matt wieters

The Orioles have made slugger Nelson Cruz a qualifying off for a one-year, $15.3 million contract to stay with the club.

The Orioles must offer their eligible free agents one-year qualifying offers for $15.3 million by 5 p.m. today.

The Orioles have seven players who chose free agency and soon can be signed by any club.

Hall of Famer Leon Day's passion for baseball lives on in his widow. Geraldine Day attended "about a dozen" Orioles games this past season and watched the rest on television, even those on the West Coast.

The Orioles didn't fall short of the World Series by much this year, and the obvious case can be made that the return of some key players will make them a stronger team in 2015. But this is no time to take the pedal off the metal.

When Baseball America's list of the Orioles top 10 prospects was released Monday, there was some backlash from fans about how right-hander Dylan Bundy could still be the organization's top prospect. Bundy sits atop the list for a fourth straight year following a season in which he pitched in just nine games after returning from Tommy John surgery.

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones and shortstop J.J. Hardy have won Gold Glove Awards at their respective positions in each of the past two seasons. Right fielder Nick Markakis won the award in 2011.

Three Orioles were named finalists for Gold Glove awards at their respective positions, including center fielder Adam Jones, who can win the award for the fourth time in his career.

There was plenty of disappointment from Orioles fans on Tuesday when Buck Showalter placed second for the annual Sporting News American League Manager of the Year Award.

Stan Ber's Bits & Pieces column for the week of Oct. 23

Orioles manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette ought to have plenty of time to convince owner Peter Angelos of the importance of signing Nelson Cruz to a multiyear contract.

Here are five things the Orioles can do between now and Opening Day, April 6, to keep the 2015 season alive throughout October.

Manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette plan to meet, along with team brass, to begin looking to next season. Pitchers and catchers are slated to return for spring training three months from Saturday, and the Orioles face many difficult roster decisions in the meantime.

Despite season-ending injuries to shortstop Manny Machado and catcher Matt Wieters and the late-season suspension of first baseman Chris Davis, this Orioles season's biggest disappointment had to be right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez.

Free agency will be interesting for the Orioles, but before they get to that point, they have to attend to their own business. What's your top priority move involving a current Orioles player?

As the Orioles prepared to leave the visitors' clubhouse Wednesday night after being swept in the American League Championship Series, they understood the harsh reality of today's industry: This group, in its entirety, will never again be together as a team.

The Baltimore Orioles built a contender by patchwork, but the Royals built their American League champion through the farm

The Orioles' "We Won't Stop" season finally came to a screeching halt Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium when the won't-be-beat Kansas City Royals won another nailbiter, 2-1, in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series.

With 96 regular-season wins and easily beating the Tigers in division series, getting swept by Royals stings Orioles, fans

Cycling between hope and dread, Orioles fans watch their magical team collapse in the face of an apparently even more magical ones, the Kansas City Royals who now head to the World Series

Baltimore Sun reporters, columnists and editors share their immediate thoughts on Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Orioles and the Kansas City Royals.

Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, who will get Monday¿s Game 3 start, said through an interpreter that he¿s not considering the importance of the game or where it might rank in his career.

Whether it's hosting "Inside the NBA" or calling a Major League Baseball playoff series, Ernie Johnson makes sports broadcasting look as easy.

It all happened in about a week. Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz experienced a gut-punching low of the postseason and then an exhilarating high -- all without throwing a pitch.

There are more similarities between the Orioles and their American League Championship Series opponent, the Kansas City Royals, than not -- they both have solid pitching, stellar bullpens and play exemplary defense -- but the way they score runs is completely different.

If the circumstances were different, Matt Wieters might have been surrounded by reporters during Thursday's media availability at Camden Yards.

Former Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie, now with Royals, looks forward to facing his former team in the American League Championship Series.

Baltimore Orioles help support Ben Barlow, of Ellicott City, as he honors the memory of his wife, former Orioles public relations director Monica Pence Barlow

Despite ranking last in the major leagues in home runs and ninth in the AL in runs scored, the Kansas City Royals' 153 stolen bases in the regular season led the major leagues, and they had an 81 percent success rate. But Orioles catchers are primed to stop them in their tracks.

Hundreds of fans turned out to Oriole Park at Camden Yards Monday afternoon to welcome the Orioles back to Baltimore, a day after the team finished a sweep of the Tigers in Detroit to clinch a spot in the American League Championship Series.

Baltimore Sun reporters, columnists and editors share their immediate reaction to Game 3 of the American League Division Series between the Orioles and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

Behind the scenes, the Orioles front office relies on a range of contributors, from old-school scouts who gauge talent by watching players compete to younger executives adept at the statistics-driven approach captured in "Moneyball," the best-selling book and motion picture.

Key moments in the Orioles' American League Division Series Game 1 win over the Detroit Tigers

Sitting at the media dais under the glare of television lights Thursday, left-hander Wei-Yin Chen made a prediction about his start Friday in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.

Baltimore Sun reporter Dan Connolly breaks down the American League Division Series matchup between the Orioles and the Detroit Tigers.

The Orioles hadn't even thrown a postseason pitch in 2014, and already Orioles manager Buck Showalter has rolled out the heavy artillery. Brooks Robinson, the 1970 World Series MVP, met with the club on Wednesday.

The Orioles' success has already had an impact on Baltimore, both emotionally and financially, and that should continue with the postseason beginning Thursday at Camden Yards.

Adam Jones and Nick Markakis have different personalities, but when the two take the field together -- as they have on most summer days for the past seven seasons -- they become unified partners for one purpose: capturing the Orioles' first World Series title in 31 years.

In the past year, Zach Britton considered what it would be like to wear a different uniform. But after getting another chance with the Orioles, the left-hander has found a home in a ninth-inning role as the club prepares for the postseason.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter wanted to get the regular starting lineup on the field for Sunday's regular-season finale against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Needing to replace three All Stars, the Orioles looked to Steve Pearce, Caleb Joseph, Nick Hundley and Ryan Flaherty

TORONTO ¿ Alexi Casilla woke up Friday morning expected to fly home to his native Dominican Republic that night to prepare for the upcoming winter ball season. Instead, he was on a flight to Toronto to join the Orioles with an opportunity to make the team¿s postseason roster.

The starting lineup the Orioles fielded in Friday night's 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre was missing 98 homers and 304 RBIs. Without Nelson Cruz, Adam Jones, Steve Pearce and J.J. Hardy, the Orioles were minus a significant amount of offensive punch.

Defense has been one of the keys to the Orioles' success over the past three seasons. But since they lost American League Platinum Glove winner Manny Machado for the season following right-knee surgery in August, the club has struggled to find a steady replacement.

The Orioles are still chasing the American League's best record and are still 2 1/2 games back of the Los Angeles Angels for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after both teams lost on Monday.

The Orioles had a lineup without most of its stars, and still had 10 hits.

It's been a year on the move for Glen Burnie's Steve Clevenger, and one that brought him to the right place at the right time: with the Baltimore Orioles just as the team hit a milestone this past week with its first American League Championship since 1997.

When the Orioles clinched the American League East title, the victory struck a chord with Baltimore baseball alumni who've gone this route before.

Fan after fan said it as they waited for Ubaldo Jimenez to throw the first pitch Tuesday night at Camden Yards: "We just had to be here."