So a decision day is coming for the Orioles on Friday, unless they make some announcements before that. They have to decide which players to add to their 40-man roster to protect them from the December Rule 5 draft. They have five openings on their 40-man roster. That certainly does not guarantee they protect five players. They can protect as few as they want or as many as five, unless they clear any more roster spots before Friday, which seems unlikely. In looking back at previous...

It was a thrilling moment for left-hander Seth Romero to finally get his first chance to pitch in the major leagues last season. The former University of Houston hurler appeared in three games this season for the Nationals, but a broken right hand ended his campaign prematurely. Romero spent September rehabbing the injury. In October, he continued his major league rehab at fall instructional league in West Palm Beach, Fla. Nationals minor league pitching coordinator Brad Holman said Romero...

The internal discussions in the Orioles organization related to Friday's deadline for setting the 40-man roster expand beyond the prospect lists that are blooming in the fall. You won't find reliever Isaac Mattson in the top 30 published by MLBPipeline.com. You could find him among the protected players. There's room on the bubble for Mattson and, without any inside information, I'm predicting that he goes on the 40-man along with outfielder Yusniel Diaz and pitchers Michael Baumann and Zac...

Yasmany Tomás, the former Diamondbacks slugger whose defensive deficiencies made him high-priced bust, will get a chance to restart his career with the Nationals. The Nats have signed Tomás to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, a source familiar with the transaction confirmed. The 30-year-old is scheduled to begin playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League next month, according to Cuban reporter Francys Romero, who first reported the signing. Tomás recently...

The 2021 Hall of Fame ballot officially was announced Monday, and though there are 25 notable names on the list the most notable thing about this year's ballot might just be what's not on there: a slam-dunk Hall of Famer. None of the 14 new additions to the ballot are guaranteed to reach the 75 percent vote threshold necessary for induction. And even among the 11 returning players who have the best case for induction, there's nobody you can say with absolute certainty will be elected. Curt...

After a season of uncertainty - no one knew in July if the year would be played to the finish - baseball now faces more uncertainty. This one involves not games, but salaries and free agency. Will it be a chilly winter - and we are not talking about air temperatures? It could wind up downright frosty and we're not talking about precipitation. There is a feeling around the game that the top free agents this winter may still get their money, but after that elite group, the dollars won't be...

The Orioles have acquired 18-year-old right-hander Miguel Padilla from the Astros as the player to be named later in the Hector Velázquez trade on July 29. Padilla signed as an international free agent on Nov. 26, 2018, out of Carora, Venezuela. He appeared in 19 games for the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League Astros in 2019, going 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 26 innings. Padilla allowed six earned runs and 20 hits and surrendered only two home runs in 26 innings. He walked 16...

We're heading toward a holiday season fraught with uncertainty as we continue to hunker down and try to ride out the pandemic that has turned our lives upside down and is surging again. Thanksgiving is a week from today and many of us are praying for mild weather so that we can, as a means of minimizing risk, re-enact the outdoor feast that the pilgrims had back in the 17th century. Whatever happens in the coming weeks, MASN will keep "Orioles Classics" coming as you await the start of...

I wasn't aware of the term "coronavirus pandemic expansion" until reading it last week in an article detailing how Southwest Airlines is adding Sarasota, Fla., to its growing list of destinations. Finally, the official airline of the Baltimore Orioles is providing flights to the team's spring training home. Always made sense to me. This is big news to beat writers who have been flying into Tampa and driving an hour. Trying to avoid the traffic jam heading back to Tampa International Airport...

There's no way around it: Good teams make their hay at the plate. And if you're one of those who favor offense over pitching, you'll want to pay close attention to this week's smorgasbord of "Nationals Classics" on MASN, which feature more offense than you can shake a stick at. Of course, in this case, that stick would be a Louisville Slugger, or some other wooden implement used to terrorize pitchers. So as you prepare for Thanksgiving, sit back and enjoy these offensive highlights from...