This, that and the other (and more)

This, that and the other (and more)
Double-A Bowie outfielder Yusniel Diaz was chosen as the Eastern League's Player of the Week on Monday and hasn't appeared in a game since receiving the honor. Fans are curious about his disappearance. I'm here to clear up any confusion that I don't create on my own. Diaz, 22, was placed on the temporary inactive list because he's on paternity leave. He's put baseball on hold for his baby. Diaz went 8-for-19 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in his last five games. The jewel of the Manny...

More on Manny Machado and Chris Davis

More on Manny Machado and Chris Davis
My trip to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the weekend series against the Rays will lack the entertainment value of having the opposing city's media staked out at Manny Machado's locker. I'm fairly certain that the Rays aren't deemed as a potential trade partner for the Orioles or a candidate to sign Machado in free agency. It's a modest media contingent to begin with, and no one will be checking with Machado on his interest in playing his home games beneath the dome. Unless he insists on...

No game leaves Orioles with more time to figure out roster

No game leaves Orioles with more time to figure out roster
The Orioles won't play a game today, but they've got a lot of roster maneuvering to consider before the Phillies come to town. Joey Rickard was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before Sunday's game to give the Orioles another right-handed bat against Rays southpaw Blake Snell, who's murder on left-handed hitters. And to finally let Anthony Santander, shed of his Rule 5 status, continue his development in the minors. Losing the switch-hitting Santander for Rickard causes the Orioles to tilt...

Notes on Vielma surgery, bullpen and Mancini (O's down 6-3)

Notes on Vielma surgery, bullpen and Mancini (O's down 6-3)
Triple-A Norfolk infielder Engelb Vielma, who's played in six games with the Orioles this season, will undergo surgery Tuesday morning on his fractured patella. Vielma sustained the injury last night in Durham in his first game with the Tides after the Orioles optioned him earlier this week. He was chasing a foul ball, stumbled on one of the bullpen mounds and banged his kneecap into a portion of exposed concrete. He was carted off the field. "Have you guys seen the video of Vielma's injury?...

Reflections on spring training as Orioles break camp

Reflections on spring training as Orioles break camp
Minor league signings in November tend to be forgotten as spring training nears its conclusion. They provide copy during the offseason's dead zone. Players given generous amounts of space on websites and in newspapers are footnotes later as camp cuts are announced. There are exceptions, of course, which brings us to left-handed relievers Joely Rodriguez and Josh Edgin. I've covered past spring trainings when the decision to take guys of this caliber north would be a no-brainer. The Orioles...

Notes on rumors, tonight's game, Joseph and minor matters

Notes on rumors, tonight's game, Joseph and minor matters
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...

Adam Jones on donation to Boys & Girls Clubs (plus other notes)

Adam Jones on donation to Boys & Girls Clubs (plus other notes)
Earlier this week we saw yet another example of how Orioles outfielder Adam Jones is a leader for the team not only on the field, but off the field as well. The Orioles Charitable Foundation and Jones, along with his wife Audie, made a $75,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore for the fourth consecutive year. The donation will include $10,000 to fund Youth of the Year Scholarship Awards and $65,000 to help to renovate the O'Donnell Heights Club gymnasium. "I...

Wrapping up a 5-4 win

Wrapping up a 5-4 win
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Stefan Crichton picked up his fourth spring save today, as the Orioles defeated the Braves 5-4. Outfielder Austin Hays, a third-round pick last year, recorded the game-winning RBI with an infield hit in the ninth inning that scored Adrian Marin. The ball ricocheted off first base. Marin tagged and took third base on Cedric Mullins' fly ball to shallow right field, setting up his dash home. Manager Buck Showalter isn't ready to pronounce Wade Miley ready for opening...

A look at the PECOTA projection and O's infield depth

A look at the PECOTA projection and O's infield depth
Death, taxes and PECOTA projecting the Orioles for a losing season. The Orioles may have two promising young pitchers to join Chris Tillman heading up their rotation and a bullpen that led the American League in ERA last year. Despite that, PECOTA predicts that they will give up the most runs in baseball this season and finish with the third-worst record in the majors as they finish last in the AL East. The annual PECOTA projection from Baseball Prospectus is out and a tradition continued with...

Boston bows out (plus a look at the AFL Orioles)

Boston bows out (plus a look at the AFL Orioles)
As Orioles fans know all too well, playoff endings can be abrupt, painful, hard to take. In "Fever Pitch," Uncle Carl told the 7-year-old Ben, "They'll break your heart, kid." He was talking about the Red Sox, but the thought applies to any fan base. Lest O's fans think only Orioles bats come up short in October, the Red Sox just got swept by Cleveland in the American League Division Series and scored seven runs in three games. During the regular season, they went 4-2 against Cleveland...

A look at the six Orioles players headed to the Arizona Fall League

A look at the six Orioles players headed to the Arizona Fall League
Six Orioles minor league players were named to the roster of the Peoria Javelinas today for play in the Arizona Fall League. The 25th AFL season is set to begin Oct. 11 and run through the championship game Nov. 19 and the preliminary rosters were announced today. The O's are sending right-handed pitchers Jesus Liranzo and Jimmy Yacabonis and left-handed pitcher Tanner Scott to the AFL, along with catcher Austin Wynns, infielder Adrian Marin and outfielder D.J. Stewart. The O's players will...

A look at Orioles players in the Arizona Fall League

A look at Orioles players in the Arizona Fall League
For six players from the Orioles minor leagues, their time in the Arizona Fall League is almost over. They've played for the Peoria Javelinas, who are 12-12 with three games left and cannot finish in first place. But the six have gained valuable high-level experience. Orioles director of player development Brian Graham was recently in Arizona and I asked him about the O's prospects out there. Adrian Marin is a 21-year-old infielder who was the Single-A Frederick Keys' shortstop the past two...

Updating Orioles in the AFL

Updating Orioles in the AFL
Jason Garcia struck out five batters over two scoreless innings today while starting for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League. Garcia allowed one hit and walked a batter in the Javelinas' 9-7 loss to Salt River. He threw 23 of his 39 pitches for strikes. Though he made the start today, Garcia will enter spring training next year as a reliever. The Orioles want him to continue developing in that role. Garcia posted a 2.18 ERA in 13 appearances in the second half, with five earned runs allowed in...

Quick update on Orioles coaching staff (updated)

Quick update on Orioles coaching staff (updated)
Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette confirmed today that the club has extended contract offers to every coach on the staff for the 2016 season. Duquette added that he hopes to "get it resolved this week." Agreements need to be reached with bench coach John Russell, first base coach Wayne Kirby, third base coach Bobby Dickerson, pitching coach Dave Wallace, bullpen coach Dom Chiti, hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh and extra coach Einar Diaz. "We've been talking to the coaches and...

O's offense has struggled at home, Machado spreads baseball wisdom in Frederick

O's offense has struggled at home, Machado spreads baseball wisdom in Frederick
After spending two days covering Manny Machado playing in Frederick, I'm heading back to cover the big leaguers at Camden Yards today. I hear it's the same game, but the ballparks are bigger and the players are paid a little better. The Orioles won in walk-off fashion last night when Nick Markakis plated the winning run with a single down the left field line with the bases loaded. There are probably not many players that could have hit the backdoor slider thrown to Markakis there the way he...

Delmarva's Marin keeps his focus on the present

Delmarva's Marin keeps his focus on the present
SALISBURY, Md. - If the grind of his first full pro season is weighing on Single-A Delmarva shortstop Adrian Marin, he's hiding it well. Though back tightness has caused the 2012 third-round draft pick from playing in the Shorebirds' past five games, the 19-year-old Marin has certainly withstood the rigors of a longer campaign that frequently saps the energy and threatens the confidence of young players. Marin expects to be back in the lineup tonight when the Shorebirds host the Greensboro...

O's come to terms with local products Hader and Beck

O's come to terms with local products Hader and Beck
He pitched on the mound at Camden Yards yesterday and tonight he agreed to a contract with the Orioles. The Orioles this evening came to terms with a local Baltimore product, 19th-round draft pick Josh Hader, a left-handed pitcher from Old Mill High in Anne Arundel County, MASNsports.com has learned. The 6-foot-3, 160-lb. Hader had tremendous stats this season, going 10-0 with an ERA of 0.39. and he fanned 125 batters over 72 2/3 innings. Hader pitched two shutout innings yesterday at Camden...

Some Orioles draft notes

Some Orioles draft notes
The Orioles are certainly aware that their third-round draft pick, high school shortstop Adrian Marin,

Orioles come to terms with third-round pick

Orioles come to terms with third-round pick
The Orioles have reportedly come to contract terms with their third-round draft pick, high school shortstop Adrian Marin. That word comes from the player himself. He proclaimed this via his Twitter page on Thursday night: "Officially signed a contract with Baltimore!!" Click here for the link to that Twitter announcement and picture. ‪ The speedy, 5-foot-10, 165-lb. Marin played at Gulliver Prep near Miami. He was the 99th overall pick in the draft, is a right-handed batter...

Gary Rajsich on the player he was surprised to get and other draft topics

Gary Rajsich on the player he was surprised to get and other draft topics
After drafting 15 players over the first 15 rounds of the First-Year Player Draft the last two days, Orioles scouting director Gary Rajsich said he is quite pleased with the club's haul of talent so far. "I feel really good," Rajsich said. "You know, this draft was considered a very shallow draft and I couldn't be happier with what we were able to come up with." Rajsich was a guest last night on my radio show, "Baltimore Baseball Tonight," on 105.7 FM The Fan in Baltimore. I asked...