Tonight is the MLB All-Star Game, and we can officially say goodbye to the first half of the season. For Orioles fans, the All-Star break feels like a collective sigh of relief. The first 95 games of the 2025 season have largely been an exercise in enduring disappointment for Birdland. Thanks to the to the 15-28 start under former manager Brandon Hyde, this Orioles team is still in a hole this team seemingly can’t fly out of.

Things have been better under interim manager Tony Mansolino, with Baltimore 28-24 under the temporary skipper. However, the last series before the break was the perfect example of why this team hasn’t been able to fight back to a .500 record.

The O’s came back to Camden Yards after a three-game sweep of the Braves, looking to further build their confidence against the Mets and Marlins. After dropping a very winnable opener in extra innings vs. New York, Baltimore came back with two well-pitched games to take the series from the Mets.

A win in Game 1 vs. the Fish made it look like Baltimore could end the first half with three straight series wins and a puncher’s chance at getting back into the playoff race. Instead, the Marlins outscored Baltimore 17-1 over the final two games, and the O’s entered the break nine games under .500 and behind seven teams in the hunt for the last wild card spot.

With only 14 games left before the trade deadline, we’re likely to see players like All-Star Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and several relievers leave Baltimore via trades. Seeing these players head out the door will no doubt be a gut punch, but surviving the trade deadline will allow us to focus on the few remaining silver linings in the 2025 season. Here are three things to look forward to in the second half of 2025.

The promotion of Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo

O’Hearn and Mullins are the only position players likely to leave Baltimore at the trade deadline. That’s fortunate for the Orioles as they already have ready-made replacements in their top two prospects at Triple-A.

The fact that Basallo is still in Triple-A has been a source of frustration for many Orioles fans. Injuries to Adley Rutschman, Gary Sánchez and their replacements have seen the O’s tie a franchise record by playing six different catchers this year. Fans mostly understood when defensively solid Maverick Handley was called up to replace an injured Sánchez. Birdland has been less understanding as the front office has given opportunities to Chadwick Tromp, Jacob Stallings and Alex Jackson ahead of Basallo.

The soon-to-be 21-year-old has a bat that’s no doubt ready for the challenge of big league pitching. Since the beginning of June, Basallo is hitting .302 with a 1.087 OPS, 10 HRs and a respectable 23% strikeout rate. However, with his bat being ahead of his glove, he’s currently better suited to fill the 1B/DH role O’Hearn is set to vacate. Basallo will work into the catcher rotation eventually, but his transition to the big leagues will undoubtedly be smoother if he doesn’t have to adjust to big league pitchers offensively AND defensively.

Beavers doesn’t have the same ridiculous ceiling (or hype) as Basallo, but he’s arguably had a better season at Norfolk. He’s currently ninth in the International League with a .311 average, one of only three players with 10+ HRs and 20+ SBs and has given the Tides above-average outfield defense all season.

Beavers’ career Triple-A triple slash of .307/.399/.469 is similar to what Colton Cowser produced while at Norfolk, though Beavers has been more of a hit-over-power player than Cowser in the minors. Moving on from Mullins is probably the right move, but it will also be the most painful emotionally as the only Oriole left from the Dan Duquette/Buck Showalter Era. However, Beavers deserves his shot and should push for a chance to replace Tyler O’Neill as the O’s third OF.

The return of Kyle Bradish

With 15 players currently on the IL, there will be plenty of big returns in the second half, but none bigger than Bradish. The 38 starts we saw from Bradish across 2023 and early 2024 were some of the best pitching we’ve seen from an Orioles right-hander since Mike Mussina. In 208 innings, Bradish posted a 2.81 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 221 Ks and a 143 ERA+. Before Bradish’s injury last June, the Orioles were 146-85 since the beginning of 2023. Since then, the O’s are 89-99 as their former ace recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Throughout the first half of 2025, Félix Bautista has shown what’s possible in a pitcher’s return from a major UCL injury. Sure, it took Bautista to really turn back into The Mountain, with the Orioles closer posting a 3.86 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP across April and May. Since getting back to full strength, Bautista looks like the best version of himself, posting a 0.60 ERA, .063 BAA and 50% strikeout rate over his last 15 appearances.

With the Orioles not in contention for a playoff spot, Baltimore can give Bradish a full 30-day rehab assignment he’ll begin shortly after the All-Star break. Like we saw from Bautista at the beginning of the year, the rehab assignment will allow him to get used to his reconstructed elbow before hopefully rejoining the O’s in August. If Bradish can get 6-8 good starts under his belt before 2026, it’ll give him a solid foundation to return to his true ace form and lead the O’s pitching staff next year.

More of the Trevor Rogers Experience

Given how bad Rogers was in his four starts for the Orioles last year, it was hard to imagine him even factoring in the 2025 rotation. And yet, no pitcher has done a better job taking advantage of the O’s injury crisis than the former All-Star.

In six starts in the black and orange this season, Rogers has put together the best stretch of his career, pitching to a 1.53 ERA and .154 batting average against. His fastball velocity is the best it’s been in three years, he’s generating the most swings and misses on his breaking balls since his All-Star season and he’s making it harder than ever for hitters to barrel him up.

As good as Rogers has been, though, the “small sample size” caveat still definitely applies to him. We’ve seen pitchers like Jordan Lyles, Kyle Gibson, Tyler Wells and others string together strong 5-6 game stretches, only to later come crashing back to earth. If Rogers can continue his hot streak until the end of this season, he’ll go into 2026 as the O’s No. 2 starter behind Bradish. Otherwise, he may force the O’s to reassess their plan of attack in this winter’s starting pitching market.