Josh Hader

SARASOTA, Fla. -- One of the best stories in the Orioles organization last year got a little better on Monday. Old Mill graduate Josh Hader appeared in his first minor league spring training game Monday at Twin Lakes Park, throwing two scoreless innings. And because it was an off day on the major league level, executive vice president Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter were there to watch. Think about that. You are an 18-year-old kid, and on your first outing of the year, months after being drafted, the brass from your childhood team is watching you.   “I saw them.

An article that I wrote for Tuesday's newspaper is about reliever Andrew Miller, who has been absolutely filthy in the playoffs after pitching exceptionally well since the Orioles acquired him for left-handed pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez at the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline. In one sense, it will be difficult to analyze the effectiveness of the trade until we see what Rodriguez does in the major leagues. Plus, it's possible that Miller is simply a rental player, will leave as a free agent this winter, and the Orioles will only get two months and a postseason from the big left-hander.

Attempting to make the postseason for a second consecutive year, the Orioles made the boldest move of Wednesday's exceptionally quiet non-waiver trade deadline, acquiring 28-year-old right-handed pitcher Bud Norris from the Houston Astros for two local products, outfielder L.J. Hoes and minor league lefty Josh Hader. The Orioles also gave up their competitive lottery draft pick for next year - roughly 35th overall - and gained an extra international bonus slot (91st overall, worth slightly over $200,000)

DETROIT - Since the moment right-hander Bud Norris joined the Orioles in a trade last July, he has talked about pitching in the playoffs. The chatty 29-year-old finally received the chance Sunday on a blistery afternoon at Comerica Park against the celebrated Detroit Tigers offense. He seized it, throwing 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a 2-1 victory, catapulting the Orioles into a second postseason round - the first time they've reached the American League Championship Series since 1997.

Minor league lefty Josh Hader came off the field in West Virginia this afternoon to learn that he had been sent to the Houston Astros organization with outfielder L.J. Hoes in the Orioles' non-waiver trade deadline deal for Bud Norris . The 19-year-old Hader, who grew up in Millersville and graduated from Old Mill in 2012, said he was shocked to hear he had been traded from his hometown team. “It's pretty crazy. I wasn't expecting it, but it happened,” said Hader, who was 3-6 with a 2.65 ERA in 17 starts this season for Low-A Delmarva.

As Old Mill senior Josh Hader was driving toward Camden Yards yesterday, he was thinking about the news conference for the 31 s t annual Brooks Robinson All-Star game that he was about to attend at the warehouse. "Then my phone rang and it was a friend of my dad's calling, telling me I'd been drafted by the Orioles," Hader said. "I didn't believe him. I thought he was playing a joke. After I hung up, the phone rang again and it was Dean [Albany, Orioles' regional scout]

 The Orioles have reduced their number of arbitration eligible players to five, agreeing on Thursday with right-hander Bud Norris to a 2014 contract valued at $5.3 million, according to an industry source.  Norris, 28, made $3 million last year when he went 10-12 with a 4.18 ERA in 32 games with the Orioles and Houston Astros. Traded by the Astros for outfielder L.J. Hoes and minor leaguer pitcher Josh Hader on July 31, Norris was 4-3 with a 4.80 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) for the Orioles.

A few days before the Major League Baseball draft last year, Baltimore Orioles director of pitcher development Rick Peterson had a conversation with longtime scout Dean Albany about a young pitcher from Millersville, Josh Hader. "I remember Dean calling me before the draft," said Peterson, in his second year with the Orioles. "As he described [Hader], I said, 'That's the kind of profile we are looking for.' " "I just told him there was an athletic left-handed pitcher I really liked, and we are going to have to take our time with him," Albany recalled.

An article that I wrote for Tuesday's newspaper is about reliever Andrew Miller, who has been absolutely filthy in the playoffs after pitching exceptionally well since the Orioles acquired him for left-handed pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez at the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline. In one sense, it will be difficult to analyze the effectiveness of the trade until we see what Rodriguez does in the major leagues. Plus, it's possible that Miller is simply a rental player, will leave as a free agent this winter, and the Orioles will only get two months and a postseason from the big left-hander.

Old Mill senior pitcher Josh Hader walked the first batter he faced in yesterday's game against Severna Park. After that, Hader stepped off the mound, settled himself, concentrated on his release point and struck out the next three hitters. They were the first of 14 strikeouts as Hader used his 88-mph fastball and a tempting curve to secure a 4-0, no-hit shutoutagainst No. 8 Severna Park. The win gave No. 12 Old Mill a two-game lead among Anne Arundel County teams and improved the Patriots' record to 13-1.

Josh Hader was about 5 when he joined his Anne Arundel County youth baseball team on the field at Camden Yards in a pregame ceremony. A youth league standout, Hader went on to become a star pitcher at Old Mill High in Millersville and couldn't believe his good fortune when he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles after his senior year. He made his minor league debut in 2012 in the Gulf Coast League and with Aberdeen and began the 2013 season as the No. 13 prospect in the Baltimore farm system, according to Baseball America.

DETROIT -   Bud Norris had to wait longer than last year to make his first of the regular season, but now that it is here, he couldn't be more psyched. "It's a little different, but we have such a good five-man rotation that as long as I get the ball every fifth day and help the team win, I'm OK with when I pitch," said Norris, who starts Saturday at Comerica Park against the Detroit Tigers in his 2014 debut. "I'm just champing at the bit to help this team. " Norris was the Opening Day starter for the Houston Astros in 2013.

SARASOTA, FLA. - If you want another indication of how the landscape has changed over the past month at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, consider the Orioles' Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon. It was just another exhibition game, or so it seemed. The Orioles play 30 of them and - for the most part - they don't generate a whole lot of buzz, unless a marquee player gets hurt or something really strange makes its way onto the SportsCenter rail. Neither of those things happened on Saturday, but it was an afternoon on high alert after news started to trickle out that free-agent pitcher Ervin Santana had reduced his contract demands and was about to choose his new team from a very short list that included the Orioles.

 The Orioles have reduced their number of arbitration eligible players to five, agreeing on Thursday with right-hander Bud Norris to a 2014 contract valued at $5.3 million, according to an industry source.  Norris, 28, made $3 million last year when he went 10-12 with a 4.18 ERA in 32 games with the Orioles and Houston Astros. Traded by the Astros for outfielder L.J. Hoes and minor leaguer pitcher Josh Hader on July 31, Norris was 4-3 with a 4.80 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) for the Orioles.

The Orioles still hope to add another hitter this offseason, and they have discussed acquiring first baseman Ike Davis from the New York Mets, according to an industry source. Those talks, however, apparently hit a roadblock because the Mets were asking for left-handed pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez in a potential deal. While the 20-year-old pitcher is not untouchable, the Orioles would need a to be blown away by a deal in order to consider trading Rodriguez, who made significant strides this past season.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette is shopping for a closer, among other things, at this week's winter meetings here at the Walt Disney World Resort. The free-agent market presents several reasonably-priced options, and the Orioles aren't looking to invest a boatload of money into a closer, especially considering the entire reason to trade closer Jim Johnson was to free up some financial flexibility. “Specifically, we're going to utilize it to add some depth to the pitching staff,” Duquette told the local media on Sunday evening . “It's real easy to think about it that way if you take the money and you deploy it to other pitchers.

The Orioles still hope to add another hitter this offseason, and they have discussed acquiring first baseman Ike Davis from the New York Mets, according to an industry source. Those talks, however, apparently hit a roadblock because the Mets were asking for left-handed pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez in a potential deal. While the 20-year-old pitcher is not untouchable, the Orioles would need a to be blown away by a deal in order to consider trading Rodriguez, who made significant strides this past season.

The Orioles sure weren't timid in their approach to this year's non-waiver trade deadline. They kicked off the unofficial trading season with their deal for Scott Feldman, grabbed Francisco Rodriguez last week and then beat the deadline by minutes with a trade for Bud Norris on Wednesday . To get Norris from Houston, the Orioles gave up two in-state products, L.J. Hoes and Josh Hader, which may have given some fans pause about the move....

Let's start with the actual trade on Wednesday. The Orioles picked up 28-year-old right-hander Bud Norris for outfielder L.J. Hoes and minor league pitcher Josh Hader. The Orioles' competitive draft pick in 2014 (roughly No. 35 next year) and the Astros' international slot (worth roughly $200,000) also swapped hands Was it a good deal? Frankly, in four years, the answer likely will be no. I have heard so many good things about Hader from people I trust. And I've enjoyed watching (and covering)

The Orioles sure weren't timid in their approach to this year's non-waiver trade deadline. They kicked off the unofficial trading season with their deal for Scott Feldman, grabbed Francisco Rodriguez last week and then beat the deadline by minutes with a trade for Bud Norris on Wednesday . To get Norris from Houston, the Orioles gave up two in-state products, L.J. Hoes and Josh Hader, which may have given some fans pause about the move....