Baltimore’s baseball season comes to an end: Thoughts on the Orioles’ 2025 performance
FOR THE ORIOLES. WHEN THEY TAKE ON THE YANKEES IN NEW YORK THIS AFTERNOON. AND WHILE IT’S BEEN A DISAPPOINTING SEASON AND THERE WILL BE NO OCTOBER BASEBALL FOR THE BIRDS, THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF POSITIVES TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS SEASON. JOINING US LIVE THIS MORNING WITH THE SEASON RECAP IS O’S BROADCASTER BRETT HOLLANDER, LIVE FROM NEW YORK. GOOD MORNING. ALL RIGHT. WELL LOOK WE WERE GETTING USED TO POSTSEASON BASEBALL AROUND HERE IN THESE PARTS OVER THE LAST FEW SEASONS. THIS YEAR, THOUGH, WE STUMBLED RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE. IT REALLY KIND OF HURT OUR ODDS OF MAKING THE PLAYOFFS. WHAT WENT WRONG? YEAH. THOSE FIRST TWO MONTHS WERE REALLY, REALLY TOUGH. AND THEY PUT THEMSELVES BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL DRAMATICALLY. EVEN IN A WEIRD SEASON IN BASEBALL WHERE TEAMS HAVE COME BASICALLY BACK FROM THE DEAD TO GET INTO THE POSTSEASON, THE ORIOLES DUG THEMSELVES SUCH A BIG HOLE, AND IT REALLY BEGAN WITH THE PITCHING AND EVERYTHING WENT WRONG PITCHING WISE FOR THE ORIOLES. WITH JUST EVERYTHING FALLING APART IN THAT DEPARTMENT. THERE WERE A TON OF INJURIES EARLY ON. THEY LOST GRAYSON RODRIGUEZ IN SPRING TRAINING, AND THEY NEVER REALLY RECOVERED FROM A TOUGH APRIL AND MAY, ALTHOUGH THEY PLAYED REALLY SOLID BASEBALL SINCE THE END OF MAY. WELL, LOOK, THERE’S SOME POSITIVES TO TAKE AWAY, RIGHT? THERE’S SOME BIG DEBUTS THAT HAPPENED FROM SOME TOP PROSPECTS LIKE SAMUEL BASILIO, DYLAN BEAVERS. WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THEM? WELL, THEY BOTH SHOWED REALLY WELL AND I THINK IT’S VERY PROMISING FOR THE FUTURE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT BEAVERS, HE’S GOING TO BE AN OUTFIELDER. HE’LL BE IN THE MIX NEXT YEAR AND THEN BUSIO AND BOTH ARE STRUGGLING TO SOME DEGREE RIGHT NOW, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT FOR REALLY YOUNG PLAYERS STARTING THEIR MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER. BUT WITH BUSIO, HE IS SOMEONE WHO HAS INCREDIBLE POWER. I EXPECT HIM TO HIT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ORDER NEXT YEAR FOR THE ORIOLES, AND HE’S SOMEONE WHO I THINK ONE DAY COULD BE A 30 OR 40 HOME RUN GUY. THEY SIGNED HIM TO A LONG TERM DEAL, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING. SO HE’LL BE AN ORIOLE FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME. AND THESE ARE GUYS WHO ARE AT THE VERY START OF THEIR MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER. AND IN THE CASE OF BUSIO AND JACKSON HOLIDAY, WHO HAD HIS FIRST FULL SEASON, I MEAN, THESE ARE 21 YEAR OLDS RIGHT NOW, JANINE. SO THEIR FUTURE IS VERY BRIGHT. AND THEY GOT A LOT OF EARLY LUMPS ALREADY OUT OF THE WAY. SO HOPEFULLY THEY GET TO SPRING TRAINING IN 26. THEY CAN HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. YEAH. LOOK WE SAW YOU KNOW WHAT WAS THAT A MONTH AGO OR SO WHEN WE HAD BASICALLY GOT RID OF HALF THE TEAM, BROUGHT ON A WHOLE BUNCH OF NEW GUYS. HOW DO YOU THINK THAT’S GOING TO FARE FOR US GOING INTO NEXT SEASON? WELL, THEY TRADED A LOT OF GUYS WHO ARE NOT UNDER CONTRACT AT THE TRADE DEADLINE, WHICH IS FAIRLY NORMAL WHEN YOU’RE OUT OF CONTENTION AS THEY WERE, AND THEY BROUGHT IN JUST A BUNCH OF YOUNG PLAYERS AND PROSPECTS INTO THEIR FARM SYSTEM, WHICH THEY EMPTIED OUT A LOT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. GRADUATING TALENTED PLAYERS TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES AND ALSO TRADING GUYS AWAY TO TRY AND WIN. NOW IN 23 AND 24. SO THEY HAD AN INFUSION OF TALENT THROUGH THE TRADE DEADLINE AND THEN THROUGH THE DRAFT AS WELL. SO THEY’VE REALLY KIND OF MADE THEIR FARM SYSTEM HERE. AND THEY WERE ABLE TO SEE AFTER THEY TRADED GUYS AWAY, THE BACILOS AND BEAVERS OF THE WORLD AND GIVE SOME OTHER YOUNG PLAYERS LIKE JEREMIAH JACKSON, A CHANCE TO SEE WHAT THEY COULD DO, BUT WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO ON THE FIELD POST TRADE DEADLINE, I THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. WHAT TONY MANSOLINO, THE INTERIM MANAGER, DID AND HIS COACHING STAFF WAS REMARKABLE. THEY TRADED AWAY RAMON LAUREANO AND RYAN O’HEARN AND CHARLIE MORTON AND CEDRIC MULLINS AND ALL OF THEIR LEVERAGE RELIEVERS, NOT TO MENTION THEY LOST FELIX BAUTISTA, WHO’S ONE OF THE BEST CLOSERS IN BASEBALL AT THE SAME TIME FOR THE SEASON. AND I THINK EVERYONE WAS THINKING THIS THING WOULD COMPLETELY FALL APART. THE LAST TWO MONTHS OF THE YEAR, AND IT HASN’T. THEY’VE ACTUALLY PLAYED REALLY SOLID BASEBALL IN A REALLY TOUGH SCHEDULE AND A REALLY TOUGH DIVISION. AND I THINK TONY AND THE COACHING STAFF AND THE PLAYERS DESERVE A LOT OF CREDIT FOR THAT. EVERYONE, I THINK, WHO FOLLOWED THE TEAM THOUGHT THIS THING WAS HEADING TOWARDS 100 LOSSES AFTER THE TRADE DEADLINE, AND IT JUST HASN’T HAPPENED AND THEY’VE REALLY PLAYED TOUGH DOWN THE STRETCH. I’M TELLING YOU, EVERY TIME THEY ANNOUNCED ANOTHER PLAYER WAS LEAVING A TEAM, IT WAS LIKE, A GUT PUNCH. OH, WE WERE TAKING THEM LEFT AND RIGHT. BUT LOOK, LET’S TALK TREVOR ROGERS LAST SEASON REALLY WASN’T TOO SURE ABOUT WHERE THAT WAS GOING TO GO, BUT HE REALLY TURNED OUT TO BE A BRIGHT SPOT FOR THE TEAM THIS SEASON. HE ONE OF THE BEST SEASONS ON THE MOUND IN ORIOLES HISTORY. HE ONLY DID IT IN 18 STARTS. HIS LAST ONE WAS A TOUGH ONE AGAINST THE YANKEES ON FRIDAY. I HAD A CHANCE TO CHAT WITH HIM YESTERDAY. HE’S IMMENSELY PROUD OF WHAT HE ACCOMPLISHED AND HE WAS SO GOOD THIS YEAR. ALMOST A CY YOUNG CANDIDATE IN SOMEONE WHO’S ONLY MADE 18 STARTS, WHICH IS EXTRAORDINARY. HE WAS JUST DOMINANT. HE WASN’T GOOD. HE WASN’T GREAT. HE WAS DOMINANT. AND I BELIEVE HE WILL BE PROBABLY THE OPENING DAY STARTER FOR OPENING DAY 2026 AT CAMDEN YARDS, WHICH WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT. BUT HE SHOULD BE SO PROUD. AND THE ORIOLES GOT HIM LAST YEAR AT THE TRADE DEADLINE. HE DID NOT PITCH WELL, GOT HURT OUT OF THE GATE IN SPRING TRAINING. THEY TRADED AWAY SOMEONE WHO’S REALLY TALENTED AND KYLE STOWERS TO GET HIM. BUT NOW THAT TRADE LOOKS LIKE IT MAKES A TON OF SENSE BECAUSE THE ORIOLES STARTER TODAY, KYLE BRADISH, WHO ORIOLES FANS KNOW HAS TOP OF THE ROTATION STUFF, AND YOU TEAM UP ROGERS AND BRADISH. AND I THINK THERE’S A LOT TO BE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT HEADING INTO SPRING TRAINING NEXT SEASON. WITH THOSE TWO AT THE TOP OF YOUR ROTATION. YEAH, HE’S BEEN PLAYING TREMENDOUS BALL. AND LOOK, YOU SAID IT YOURSELF. IT JUST FEELS LIKE YOU KNOW THE LAST GAME IS TODAY. BUT THE NEW SEASON IS GOING TO START. IT’S GOING TO BE IT’S GOING TO FEEL LIKE IT’S JUST AROUND THE CORNER. WHAT’S THE SEARCH FOR NEW MANAGER LOOKING LIKE? WHO ARE SOME OF THE TOP CONTENDERS HERE? IT’S REALLY TOUGH TO SAY. I DO THINK THE INTERIM MANAGER, TONY MANSOLINO, HAS GOT A SHOT. YOU KNOW YOU KNOW, TONY’S A WONDERFUL BASEBALL GUY AND I THINK HE’S REALLY KEPT THIS THING TOGETHER AND AFLOAT OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. I DO THINK HE’S A CANDIDATE. I REALLY DON’T KNOW WHAT THE ORIOLES ARE LOOKING FOR. THEY’RE LOOKING FOR A VETERAN GUY WHO’S BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, OR AN UP AND COMING YOUNG GUY WHO’S MAYBE NEVER MANAGED BEFORE BUT HAS A LOT OF THE CREDENTIALS. SO WE’LL SEE WHERE THEY WANT TO GO. THERE’S A PRESS CONFERENCE TOMORROW AT CAMDEN YARDS. BOTH WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER AND PRESIDENT OF THE CLUB, MIKE ELIAS, AND ALSO TONY MANSOLINO. SO WE’LL SEE. I THINK WE’LL GET A GOOD SENSE OF THAT COME TOMORROW. BUT THERE’S A LOT OF HOLES TO FILL IN THE ROSTER. I EXPECT THE ORIOLES FRONT OFFICE TO BE VERY BUSY. I KNOW THE GOAL IS TO WIN NEXT SEASON AND HOPEFULLY COME NEXT OCTOBER. THE ORIOLES ARE PLAYING IN IT AGAIN. BUT SPRING TRAINING WILL BE HERE. BEFORE YOU KNOW IT. WE’LL LICK OUR WOUNDS. WE’LL, AS WE LIKE TO SAY IN BASEBALL, GATHER AROUND THE HOT STOVE AND FIND OUT WHAT THIS BALLCLUB WILL DO IN THE OFF SEASON. AND THEN DURING OUR LONG BASEBALL WINTER, WE’LL REST UP AND GET READY FOR SPRING TRAINING IN 2026. THAT’S RIGHT. GOT A LOT GOING ON WITH THIS TEAM. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT THEY COME UP WITH NEXT. I DEFINITELY WANT US TO BE IN THE POSTSEASON NEXT YEAR. ME TOO. I THINK EVERYONE DOES. YEAH. ALL RIGHT BRETT, THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. BREAKING IT ALL DOWN FOR US. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Baltimore’s baseball season comes to an end: Thoughts on the Orioles’ 2025 performance
Updated: 3:42 PM EDT Sep 28, 2025
Orioles Broadcaster Brett Hollander joins Jenyne Donaldson to talk about the takeaways from the Orioles’ performance this season.
Orioles Broadcaster Brett Hollander joins Jenyne Donaldson to talk about the takeaways from the Orioles’ performance this season.