, better than they had in Sarasota in the first spring training. He said Severino has been swinging the bat very well. Elias said of Mullins: "He's looked great, which...

The Orioles (1-1) play their third and final exhibition game tonight ahead of Friday's opener at Boston. The Birds travel to Washington to face the Nationals (1-1) at Nats Park. The club will hold a workout at Camden Yards tomorrow and then travel to Boston on Thursday for the start of that three-game series. Washington won 4-2 over Baltimore last night at Oriole Park. O's right-hander Alex Cobb allowed two hits and two runs over four innings. He fanned five, including four of the first six...

He has had not one, but two Tommy John surgeries and pitched in the minor leagues since 2013 before finally getting his first big league chance last September. It went well for Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Cole Sulser. After a very strong finish to his Triple-A season, he made his big league debut that month with 7 1/3 scoreless innings and nine strikeouts for the Rays. Then he was designated for assignment. That might have been a bit surprising, even for the pitching-rich Rays. Sulser can throw...

Thomas Eshelman might be making a late push for a rotation spot. Or if John Means can't make his first start, that could make room for right-hander Eshelman, who made a case for himself tonight in Philadelphia. Eshelman threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four singles, as the Orioles beat the Phillies 5-1 at Citizens Bank Park. It is the first of three exhibitions for the Orioles ahead of their July 24 opener at Fenway Park in Boston. Eshelman actually made the last exhibition game start...

Beyond the players that are in Bowie or Baltimore on the 60-man player pool, the Orioles would love to get some of their minor league players on the field in some way this year. The regular minor league season has been canceled, but the club is hoping there will still be a chance for players to work out and perhaps play intrasquad games. During a Zoom interview with reporters this morning, Orioles director of player development Matt Blood was asked if such a plan is in place. "Definitely...

We are now days away from the start of a Major League Baseball season unlike any other. Teams will play 60 games and the Orioles will open Friday night at Boston. They'll play three at Fenway Park and then two games in Miami before the home opener on Wednesday July 29, also against Miami, at Oriole Park. So this is our last offseason edition of 10 questions. Answer one or all and feel free to respond to other readers' opinions. That makes the blog go around and keeps it fun. And bring on...

When baseball shut down on March 12, it shut down throughout both the majors and the minor leagues. Orioles minor leaguers at the Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota had not even played any spring training games against other organizations to that point. Most did not know which affiliate they would be sent to in April. When the shutdown came, 24-year-old right-hander Michael Baumann, born and raised in Minnesota, headed to Jacksonville, Fla., where he played college...

He can be a player that gets overlooked. When discussing the O's rotation, others seem to get more play then he does. But he's pitched twice in intrasquad games for the Orioles and right-hander Thomas Eshelman gave up one unearned run over three innings his first outing. In his second, he allowed one run over five innings with four strikeouts. He's pitched twice opposite left-hander Tommy Milone and both are in line to start the fifth game of the season. Only one will. "It's been fun to...

Orioles catcher Austin Wynns doesn't duck the question. He was asked if the 2020 season represents a big year for him. "Every year is huge," he said during an interview Tuesday afternoon. "Every year, for everyone. You can't take anything for granted. Each year, you have to take in strides. You have to improve, you have to be better and make adjustments. This game is built on adjustments. And physically, mentally you have to be there. To answer your question, it's huge. Every year,...

Catcher Adley Rutschman should be in the midst of his first full minor league season right now, possibly playing at Single-A Frederick or Double-A Bowie. But the baseball shutdown changed all of that. On Friday, he reported to Camden Yards to join the Orioles' 60-man player pool. Stranger things have happened, but it seems unlikely they would use him in a major league game before he's even played above low Single-A ball, but he's back mixing with the big league players again. He was also a...

It was in a mostly empty stadium and it was merely an intrasquad game. There was not exactly a playoff intensity at hand. But in that environment Saturday night, Adley Rutschman was on the field at Camden Yards. On a diamond where future stardom is predicted for him, he took the field as a player for the first time. Rutschman, the club's second No. 1 overall draft pick in team history, walked against right-handers Kohl Stewart and Hunter Harvey and grounded out against righty Miguel Castro. He...

The Orioles have certainly tried to build a better bullpen. Since the end of the 2019 season, they've added some new pitchers, and some holdovers have made changes that they hope will prove significant. Some talented young pitchers such as Hunter Harvey and Dillon Tate, who is injured currently, could be with the team for most of the 2020 season. O's pitching coach Doug Brocail presented Harvey as a closer option during a Zoom interview Sunday morning. No one is committing to the kid in that...

In Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle, the Orioles have two homegrown players with a lot of offensive talent. Hays was a finalist in 2017 for Baseball America's National Player of the Year in the minors. Mountcastle was the organization's Minor League Player of the Year last season when he was also the International League MVP. Besides having in common youth and an abundance of talent, they are both aggressive hitters that have lower walk rates. In Double-A in 2018, Hays' walk rate was 4.2...

He was not even a non-roster invite to spring training in February, but the guy they call "Big Mike" could make his major league debut during the shortened season of 2020. Right-hander Michael Baumann, who has some of the best stuff on the Orioles farm, was added to the club's 60-man player pool on Friday. The O's list of additions also included their 2019 top draft pick, catcher Adley Rutschman, along with pitchers Keegan Akin and Isaac Mattson, catcher Taylor Davis and outfielder Cedric...

He may have entered pro baseball as a big bonus kid from Venezuela, but it took Renato Núñez quite some time to get an extended big league chance. It happened in his third season with his third team. And it was with the Orioles, who acquired him on waivers from Texas on May 13, 2018. Later that summer he got a chance to play every day. Then last year he got to play almost every day for a full major league season. The 26-year-old Núñez made 109 starts as the DH and 29 as a corner...