Last year, it genuinely was as simple as 'the Orioles lacked drive to sign good free agents and the whole rotation got hurt', and that's why they were disappointing. So this year, they brought on Shane Baz, Pete Alonso, Blaze Alexander and Taylor Ward, some genuinely great additions, and have gotten strong full-to-majority season campaigns from four starters. And yet they're still in last. I don't even know, man. You set the deck for this team and they still manage to leave the table before anybody else.
I think the most disheartening part about this Orioles team is just how okay they are. You have five or six guys who you KNOW can deliver excellent work, and they're all kinda doing their thing without really providing a new benchmark. You have Pete Alonso, and he's been himself, he's got 21 home runs and 64 RBIs, leads the team in .OPS. It's very par for the course at this point. Obviously he's doing great, the fans love him, but you know he's done better. Adley Rutschman made an All-Star team, and confusingly was the only Oriole to do so, but we've seen better from him, cause 2024 happened. Gunnar Henderson has 17 homers and 42 RBIs but is only hitting .219. Even last season he was a saving grace, and he's just not wowing people this year. Even Taylor Ward has cooled down to a .256 average with only 6 homers and 25 RBIs. Things have just gotten really quiet, and for a team with this much power, it's maddening. Last night Samuel Basallo had a very well timed home run, and he's still having a strong enough rookie year, but that doesn't happen often enough. You're also wasting roster spots on three prized prospects [Holliday, Mayo and Beavers] who just aren't doing a thing in the majors right now. Mayo at the very least can hit home runs but he's losing playing time to Blaze Alexander.
And it sucks that the lineup lacks a real identity, because this team could go deep just with Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Brandon Young and Shane Baz. Baz has struggled this year but he's had some real gems, and K'd 9 against Kansas City today. Rogers is also looking a ton better after his requisite flameout moment, and he's only given up 2 runs in his last 4 starts. Young, after a rough 2025 despite flashes of greatness, seems to finally have his priorities in order, and is a great looking starter at last, with a 7-2 record and a 3.42 ERA. And Bradish, while not 2023 good [jeez that really was THAT long ago..], has a 3.61 ERA and 106 Ks. Very much a 'don't wanna overexert myself' season but I'm glad he's healthy and heading up the rotation again. Meanwhile has anybody heard anything from John Means? Is he still alive?
The O's have so many pieces that make me think they could have legs, like Alexander, Rico Garcia, the long relief skills of Tyler Wells, Colton Cowser. This team just needs to click fully, and this weekend against the Royals they cemented something, as they've won 4 straight and are 7-3 in July. They could be gearing up to shock some people. Or, y'know...they'll do their usual thing and not really follow up on the vibes.
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