The Nationals need another catcher. The number of appealing catchers available on the free agent market this winter was minimal all along. And now one of the few who might've fit that description is off the board after signing a surprisingly lucrative deal with a division rival. James McCann, widely regarded as the second-best available catcher behind star J.T. Realmuto, reportedly agreed Saturday to a four-year, $40 million deal with the Mets. That's hardly a minor investment for New York,...

Here is a quick update on left-hander Tim Cate. The 2018 second-rounder is rated as the No. 8 overall Nationals prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com. Nats pitching coordinator Brad Holman said Cate is not afraid to go after hitters and he believes this will help him as his career moves along. Cate went 7-4 with 3.31 ERA in 13 starts in 2019, striking out 66 over 73 1/3 innings. Holman liked the advancement he saw in Cate this summer at the alternate camp in Fredericksburg, Va., despite having...

When asked about possibly dealing right-handed starting pitcher Alex Cobb before or during the 2021 season, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias made it sound like he does not expect that to happen. "First of all, he's serving a very important role on our team stabilizing our rotation with the young guys, mentoring the young guys, and we're planning on keeping him all year and would be thrilled if he contributed and is healthy again like he was last year and...

Infielder Richie Martin's fractured right wrist must have healed. He's playing winter ball. Confirmation that doesn't require industry sources. Just access to a roster and statistics. Martin is in Puerto Rico with Criollos de Caguas. In his first four games, the former Rule 5 pick was 3-for-15 with two doubles, an RBI, a walk and three runs scored. He was 2-for-6 in his first two games and 2-for-11 after three. The third must have been rough. Martin should be full-go in spring training based...

The most prominent National currently playing winter ball is getting plenty of opportunities to refine his game. And to bat at the top of his lineup. Victor Robles, who is spending the early portion of this winter playing in his native Dominican Republic, has been leading off for Águilas Cibaeñas. And so far, he's doing the two things most clubs want out of their leadoff man: He's getting on base, and he's scoring runs. Through 12 games played, Robles has posted a .352 on-base...

Taking a page from the School of Roch blog, today I'm trying to answer some of your minor league questions. Some you have specifically asked and some I'm pretty sure you may be curious about. How did you feel about Frederick losing its O's affiliation this week? In a word, sad. I worked at WFMD Radio in Frederick out of college from 1982 into 1987. That was even before the Keys' first year of 1989. I've been to many games there and have come to love the Frederick community and still have...

The Orioles took a deliberate approach to filling their 40-man roster, but the deed is done. It's stuffed like a holiday turkey. Just don't assume that it's staying that way. Anyone who signs a major league contract is going to bump a player off the roster, and the Orioles are at least willing to consider it. In the meantime, it's impossible to make an exact prediction about the roster when you wake up in the morning and find pitchers Ashton Goudeau, Mac Sceroler and Tyler Wells on...

Ben McDonald and his nephew chatted last weekend in Louisiana about two of their favorite topics, the hunting and baseball seasons intertwined. McDonald, the first-overall selection in the 1989 amateur draft who spent nine years in the majors. Mac Sceroler, a former fifth-round selection of the Reds out of Southeastern Louisiana who was the fifth player chosen Thursday morning in the Rule 5 draft. A former high-profile Orioles pitcher and current MASN analyst, and a close relative who will...

Nothing lasts forever in baseball. Change is inevitable. No roster, good or bad, stays intact from year to year. So this isn't unusual. But it's still somewhat striking when you pause to think about it: More than half of the Nationals' 2019 World Series roster isn't going to be part of their 2021 roster. At the moment, only 11 of the 25 players who were in uniform for Game 7 in Houston a mere 13 1/2 months ago remain employed by the Nationals. Only four of those 11 are position players:...

When the Orioles lost two players in the major league phase of Thursday's Rule 5 draft, it was a good news/bad news situation. On the one hand, for the first time since 2015 the O's lost a player in the Rule 5. And only five Major League Baseball clubs lost two or more players in this draft. On the other hand, the Orioles may have lost two players for good. Players often get sent back to their original teams in this draft, but it's not a given, obviously. The O's never sent Richie Martin...