Good Morning Birdland,
The final day of 2025 has arrived.
Clearly, this past year did not go the Orioles way. The team, as a whole, suffered a significant regression. They tumbled down the standings, fired their manager, and experienced their most disappointing season in some time. And it came during a season in which the American League felt as wide open as it ever has. If the club had played up to their expectations, maybe they could have been in the mix for the pennant. But instead, it was a disaster
right out of the gate.
The positive spin of that is that it forced the Orioles to take a good, hard look in the mirror and reconsider their approach to team building. The Dave Rubenstein-lead ownership group made it known that they supported Mike Elias as their lead baseball executive, and that they had money to spend. Elias, in turn, became very transparent about his goals for the offseason. He also got far more aggressive than ever before.
The result has been the most active offseason in all of baseball, and they still have six weeks left to add. The Orioles have brought in two sluggers, including Pete Alonso on a massive contract, by far the largest given out by Elias. They swung a high-risk trade for Shane Baz, a pitcher with years of control, a high ceiling, and a limited track record. And they struck early in the closer market, signing Ryan Helseley, who isn’t exactly a sure thing but feels like a decent bounce back candidate. The reunion with Zach Eflin this week may not be as exciting as those other moves, but it is logical and affordable.
Elias has fortified most of the team’s problem areas. He has done it by taking chances without abandoning his principles. That doesn’t mean that every move will be a success. In fact, you can assume at least a few will be flops. But the best teams aren’t discouraged by failures. They are motivated by the potential successes. Hopefully this is just the start of a reinvented Orioles’ front office.
Whether or not Elias gets the chance to do this a second time will largely hinge on the performance (and health) of the 2026 team. On paper, they appear much improved. But I’m sure many of us felt similarly rosy going into 2025, and we know how that panned out.
Links
Eflin joins cast of bounce back candidates for Orioles | Roch Kubatko
Bringing back Eflin makes a lot of sense. The two sides are comfortable with each other, and Elias loves his veteran starters on one-year deals. But between him, Kyle Bradish, and Trevor Rogers, the team is banking on a trio that missed a lot of time in 2025. Then you have Baz, who was healthy last year but doesn’t have a long track record. Bringing in one more proven veteran arm that had a heavy workload in 2025 would be ideal.
Orioles’ additions should also help clubhouse chemistry | Baltimore Baseball
For me, it’s a chicken or the egg situation. Which happens first: winning baseball games or good clubhouse chemistry. They certainly help each other. We know that the Orioles had a leadership void in 2025. Maybe some of these new, more experienced players, can step into that role. But the younger, homegrown guys also need to mature into those positions.
Jon Meoli: Nothing will ever excuse the Orioles’ 2025 collapse. But they did learn their lesson. | The Baltimore Banner
I swear that I wrote my opening thoughts before I saw this piece from Meoli. His is far more eloquent, but the point is similar. Not all growth is linear, and maybe the 2025/26 Orioles will be exhibit A in that regard.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Yaramil Hiraldo turns 30 today. He made his big league debut last year, and accumulated a 4.58 ERA over 19.2 innings. The expectation is for him to compete for a bullpen spot going into 2026.
- Donell Nixon turns 64. The outfielder appeared in eight games for the Orioles during the 1990 season.
- The late Ken Rowe (b. 1933, d. 2012) was born on this day. Between the 1964 and ‘65 seasons he pitched in 12 games with the O’s.
- A posthumous celebration for Ted Gray (b. 1924, d. 2011). His nine-season MLB career ended in Baltimore, where he pitched in nine games during the 1955 campaign.
This day in O’s history
2010 – The Orioles sign first baseman Derrek Lee to a one-year contract.
2010 – Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon is the main suspect in a shooting that takes place during year-end celebrations and results in the death of a 25-year-old man and the injury of a 17-year-old boy.
