No matter if baseball's Winter Meetings proceed as planned next month in Orlando, Fla., or are shelved while a new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated, Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias will be keeping both eyes on the major and minor league free agent markets. Large sums of cash won't be spent, but there are ways to upgrade the roster and depth at the highest levels of the farm system. Venturing to the minor league side allows the Orioles to increase camp...

Trey Mancini is out of the Orioles lineup after fouling a ball off his left calf and left foot last night and leaving the game following his run-scoring double. Ryan Mountcastle is starting at first base after his reinstatement from the concussion injured list. Mountcastle has an RBI in seven consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors and the second-longest of his career behind an eight-game stretch from May 31-June 9. He leads the Orioles with 15 RBIs since the All-Star break...

The Orioles were comfortable going with a 25-man roster tonight in Kansas City following a four-day break that rested and recharged a tired bullpen. Manager Brandon Hyde didn't want to dip into it early, no matter its condition, but that same break didn't improve the early results of the second-half rotation. Rookie Keegan Akin fell behind by six runs in three innings and the Orioles lost to the Royals 9-2. Cedric Mullins singled in his first two at-bats, the only hits against Royals...

The Orioles announced four of their minor league signings this afternoon, with catcher Nick Ciuffo going unreported until today. The list also includes left-hander Fernando Abad and right-handers Claudio Custodio and Conner Greene. Abad and Greene were confirmed additions to the organization earlier this month. Ciuffo, who turns 26 in March, provides some catching depth that the organization has sought with Bryan Holaday and Martin Cervenka entering free agency. He's a left-handed hitter and...