Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: Orioles

 

For the second year in a row, the Baltimore Orioles had an incredible regular season effort, with several stars and integral players, and yet couldn't turn it into anything in the playoffs. Being lapped by the Royals, who had a worse record but better September momentum, may have been the painful loss the Orioles needed to truly improve. Like, if you're not getting production from Adley Rutschman during the second half, you're not gonna get anywhere. That's one of your crucial pieces, and he's just not gonna do anything for you.

Jorge Mateo's 2024 was one of the most indicative seasons on the team, because he first lost a position to Jackson Holliday, then...outplayed Holliday, and was off to a blistering May, with 13 steals, 44 hits and 18 RBIs in 68 games. Then he gets hurt, is out for the season, and now the team is without a set plan at 2nd again. Urias, Holliday and Coby Mayo tried to make it up, to no avail.

2025 Prediction: The thing is, with Holliday, Mayo and Westburg all here, Mateo doesn't have much to do in Baltimore. I think he'll have some cool moments as a bench piece, but I wouldn't be shocked if the O's trade him.

Similarly, Ramon Urias also found himself sort of obsolete on a team with young, talented middle infielders. He did the majority of the filling-in at 2nd after Mateo's injury, and I would call his season fine. He ended with a 1.5 WAR, a .254 average, 11 homers and 37 RBIs. When you have Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg on this team, that's not gonna cut it.

2025 Prediction: I actually think he's gonna hit a second wind next year. Age-30 season, last opportunity to prove himself? Yeah, he chases 25 homers.

Dean Kremer, like Urias, has been an auxiliary member of these Orioles teams left over from the old regime, and because the main attractions tend to get hurt easily on this team, Kremer's gotten a lot of playing time over the last few years. Kremer stays healthy and stays relatively consistent, and that's really the bar right now. In 24 starts, Kremer went 8-10 with a 4.10 ERA with 123 strikeouts. Not bad, and for a guy picking up slack from the true aces, certainly useful.

2025 Prediction: Burnes will be gone, Means will be gone, and who knows how much Trevor Rogers we'll get. Kremer will likely make the rotation Opening Day, though I'm not sure if he'll still be there by September.

Going into this season it was clear that Felix Bautista would be off the table, and the strong bullpen of 2023 would need to step up in his absence. That means breakout Yennier Cano, who made an All-Star team by being practically unhittable during the first half of 2023. Cano's 2024 was, understandably, a step down from the previous year, but he was the anchor of the bullpen and was rather trustworthy. Cano finished the season with a 3.15 ERA and 5 saves in 70 appearances.

2025 Prediction: I think he'll have some truly great stretches considering that the pressure will be off a little with Bautista returning and Dominguez in a similar role.

When the Orioles signed Craig Kimbrel, especially knowing how rough he was during the home stretch of the 2023 season, they knew the risks. Kimbrel, in this stage, has become as famous for blown saves as he is for the moments he locks it in. And thus, the numerous games that the Orioles seemed to have a lock on only for Kimbrel to let men on and wreck things...were ultimately their fault in a sense. This was Kimbrel's roughest year in a while, as he had a 5.33 ERA, his highest since 2019, a 23-6 record in terms of saves, and a -1.1 WAR. Kimbrel didn't make it to September, the O's went with Dominguez, and thus that aspect wasn't an issue. 

2025 Prediction: Well whatever he does, it has to be a step up from this year, right? I think somebody will still give him a chance, maybe not as closer immediately, but he surely has gotten things under control, I hope.

Kyle Bradish and John Means began the year near the top of the Orioles' depth chart, and combined they made 12 starts. Bradish's injury was downplayed but he didn't join the team til May. In 8 starts, he went 2-0 with a 2.75 ERA and 53 Ks, definitely par for the course. But that worsened his UCL, and thus he needed Tommy John surgery, meaning he'll be out for the majority of 2025. Means, meanwhile, rejoined the team in May as well, and made 4 starts, going 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA and 16 Ks...then HE landed on the IL, and needed Tommy John surgery, his second. So in case you're wondering why the Orioles felt the need to trade two excellent players to Miami for Trevor Rogers, that's why.

2025 Prediction: Bradish will actually be useful to Baltimore once he's activated in mid-August, and help them towards the postseason. Means will sign a contract with Boston or somebody, and probably won't appear til after it's too late.

It's hard to be underrated on a team with so many great homegrown players, but Heston Kjerstad has remained an under-the-radar utility OF guy. He's yet to really find a permanent role on this team, but he's useful as a backup. Kjerstad, in 39 games, hit .253 with 14 RBIs and 4 homers, and was very useful as this team headed to the finish line.

2025 Prediction: Okay, so Santander will likely be gone, which means there will be an opening in the outfield. Either the O's go with Kjerstad and he finally breaks out, or the O's go with a contract and Kjerstad remains an endearing bench bat.

The reason I'm so skeptical about the O's giving Kjerstad a shot is that despite not especially needing him, the team still traded for Eloy Jimenez last year. They were fine at DH thanks to Ryan O'Hearn, and fine in the outfield, but they felt they needed one more solid bat, and Jimenez fit the bill. Jimenez didn't have a TON of truly terrific moments as an Oriole, as he hit .232 in 33 games, with 7 RBIs and only 1 home run, but the fans seemed to like him. 

2025 Prediction: A replacement level season with a bottom-feeder.

And after Jordan Westburg's injury, the Orioles took a flyer on Emmanuel Rivera, who wasn't really cutting it with the Marlins. Rivera actually had a solid second half with the O's, hitting .313 with 14 RBIs and 4 homers. His defense isn't great, but he can still contact hit, and was one of the team's best September performers. 

2025 Prediction: Between Westburg, Coby Mayo and Urias, it's gonna be hard for Rivera to find much of a place in this team, so I say he winds up somewhere else in a similar role.

Coming Tomorrow- I'm honestly shocked at how few Padres I have left for this month, but that's a testament to how many great players I already customized from there.