Trade

When it became apparent that the New York Mets were willing to deal 2012 National League Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, the Orioles had to be a consideration. Orioles manager Buck Showalter loves the 38-year-old knuckleballer. Showalter, Dickey's manager in Texas, was one of the people who told Dickey that he needed to try a different approach if he was going to make it in the majors. Dickey, who transformed himself from conventional pitcher to knuckleball extraordinaire, is always effusive in his praise for Showalter.

Chris Johnson wasn't happy about surrendering the 11-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins to wide receiver Pierre Garcon that helped the Washington Redskins tie the Ravens and then win, 31-28, in overtime last Sunday. At the same time, however, the cornerback said he had no regrets about trying to jump what he thought was an in route by Garcon. “As a vet, I gave up a play that I didn't want to give up. It stuck with me for a couple days,” Johnson said Wednesday.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation appreciates the concern about nutrient trading expressed by Dr. Robert S. Lawrence of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health ("Nutrient trading a dirty deal for the bay, Dec. 9). We would like to present some additional information to the conversation about this complicated and controversial topic. We agree with Dr. Lawrence that any trading program that allows local waters to remain dirty is unacceptable. Reducing pollution so that local waterways and the bay meet water quality standards is the ultimate goal of the Clean Water Blueprint for the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams.

City officials are offering a trade: groceries for guns. This Saturday, Klein's ShopRite will give a $100 gift certificate to anyone who turns in a firearm. The "Goods for Guns" buyback will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Coldstream Homestead Montebello Community Corp. headquarters, located on the campus of City College. "Every single gun we get out of our neighborhoods is a success," said City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, who helped organize the event.

One of the teams the Orioles had to outlast to make the playoffs last season was the Tampa Bay Rays, and on Sunday night, the Rays made one of the biggest trades of the offseason. The Rays dealt right-handers James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Wil Myers, arguably the top hitting prospect in the game, and three other prospects - right-hander Jake Odorizzi, left-hander Mike Montgomery and third baseman Patrick Leonard. Rays manager Joe Maddon expressed his mixed reactions to losing Shields, the club's all-time leader in wins and strikeouts, and Davis, a reliever who would have been a back-end rotation starter on most teams, on Twitter, saying: “Hate … HATE to lose James and Wade.

I imagine that most people have positive associations with the word "nutrient," and in my years as a physician, I did, too. After all, nutrients, like protein and vitamin A, are the cornerstone of human nutrition. But when we talk about the Chesapeake Bay, or any body of water, the word takes on another meaning entirely. In the bay, nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are major culprits in the pollution that creates dead zones, algal blooms, and higher levels of bacteria that are harmful to people.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Orioles third baseman Manny Machado suffered from a bout of meningitis this offseason, but the organization's top young position player has recovered and is expected to be ready for spring training. Machado was hospitalized for a day and a half about a month ago, but he has since recovered. He resumed full workouts two weeks ago, and the Orioles consider the illness a non-issue. Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters about Machado's illness Tuesday afternoon during his media session at the winter meetings.

Today is the start of the winter meetings in Nashville and you know what that means O's fans? About 96 hours of speculation. Well, here's a little hot stove conjecture to warm your coffee. Take it for what it is worth (and, yes, I know what it is worth). I believe the Orioles will make a trade - either here or within a few days of the meetings. And my sense is that trade will have a little more juice than last year's winter-meetings blockbuster that brought lefty Dana Eveland to Baltimore for two minor leaguers.

Former Orioles third baseman Doug DeCinces was indicted Wednesday, along with three friends, by a federal grand jury in California on securities fraud charges, for allegedly cashing in on inside information about the acquisition of an Orange County medical company, prosecutors said. The criminal indictment is the latest fallout related to the acquisition, which previously resulted in DeCinces and Hall of Fame former Oriole Eddie Murray — who was not named in Wednesday's indictment — paying civil settlements to the Securities and Exchange Commission last year and in August, respectively.

By this time next week, Ed Encina and I will be knee-deep in Winter Meetings muck, trying to decipher what's actually going on in the lobbies, bars and meeting rooms in Nashville. So I figured I'd open up the bar today and crank up the hot stove. As our columnist Peter Schmuck wrote Sunday , it wouldn't be a surprise if Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette dangles one of the club's young starters in an attempt to land a position player with upside - someone who can play left field, first base or DH. Given what the Orioles have, and the hype that has surrounded them, you'd think Jake Arrieta, Zach Britton, Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman all maintain some value on the open market.