There are now 161 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2026. We’ve got a couple more weeks where the postseason might offer some entertainment. On tap for tonight are two games. The Brewers, who’ve lost two games to the Dodgers, are in LA for Game 3, while the Mariners and Blue Jays will play Game 4 out in Seattle. The Jays kept their hopes alive by avoiding falling into a 3-0 hole last night. Brewers-Dodgers starts at 6:08 Eastern on TBS, while Blue Jays-Mariners is set for an 8:33 start on FS1.

Yesterday brought the first bit of concrete news about the Orioles search for a new manager. Yankees reporter Andy Martino revealed that the team has interviewed Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas. With Mike Elias’s track record of keeping things under wraps, this is probably not the first interview that’s happened, just the first one we’re finding out about. Rojas has managerial experience with the Mets, where he helmed two disappointing seasons in 2020 and 2021.

We also got an interesting, let’s call it a rumor. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan reported yesterday that the Orioles have “expressed interest” in soon-to-be-Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. Normally, I rate “expressed interest” pretty low on the meter of meaningful rumors, but this report does go on to say that the Orioles are expected to interview Pujols, so that’s worth taking note of that. Pujols is also of reported interest in the Angels manager vacancy, with his apparently being the favorite of the Angels owner, Arte Moreno. If that’s the case, it’s tough to imagine the Orioles barging in, but who knows.

Would Pujols be a good manager? Would Rojas? The stuff on which they (or any other candidate) might be evaluated before getting the job is not something fans are in a place to know. All we can do is go on binary public things like “Does this guy have any experience as a manager?” Pujols has put in a little time managing in winter ball, though he doesn’t have any MLB or minor league experience in that role. Of course, he has lengthy experience as a player.

I remain curious about whether the Orioles will make this hire before the World Series concludes. The bulk of, if not all, speculated candidates are freed up now, either because they left previous jobs or their teams are now out of the postseason. There’s plenty of time to get it figured out. Elias said “ASAP” is his goal for the hire but, as ever with Elias, when you and I hear the ASAP abbreviation, we might have quite a different idea of what is possible compared to Elias.

Also yesterday was another marker of how disappointing this season was for the Orioles. Top three finishers were announced for the Gold Glove awards. The Orioles are shut out of even the top three. It’s not a surprise. The plethora of Orioles injuries suffered this year meant that there were few positions where they even had someone who got enough playing time to be a consideration.

On top of that, the defense was bad. The Orioles were in the bottom six or seven teams as measured by Statcast Outs Above Average, and the only position where they rated in the top 3 was third base. Jordan Westburg might have had a case if he’d played something like 140 games instead of 85, but, you know, he didn’t. Other than him, they were largely a mess across the diamond. Anybody who watched the games could feel this. The O’s just didn’t have it. It’s another area where they’ll have to do better next year.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Tyler O’Neill to take injuries ‘into account’ for opt-out decision (The Baltimore Sun)
As was often said in the 90s: Duh.

Bradfield Jr. hopes Fall League speeds up his route to the majors (MLB.com)
This isn’t specifically about anything that outfield prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. has done in the AFL yet, just that he has a lot of potential with his speed if he can put together other things enough.

Ranking the ten hottest AFL prospects (Baseball America)
Subscription required to see the whole thing, but I’ll just tell you that the #1 is pitching prospect Luis De León, who could come out of the AFL season with some serious prospect heat.

After putting up big offense in college, Orioles fourth-rounder adjusted to pro ball with Delmarva (Steve on Baseball)
Also subscription required. Steve Melewski does a bit of a wrap-up on the post-draft activity of fourth round pick Colin Yeaman.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1983, the Orioles won their most recent World Series title by beating the Phillies, 5-0, to take the title in five games. Future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray hit two homers in the game, but it was Rick Dempsey who ended up being named as the MVP of the series. This was also the most recent game played in the World Series by the franchise.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2013-18 infielder Jonathan Schoop, 1977-78 outfielder Mike Dimmel, and 1973-74 pitcher Don Hood.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: author/playwright Oscar Wilde (1854), actress Angela Lansbury (1925), and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (1962).

On this day in history…

In 690, Wu Zetian proclaimed herself the reigning empress of the Chinese Empire after about three decades of wielding power indirectly through her husband (the emperor, who had a stroke) and two of her sons.

In 1793, French queen Marie Antoinette (by this point deposed for more than a year) was executed by guillotine after being convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason.

In 1859, the abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (today, West Virginia) with the aim of inspiring a slave revolt. Brown’s party, which numbered at most 22 people, was defeated two days later and Brown himself was hanged that December.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy was told of U-2 spy plane photographs showing Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. This marked the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 1978, Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyła was elected as the pope. Taking the name John Paul II, this pope is notable for being the first non-Italian to hold the papacy since the death of Adrian VI in 1523.

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 16. Have a safe Thursday.