Welcome to another edition of the Orioles Beat newsletter. The O’s conclude the 2025 season on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. |
NEW YORK -- When the Orioles opened the 2025 campaign, they had hopes of winning the American League East championship for the second time in three years. It seemed possible the final series of the season at Yankee Stadium could have major postseason implications for both Baltimore and New York. Instead, it’s the Yankees and Blue Jays battling for the division crown on the final weekend of September. Meanwhile, the O’s (75-85) sit in last place in the AL East with their offseason set to begin Monday. In two days, the Orioles can turn the page on their disappointing year and begin focusing on how they can avoid a repeat in 2026. On paper, it’s easy to envision how next year could go better for Baltimore. There’s still a solid position-player core in place with Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser and others. Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers -- a pair of Top 100 prospects, per MLB Pipeline -- have been strong additions over the past two months. |
The starting rotation could be led by Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers as co-aces, but the Orioles are also likely to target frontline starting pitching this offseason. The bullpen will need to be reconstructed, but there are several months for that to happen. So, is there a quiet confidence in the O’s clubhouse that next season will be a good one? “I’m confident in the talent in this clubhouse,” Westburg said. “I’ll say that.” It’s no surprise that Westburg -- a quiet, example-setting leader who often lets his actions speak louder than his words -- isn’t ready to say everything will be better once this season is over. The Orioles were quickly humbled this year, and they understand there’s work ahead for them to get back to where they were while making back-to-back playoff appearances in 2023 and ‘24. At the same time, Westburg can envision a path forward with a group already largely in-house. “It’s young, it’s versatile, there are exciting players who have three, four, five tools that they can play with on any given night. And that’s special,” Westburg said. “That’s something that certainly can brighten a team, and we’ll see where it goes from there. That’s all I’ll say.” Multiple members of the Orioles have cited the injury bug as a primary reason for their tough results. They don’t want to use it as an excuse, but at the same time, the numbers don’t lie -- there have been 29 players who have spent time on the injured list this season for Baltimore, which has used the IL 39 total times. It’s hard to build momentum when key players miss considerable time. As Cowser recently pointed out, his roommates from his Spring Training house in Sarasota, Fla. -- himself, Henderson, Rutschman, Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle and Zach Eflin -- never played in the same game this year. |
“It’s been a tough hand we’ve been dealt, just with team-wide injuries and stuff,” said outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who had three stints on the IL. “There’s not too many games that we’ve actually had our full potential projected lineup on the field at the same time.” Better health, better numbers from some key players who weren’t quite themselves this year and more experience for a group still mostly in their 20s could lead to better results and more wins. Just look at September. The Orioles are 14-9 this month, when they’ve been healthier at any point. It’s not a coincidence that a banged-up Baltimore squad went 9-16 in April and 9-18 in May (when former manager Brandon Hyde was dismissed). “We’ve played some good ball. It’s just a matter of staying healthy and having our best talent out on the field for as many games as possible,” Henderson said. “I feel like that’s just something we need to take care of and just get our bodies ready during the offseason.” “I think that you kind of saw it a little bit in the second half, where we started to pick it up and we started to play like ourselves,” said right-hander Tyler Wells, who made four starts after returning from right UCL repair surgery. “As long as we continue to take that momentum and drag it into Spring Training and continue to build on it, I think next year is going to be a lot better.” Maybe the disappointing 2025 will even serve as a motivational starting point to improve in ‘26. “I hope these guys are pissed off and I hope they’re hungry, and I know that they are,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I hope this has been very eye-opening for them and what it takes to win at this level.” |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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PLAYER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS |
Earlier this week, the Orioles announced the following winners of their player development and scouting awards for 2025: Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year: OF Nate George (O’s No. 8 prospect) Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year: RHP Trey Gibson (O’s No. 12 prospect) Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award: Florida Complex League manager Christian Frias Jim Russo Scout of the Year Award: Rich Amaral |
Baltimore’s coaching staff is filled with uncertainty heading into the offseason. It’s possible Sunday could mark Mansolino’s final game at the helm. Other changes could be coming. It will be interesting to see whether the O’s retain John Mabry, a longtime big league coach who joined the club’s staff as a senior advisor on May 30. The 54-year-old played 14 seasons in the Majors and has been a coach for 13. Would Mabry have interest in returning to the O’s in some capacity? “I’m open to anything. For me personally, I’m home -- [this is] where I grew up. So I get an opportunity to see family. So that’s a plus,” said Mabry, who was raised in Cecil County, Md. “It’s a young, talented core here, for sure.” |
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