World Champions 1983, 1970, 1966 American League Champions 1983, 1979, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1966 American League East Division Champions 2014, 1997, 1983, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969 American League Wild Card 2016, 2012, 1996 Thursday, December 8, 2016 Columns: Once the Orioles build their bench, Buck Showalter wants to use it more to spell everyday players The Sun 12/8 Orioles say they're OK with slow progress in finding a catcher The Sun 12/7 Orioles refusing to discuss Manny Machado, Zach Britton in trade talks The Sun 12/7 Orioles notes: Hyun Soo Kim set for bigger role in 2017; no WBC for Zach Britton The Sun 12/7 Orioles manager Buck Showalter talks free-agent rumors, outfield and more at winter meetings The Sun 12/7 Face of the winter meetings: Matt Klentak The Sun 12/7 Scott Boras: Catching free-agent market still developing for Orioles catcher Matt Wieters The Sun 12/7 Dan Duquette: Orioles won't pursue Jose Bautista because he is a 'villain in Baltimore' The Sun 12/7 Ian Desmond was mentioned as a right field possibility for the Orioles, but really wasn't The Sun 12/7 Showalter addresses rumors tied to Orioles MLB.com 12/7 Winter Meetings interview with Buck Showalter MLB.com 12/7 Orioles not in market for Bautista MLB.com 12/7 Day Four of the Winter Meetings MASNsports.com 12/8 More from Day Three of the Winter Meetings MASNsports.com 12/7 Duquette on Bautista, trading core players and the WBC MASNsports.com 12/7 Zach Britton declines WBC invitation (and other notes) MASNsports.com 12/7 More from Showalter’s media session MASNsports.com 12/7 Showalter on rumors, his roster and the Rule 5 draft MASNsports.com 12/7 Trade the stars? O’s not going there right now MASNsports.com 12/8 ESPN’s Keith Law on Chance Sisco, Mark Trumbo, Zach Britton and more MASNsports.com 12/7 Scott Boras on Matt Wieters, Zach Britton and Pedro Alvarez MASNsports.com 12/7 MLB Rumor Central: Orioles eyeing Yankees OF Brett Gardner in trade? ESPN.com 12/8 Buck Showalter: Adam Jones Will Stay In Center Field PressBoxOnline.com 12/8 What The Rule 5 Draft Really Means To The Orioles PressBoxOnline.com 12/7 Dan Duquette: Jose Bautista Is 'A Villain In Baltimore' PressBoxOnline.com 12/7 Scott Boras Thinks There's Still A Chance For Orioles, Matt Wieters PressBoxOnline.com 12/7 Duquette on Bautista: ‘It’s true. The guy’s a villain in Baltimore’ BaltimoreBaseball.com 12/7 Boras: On Wieters’ market; Alvarez and the outfield; Britton and extension talks BaltimoreBaseball.com 12/7 http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-once-the-orioles-build-their-bench-buck- showalter-wants-to-use-it-more-20161207-story.html Once the Orioles build their bench, Buck Showalter wants to use it more to spell everyday players By Jon Meoli / The Baltimore Sun December 8, 2016 It’s a pledge Orioles manager Buck Showalter often makes, but when he made it Wednesday at the winter meetings, there was one key thing missing. Showalter said he intended to use his bench more and get players off their feet, but as it turns out, he doesn’t have much of a bench to be used. The eventual signing of an everyday right fielder would make either Hyun Soo Kim or Joey Rickard the bench outfielder, and there will be a second catcher to join Caleb Joseph. But outside of utility infielder Ryan Flaherty, the bench isn’t returning intact. That will change, as it always does late in the offseason. The Orioles’ inaction in the market so far doesn’t impact the fact that they can fill out their bench later. The larger point stands, though. The Orioles’ everyday players, from young ones such as third baseman Manny Machado and second baseman Jonathan Schoop to veterans such as Mark Trumbo and Chris Davis, all tired down the stretch. Showalter said that “without a doubt” he wants to give the regulars more days off next year. “I wanted to do it last year, and the year before,” Showalter said. “I really wanted to be able to get -- I don't care, just because a guy is 24, 25, they need some mental days, too. I really want to give Adam [rest] -- as much as he'll fight me on it. And we'll talk about how much they want to play every day, and I want them to play every day, but believe me, this is as much their makeup as it is of us writing the lineup that way. I really want to do a better job of giving them some time here.” In years past, it has proven to be a difficult path to navigate. With their pitching staff providing little margin for error in what’s always a tight division race, a core of players that want to play every day and a manager who knows every game will matter in the end make for a busy season for a lot of the team’s top stars. “They want to post up and be there and kind of play through some things,” Showalter said. “It's one of those things, you're not going to get them to come and say, ‘I need a day.' You're going to have to take the bull by the horns and just do it. "But then if you do it, first thing is everybody is standing in front of their locker saying, 'What's wrong with you today,' and you're asking me that, and rightfully so. So you actually create -- I think they get almost a guilt trip, and I don't want to take that away from them, but it's not. You're actually making our club better, because somebody's playing makes him better and it's giving you some time here or there. So what does that mean that Jonathan Schoop plays 159 instead of 162? How much of a difference is it that going to make? Usually the game makes you take some days off, but we'll see.” http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-winter-meetings-1208-20161207- story.html Orioles say they're OK with slow progress in finding a catcher By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun December 7, 2016 The Orioles arrived at this week's winter meetings hoping to gain better clarity on their future at catcher. One of executive vice president Dan Duquette's first acts Sunday night, as teams and agents settled into the Gaylord National Resort, was reaching out to agents of free-agent backstops to gauge the market at the position. And as sun set on the banks of the Potomac River on the third and final full day of the meetings, the Orioles were still searching for their next starting catcher. They know they might remain waiting well into the offseason to find that player. The Orioles have succeeded in waiting out the market to find free-agent talent that slips through the cracks, but filling the catcher position is no easy fix. A new catcher's responsibilities are plentiful, and the transition of getting accustomed to his pitchers, handling a staff and assuming leadership qualities on the field doesn't happen overnight. "It's an important position, obviously — probably the most important position on the team, so who we choose will have a lot [of impact on] what kind of team we have and how competitive we are, so we want to make the right choice," Duquette said Wednesday evening in the team's suite several floors above the bustling hotel lobby. "We want to have a catcher who can help us run the game and contribute offensively, and those catchers are hard to find." The Orioles have prospect Chance Sisco, who they believe is the catcher of the future, but need a stopgap. Duquette said he's also unclear when Sisco will be ready to handle the responsibilities of being an every-day catcher. As Duquette spoke, two free agent catchers came off the board. Former Washington National Wilson Ramos, who is coming off major knee surgery, netted a two-year, $12.5-million deal with the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays and veteran A.J. Ellis agreed to a one-year, $2.5- million deal with the Miami Marlins. Other free-agent catching options are unspectacular. All have their warts, from limited offensive output to below-average defensive metrics. Names on their list include Welington Castillo, a surprise non-tender of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and former Oriole Nick Hundley, who spent the past two years with the Colorado Rockies. The team has also sent out feelers on Kurt Suzuki and Chris Iannetta. "That market goes in a hurry," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "There's times that we can see it, you don't have to strike with it, but a person's got to be there. I'm thinking the right person, you know, currently in-house, without getting into who that might be. We're going to have some maneuverability on our roster. We're only [at 36 players] now. We're going to be able to move some things around, unlike a lot of these clubs that aren't." That could still bring them back to Matt Wieters, the homegrown product who is now testing free-agent waters. Duquette, Showalter and Wieters' agent, Scott Boras, said an eventual reunion with Wieters is possible. It's still not likely.