Sig Mejdal hasn't seen a baseball game in person in months. The Orioles were careful to limit the number of non-uniformed personnel at both Camden Yards and the alternate site in Bowie this summer, so Mejdal worked from home, like most Americans. But Mejdal stayed in the loop, thanks in part to the latest gadgets in the game - body sensors, bat trackers, force pads and more. A bit more advanced than Zoom. "Beyond the fact that there were fewer games, no minor league games in the parks, ... we...

The Orioles today announced their promotional schedule and 5-Game Flex Plan for the 2021 Spring Training season, the club's 12th spring season at Ed Smith Stadium. Beginning today, fans can purchase 5-Game Flex Plans for the Spring Training season. Starting at just $95, fans can create their own ticket package by selecting up to two prime games and three non-prime games. Each plan is protected by O'surance, a new, free fan assurance benefit that guarantees the investment in Orioles baseball....

Had you asked anyone affiliated with the Nationals on opening day which rookie would garner the most big league plate appearances in 2020, the answer would've been Carter Kieboom every single time. Luis García? Well, perhaps the 20-year-old would make his debut at some point, but he wouldn't see significant action. Certainly not more than Kieboom, who had been touted as the club's everyday third baseman from the first day of spring training. A quick glance at the Nationals' season-ending...

Over the years, we've seen organizations like the Orioles handle young pitchers on the farm in a similar fashion when it came to bumping up their innings totals each season as they approach the majors. But without minor league games in 2020, now the math has been altered. A pitcher slated to throw 100 innings this summer didn't get those innings in. At least not in a minor league game. But maybe he got in half that many - perhaps even more - at an alternate site or on his own throwing to...

The downplaying and scant reporting of a minor league signing in January is as common as a cold. Players pop into an organization and often leave it without a fuss. The same indifference coming and going. César Valdez is a classic example, except for the part about him going. He's stayed on the 40-man roster since the Orioles selected his contract on Aug. 27, the latest move of significance in his rejuvenated career after the appearances in exhibition games as an extra from Twin Lakes Park...

The Orioles were getting ready to play their 17th exhibition game on March 8. Four days before the team bus pulled out of the complex and circled back, confirmation that baseball was shutting down due to COVID-19. Four days before outfielder Trey Mancini would undergo surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his colon. Alex Cobb can close his eyes and see it all. He remembers the local media gathering to ask about Mancini's departure from camp. How he described the situation as...

The Nationals have set their minor league managers for 2021, according to published reports. At Triple-A Rochester, Matt LeCroy returns to the dugout, moving up from Double-A Harrisburg. Moving to the Senators to manage is Tripp Keister. At high Single-A Wilmington is Tommy Shields. Mario Lisson takes over as manager for low Single-A Fredericksburg. Since 2008, LeCroy, 45, has managed in the Nats system at low Single-A, high Single-A and Double-A and was the bullpen coach on Matt Williams'...

On this cold, wet mid-December morning, here's a warm thought to boost your spirits: Exactly two months from today, Nationals pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for spring training. Emphasis, of course, on the "are scheduled to" portion of that statement. Anyone who definitively says spring training will begin as scheduled is merely hoping that comes true. "We're planning for an on-time spring training, Feb. 17, and a 162-game major league schedule," Nats general manager Mike...

An offseason exercise that doesn't require a home gym, but makes me sweat as if competing in a triathlon, is creating an Orioles lineup in December. Taking the players on the current 40-man roster and the likely invites to spring training and filling every position. Go nuts and, if you dare, also craft a bench, rotation and bullpen. But only if you've stretched prior to attempting it. A national publication seeks my assistance every winter, with a deadline prior to the Christmas holiday. The...

Alex Cobb has arrived back at a point in his career that looks the same in some aspects and completely foreign in others. The final year of his contract. Shuffled priorities as he stands on the deck and peers out again at free agency. Been there, but doing it differently. Cobb isn't in the hunt for another four-year deal, which the Orioles gave him at a cost of $57 million before the 2018 season to mark the largest for a pitcher in franchise history. He turned 33 in October, is entering a new...