The Orioles are struggling both at the plate and on the mound, so how can they improve while the season is still young?
You have probably heard that the Baltimore Orioles are underperforming to this point. After a brutal month of April, the O’s are sitting in last in the AL East at 12-18. On the field, they are struggling in every aspect of the game. The rotation has drawn the brunt of the criticism, but the hitting and defense have been tough to watch, too.
Recently, the Orioles were coming off an enormous series victory over the rival New York Yankees. The pitching has improved in the last week, and that was continuing against the Kansas City Royals, though KC ended up winning the series with a home run barrage. Even with moderate improvements, the Orioles are still in trouble and need to find some answers as soon as possible. General Manager Mike Elias is well aware of the disappointing results and even took responsibility before Friday’s game.
There are a couple of things he can do to improve the team, both of which have already started happening. Adding on the margins matters, but the key is simply the regulars on the roster getting back to their usual level of performance.
Put Some Mayo on Your Crabcakes
Depending on who you ask, the Orioles made a move Saturday that has been a long time coming. In conjunction with placing 3B Ramon Urias on the injured list, they called up 3B Coby Mayo. Mayo has been one of Baltimore’s top prospects for years, and he even debuted last season. A fearsome power hitter by trade, Mayo is an imposing figure in the batter’s box. He plays both third base and first base but is not good at either spot, so due to the many appealing options ahead of him on the depth chart, Mayo has not gotten a long run in the Majors.
The problem is that Mayo totally flopped in his first try, going 4-41 with 22 strikeouts and no RBI last year. That is common for rookies, but the extent of his struggles worried some evaluators around the league. The team sent Mayo back down to Norfolk, and then again after Spring Training, which frustrated him. But after a slow start, Mayo has been raking at AAA, just as he did in 2023 and 2024. He has been over 30% better than the average player each year in the International League and has a .911 OPS in 179 games with the Tides. It is clear he has nothing left to prove at the highest level of the minors.
Now that Urias and 3B Jordan Westburg are hurt and 1B Ryan Mountcastle is not performing, this is the best time to insert Mayo in the lineup and see if he can breathe some life into the team. Holding his own would be an upgrade over the current options, but Mayo is also capable of turning into a star at some point, perhaps even this year.
Back to Transaction Basics
In the dark depths of the recent rebuild, in between exciting draft classes, Mike Elias would mainly add to a thin roster to aggressively pursuing the bargain bin. Once the internal prospects matured, Elias moved away from waiver claims and cash trades. But early in the season when no one is on the market, adding players designated for assignment is the easiest way.
The front office has already acquired a few pitchers to help with the thin depth. Understandably, the new pitchers haven’t helped much, as waivers claims have a low success rate, otherwise they wouldn’t be placed on waivers in the first place. RPs Cody Poteet and Grant Wolfram both have ugly stat lines in four total innings, while RP Scott Blewett gave up zero earned runs in two appearances before the O’s also DFA’d him. RP Walter Pennington is currently in the minors and hasn’t pitched for the Orioles yet.
Those four pitchers were all in different organizations when the season began, and Baltimore spent close to nothing to acquire them. There will be more players available in the bargain bin in the coming week, and the O’s must be digging.
Fortunately, the Orioles will be getting some internal reinforcements in the very near future. Opening Day starter Zach Eflin pitched four scoreless innings in a rehab outing over the weekend. Plus, SP Trevor Rogers and offseason signing RP Andrew Kittredge also had rehab outings and should join the MLB pitching staff when they are healthy.
Positive Regression
The Orioles can hope all they want that outside help improves the team, but really it will come down to the stalwarts playing up to their potential. If you look at the rotation and lineup, most of the veterans are dramatically underperforming. Yes, the O’s have tons of injuries, but the guys who are healthy simply need to play better.
On the mound, SP Charlie Morton pitched so poorly in just five starts that Manager Brandon Hyde moved him to the bullpen. He should provide some length as the long reliever, and he must in order to warrant even a little bit of his $15 million salary. SP Dean Kremer has also been below replacement level after years of being reliably average. The good news is that he pitched seven shutout innings last time out, so he might be turning things around.
The lineup, meanwhile, doesn’t have any black holes, but there are many disappointments. Superstars SS Gunnar Henderson and C Adley Rutschman had solid weekends to improve their numbers, but they were below average before that. After homering twice Sunday, 2B Jackson Holiday is finally looking like a top overall prospect following a full year of struggles. But Ryan Mountcastle and OF Heston Kjerstad, two bat-first players are both well below league average. OF Cedric Mullins is really the only one playing better than expected, and no one else has been worth more than 1 WAR.
It is easy for those of us outside the clubhouse to just say “play better,” but that really is the team’s objective. This talented roster is capable of much more, and it is up to them to get back on track.
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