Baltimore Orioles

Major League Baseball's reigning home run champion has a new contract, and it's not the most expensive contract signed this winter.

Not even close.

Outfielder Mark Trumbo reportedly agreed to re-sign with the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, the team announced. 

Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun first reported the deal on Thursday. 

Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton didn't win the American League Cy Young Award. He didn't even finish among the top three, much to the consternation of his skipper.

Sometimes, the baseball gods just don't smile down upon you.

Baltimore's season came to a brutal end in extra innings, as Edwin Encarnacion's three-run blast off Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-2 victory over the Orioles, who are now 2-8 in their last 10 playoff games dating back to 2012.

The Baltimore Orioles are headed to the postseason for just the third time since the 1997 campaign.

Baltimore clinched a wild-card berth with a 5-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday, as the team shared on Twitter:

Unlikely heroes rise in the postseason.

With the Baltimore Orioles fighting for their playoff lives, right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez is getting an early start.

Jimenez twirled 6.2 scoreless frames Thursday in the Orioles' 4-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing one hit with three walks and five strikeouts.

Watching on television, through the eye of the center field camera, the pitch looks unhittable.

Standing at home plate, with a bat in your hands, it looks just about the same.

"A devastating pitch," Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. "Really hard, and with tremendous sink. It looks straight until it gets to the plate, and then it goes down."

The Baltimore Orioles are in a fight for the playoffs, but the fans haven't been around to witness it.

Outfielder Adam Jones voiced his displeasure Wednesday with the lack of attendance at Camden Yards, per Eddie Matz of ESPN.com:

A week ago, a popular view among American League East scouts was that the Baltimore Orioles were a lot more likely to finish fourth than first.

They weren't catching the Toronto Blue Jays or Boston Red Sox. Not with that starting rotation.

The Baltimore Orioles' starting rotation is a mess bordering on a full-blown garbage fire. That's no secret, and it's certainly not hyperbole. 

Kevin Gausman to the rescue?

That sentence contains a question mark for good reason. Gausman's ERA hovered over 4.00 for most of August, and he's lost five of his last 10 decisions.