Orioles fans now have a new person to get mad at when Adley Rutschman slumps. His name is Dustin Lind, and he is set to become the Orioles hitting coach. The 37-year-old was the assistant hitting coach with the Phillies the last two seasons. Prior to that, he was director of hitting and assistant hitting coach with the Giants from 2020-23. That is where he overlapped with new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz, who was the bullpen and catching coach in San Francisco at the time.

Lind is the first official member of Albernaz’s staff, and he represents the start of an overhaul of the club’s hitting approach. Unsurprisingly, the team did not bring back any of the the three hitting coaches from the 2025 staff. The offense has been a disappointment in Baltimore dating back to the 2024 all-star break. Getting what should be a talented lineup back on track feels like the main objective for the new coaching staff.

It’s tough to evaluate the job that Lind did in Philadelphia the last two seasons. Obviously, that’s been a pretty good offense. But it’s also been an expensive offense that has a lot of veterans with proven track records. So assuming that the exact same approach will work in Baltimore feels far-fetched. But who knows.

During Albernaz’s introductory press conference, Orioles owner Dave Rubenstein did make it seem like the organization might have some deeper pockets this offseason. Could that mean the Orioles make a run at Kyle Schwarber? The 32-year-old really blossomed in Philadelphia and is coming off of the best season of his career, where he worked with Lind. The O’s could use the pop, although they might balk at the contract size and surrendering a draft pick.

This is just the start of the hiring for Albernaz. He has an entire staff to build out. As of this writing, the Orioles’ website still lists many of the names from 2025, including Robinson Chirinos, Tommy Joseph, and Anthony Sanders, all of whom have been reported to be out the door. It does some possible that pitching coach Drew French, infield coach Buck Britton, and senior advisor John Mabry could stick around, but that is just speculation. It’s not uncommon for there to be some overlap across managerial regimes. For example, the 2019 Orioles retained assistant hitting coach Howie Clark despite the transition from the Dan Duquette/Buck Showalter era to Mike Elias/Brandon Hyde.

O’s hiring Phillies’ Lind as hitting coach (source) | MLB.com
Here’s more on the Lind hiring. He certainly has an impressive and varied background, having worked for a number of organizations. Hopefully that adds to his fresh perspective and unlocks new potential for the Orioles lineup.

Braves Add Tony Mansolino, J.P. Martinez To Coaching Staff | MLB Trade Rumors
It’s good to see Mansolino get right back onto a major league staff. He did an admirable job leading the Orioles last year after Hyde was fired in mid May. It doesn’t seem like the league considers him as a legitimate, full-time managerial candidate at the moment. But maybe that can change after some time spent in Atlanta. Ironically, he will take over the third base coach role, which was just recently vacated by another former Hyde lieutenant, Fredi Gonzalez.

Orioles’ roster review and some mailbag questions | Roch Kubatko
Roch digs deeper into some of Albernaz’s quotes at his introductory press conference. They include his thoughts on team culture and how he will build out a staff. The answers are perfectly acceptable and will sound even better if the team gets back to winning games.

As free agency begins, whether the Orioles will spend shouldn’t be a question anymore | The Baltimore Banner
Yup. The Orioles willingness to spend has ticked up since the Rubenstein-led group took over. They have made more interesting trades. They have signed more legitimate free agents. They gave Samuel Basallo a long-term deal. But they could do even more. For me, that means getting a frontline starting pitcher, and convincing someone like Gunnar Henderson to stick around for the next eight years. Easier said than done.

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

Carlos Casimiro turns 49 today. He played in two career MLB games, both with the 2000 Orioles.The late Dwight Smith Sr. (b. 1963, d. 2022) was born on this day. He was an outfielder withe O’s for part of the 1994 season. His son, Dwight Jr., would suit up for Baltimore a generation later from 2019-20.It’s also a posthumous birthday for Wally Westlake (b. 1920, d. 2019). Near the end of his 10-year MLB career, he played in eight games for the 1955 Birds.

This day in O’s history

1966 – Frank Robinson, coming off of a Triple Crown season (.316 BA, 49 home runs, 122 RBI), is the unanimous choice for AL MVP. He becomes the first MLB player to win the award in both leagues.

1991 – Cal Ripken Jr. is named AL MVP, producing what is considered the finest season of his career. He slashed .323/.374/.566 with 34 home runs, and also won the Gold Glove at shortstop

2011 – All charges against Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon are dropped. He had been in court for a shooting incident that took place on December 31 in the Dominican Republic.