A former St. Louis Cardinals infielder will join the coaching staff of a team that could end up being one of the most-improved clubs this offseason.

According to a report from Jake Rill of MLB.com, the Baltimore Orioles are set to hire Miguel Cairo as the major league infield coach. He’ll join the coaching staff of first-year manager Craig Albernanz.

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Cairo most recently served as interim manager for the Washington Nationals. He was originally brought to the organization as a bench coach ahead of the 2024 season. As the interim skipper, he led Washington to a 29-43 record. He interviewed for the full-time role after the season but was passed over.

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Cairo has spent the last 12 years in roles at both the minor and major league levels for clubs such as the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets and Nationals.

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Cairo also briefly served as an interim manager for the White Sox in 2022 and helped guide the team to an 18-16 record.

Before his coaching career, Cairo spent 17 seasons in the major leagues from 1996-2012. He played with the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Yankees, Mets, St. Louis, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and Reds.

Cairo, 51-years-old, spent parts of four seasons of his playing career with the Cardinals.

During his time with St. Louis, Cairo 82 runs in 255 games and hit 31 doubles, six triples and eight home runs with 67 RBIs. He slashed .253/.301/.376 with a .677 OPS and had a 76 wRC+.

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For his career, Cairo scored 504 runs in 1,490 games and hit 193 doubles, 34 triples and 41 homers with 394 RBIs. He had a career slash line of .264/.314/.361 with a .675 OPS.

The Orioles, who put together one of the better rebuilds in recent MLB history, missed out on the playoffs this past year after making the postseason two consecutive years from 2023-24.

Baltimore had to watch American League East rivals the Boston Red Sox, New York and Toronto all compete in the playoffs. Another one of Cairo’s former teams, the Blue Jays, won the American League pennant and lost by one run in Game 7 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This offseason, the Orioles have signed first baseman Pete Alonso to a five-year deal and closer Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $28 million contract. The club also added starting pitcher Shane Baz from the now-Tampa Bay Rays in a three-team deal that also included the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Cairo will have a chance to coach a stout infield that includes Alonso, one-time All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson and one-time All-Star third baseman Jordan Westburg, among others.

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