Last offseason, the Nationals' Mike Rizzo went to work early on building his roster, getting catchers Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes and relief pitchers Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough. This offseason, it is the Braves, defending National League East champions, that are roster-building early. The Braves signed free-agent lefty pitcher Cole Hamels to an $18 million contract, adding to a list of transactions. They spent $98 million this offseason by signing three relievers - Will Smith, Chris...

Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon are free agents. They've been free agents for a month now. One or both could still end up re-signing with the Nationals. But right now, they're free agents. Which means they're free to talk to any club that wants to talk to them. It all sounds so basic, but sometimes we tend to forget basic matters. As much as everyone in Washington wants to believe Strasburg and Rendon prefer to return to the only franchise they've ever played for, you just don't...

A few days after the end of the 2019 season, I wrote about the fan reaction to rebuilding and the Orioles season that had just ended. It was a season of a lot of interaction with fans here on this blog, on Twitter and on my postgame radio show. Around the area, anywhere and everywhere, fans seem to like to tell me their opinions and I really like that. My take then was basically that I was suprised that a large majority of fans I interacted with understood the club's rebuilding efforts and...

The Winter Meetings that officially begin Monday in San Diego are going to be filled with the usual trade and free agent rumors that flood the hotel lobby and cause sportswriters to nearly spill their Starbucks while rushing to get confirmation. Here's what you need to remember about the Orioles: Whatever deals are discussed with rival executives most likely will involve lower-level minor leaguers. I wrote about the Orioles' acquisition aim at the July deadline, how it wasn't an aberration...

Following the most successful season in Nationals franchise history, which resulted in a first World Series title, president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo has been named Baseball America's Executive of the Year. The 2019 campaign was Rizzo's 11th as head of baseball operations with the Nats and 14th overall with the organization. He has 36 seasons of professional baseball experience. Since 2012, the Nats have posted a .562 winning percentage (730-566), the second-best...

Washington Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo was named Baseball America's 2019 Executive of the Year on Tuesday after guiding the organization to its first World Series Championship. It is the first time Baseball America has honored Rizzo with this award. He was previously named the 2012 MLB Executive of the Year by the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. En route to the World Series Championship, the 2019 Washington...

If last week's final few "Orioles Classics" on MASN whetted your appetite, you're going to enjoy the rest of the 1970 World Series, with Games 4 and 5 of the Fall Classic against the Reds getting this week's broadcasts off to a winning start. Never mind that the temperatures are dropping and we're bracing for the arrival of frozen precipitation. Anytime you can harken back to October baseball, with its crisp temps and edge-of-your-seat action, you take the opportunity to enjoy a trip to...

They gathered Monday evening at The Anthem along the Southwest Waterfront, Mark Lerner and Mike Rizzo and Ryan Zimmerman and several thousand Nationals fans who wanted to watch the premiere of the official 2019 World Series documentary and celebrate the ballclub's achievement en masse one more time. Lerner talked about the moment he knew his team was going to win the series (when Astros manager A.J. Hinch pulled the dominant Zack Greinke up 2-1 in the seventh inning of Game 7). Rizzo talked...

So, in the end, the Orioles found a trade partner for infielder Jonathan Villar. In a bit of a surprise, it was the Miami Marlins. Miami acquired Villar last night and sent to the Orioles 23-year-old minor league lefty Easton Lucas. Drafted in round 14 in June out of Pepperdine, Lucas went 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA, pitching in one game in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and mostly in the short-season Single-A New York-Penn League. Over 34 2/3 innings, he walked nine, fanned 41, allowed just three...

The next order of baseball business is behind the Orioles. They tendered contracts yesterday to five of their seven arbitration-eligible players, signed reliever Richard Bleier and traded infielder Jonathan Villar to the Marlins. The 40-man roster holds 38 players, leaving room for multiple selections in the Dec. 12 Rule 5 draft in San Diego. Coming up are five days at the Winter Meetings if you count Sunday's travel. The race to catch return flights on Thursday begins late in the...