Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Yesterday marked the first day of the post-2025 Orioles season, and I, for one, do not miss them. I’m probably not alone in that sentiment.
Team president Mike Elias and interim manager Tony Mansolino met with the media yesterday to offer their postmortem of this disastrous O’s season, and to look ahead to how things can improve in 2026. Well, Elias was looking ahead. It was a little tougher for Mansolino to do so, considering that he, you know, might not actually be employed by the Orioles next year.
In any case, there was no shortage of issues to address after such a dismally disappointing Orioles performance. Chief among them is that the Orioles will be looking to hire a new manager “ASAP,” according to Elias. He emphasized that Mansolino will be one of the candidates and that the O’s were impressed by how well he performed in the interim role this season. I’m sure Elias means that sincerely, but also, it would be awkward for him to say anything different when Mansolino was literally sitting right next to him. Imagine? “We need a new manager and fast, because that guy we had this year really stunk. …Oh hi, Tony!”
I’ve said before that I would prefer the O’s hire a manager from outside the organization to bring in a fresh voice. Still, I do think it’s the right call to at least consider Mansolino as part of the manager search. He’s earned that much, thanks to his years as a loyal Orioles coach and his solid if unspectacular stint at the helm of the Birds this season.
Elias also discussed the hiring of a general manager, which doesn’t sound like it will be as high of a priority as some of the other items on his offseason to-do list. He seems open to the idea of bringing in someone who will “challenge” the Orioles’ status quo with some new ideas, which is a good thing — if Elias will listen to them.
Speaking of needing new ideas, Elias said the Orioles plan to “adapt and evolve” their hitting philosophies in light of nearly every homegrown position player regressing or failing to develop at the plate this season. Again, that sounds promising, but it’s easier said than done. Can the O’s pinpoint what went wrong with the club’s offense across the board this year? Is there something fatally flawed about their offensive strategy, and if so, how much of it are they willing to overhaul?
Last winter, after the Orioles’ second-half collapse in 2024, Elias said something similar about how the front office was going to re-examine their hitting philosophies. They ended up parting ways with their co-hitting coaches, promoting Cody Asche to primary hitting coach, and adding two new assistant coaches…and then things only got worse in 2025. The Orioles need to be much more proactive this offseason in identifying how to fix their underlying offensive problem.
And Elias addressed the Orioles’ pitching issues as well, stating that the team is aiming to add a top-of-the-rotation starter who can slot ahead of or alongside Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers. OK, but…just one? If I were the Orioles, coming off a season in which the rotation was decimated by one injury after another, I’d be pursuing at least two quality starting pitchers to bolster the team’s depth. As good as Bradish looked in his return this September, you can’t be 100% sure about his health coming off a major injury. Same goes for Tyler Wells, and especially Grayson Rodriguez, who hasn’t thrown a pitch since 2024. My advice to the Orioles: add more starting pitchers than you think you’ll need. Chances are you’ll be glad you have them.
The Orioles have a ton of work to do this winter if they hope to reshape this ugly 2025 squad into a contending team next season. It’s going to be Elias’s toughest assignment yet. Let’s hope he’s up to the task.
Among other tidbits from the press conference: the O’s intend for Adley Rutschman to be their main catcher next year, and Heston Kjerstad is progressing well from an undisclosed medical issue. Bouncebacks by those two guys next year could make a huge difference on their own.
Mountcastle on his Orioles’ career: ‘I’ve loved my time here’ – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Ryan Mountcastle is talking as if the Orioles won’t be bringing him back next year. He might not be wrong.
Orioles should not hire Tony Mansolino as full-time manager | COMMENTARY – The Baltimore Sun
Josh Tolentino offers another vote for going in a different direction with the manager’s job. I suppose it’s not up to any of us, though.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Five former Orioles were born on this day, including the late Hall of Famer Robin Roberts (b. 1926, d. 2010). The right-hander was best known for his prolific decade and a half with the Phillies, but he also spent parts of four seasons in Baltimore, winning 42 games with a 3.09 ERA. Other former Orioles with Sept. 30 birthdays include outfielders Seth Smith (43) and Curtis Goodwin (53), right-hander John DeSilva (58), and lefty Yorkis Pérez (also 58).
On this date in 1978, second baseman Rich Dauer committed his first and only error of the year, and it came in the Orioles’ last game. So close to a perfect season! Dauer had gone 86 games and 425 chances without an error, setting an AL record.
In 1989, the “Why Not?” Orioles’ bid for an AL East title came to a heartbreaking end as they lost to the Blue Jays, 4-3. The O’s, just one year removed from an 0-21 start to the season, had been baseball’s biggest out-of-nowhere success story, leading the division by 7.5 games at one point. But they trailed the Jays by a game entering the final series of the year, and dropped a couple of nail-biters in the first two of the head-to-head series to get eliminated.
In 2000, Hall of Famer Mike Mussina pitched the final game of his stellar Orioles career, pitching 6.1 innings and allowing just one run to finish with 147 wins in 10 years as an Oriole. That final win, ironically, came against the Yankees, the team with whom he would sign an eight-year contract that winter, to the chagrin of O’s fans.
And on this day in 2012, the Orioles clinched their first postseason berth in 15 years, defeating the Red Sox, 6-3, to secure at least a wild card spot. Each of the top three hitters in the Orioles’ lineup — Nate McLouth, J.J. Hardy, and Chris Davis — had two hits and a homer, supporting a strong 7.1-inning effort from soon-to-be-postseason-hero Joe Saunders. Ah, remember when the Orioles were in the playoffs? Good times.