The playoffs continue, but the Orioles are already looking towards 2025.
Good Morning, Birdland!
It won’t truly be “the offseason” for a couple more weeks, but the Orioles are already making moves. It was reported on Friday that the team would be parting ways with three coaches, bench coach Fredi González, major league coach Jose Hernández, and co-hitting coach Ryan Fuller.
What sort of impact those changes make is unclear, especially since we do not yet know if/how those coaches will be replaced. An injection of new voices would seem to be a welcome adjustment given how flat the club appeared from July on.
Some online have speculated that the organization could look to promote Triple-A manager Buck Britton to the major league staff in some capacity. There is no evidence to suggest that is happening at this point, and I’m not so sure the logic checks out. The prevailing theories right now are that the Orioles need fresh perspectives and folks that are battle-tested at the major league level. Britton, for all the success he has had in the organization, is neither of those things.
The firing of so many coaches at once would appear to put some significant pressure on Brandon Hyde, though. After last season, the club made changes to the pitching coaches, reassigning Chris Holt and letting go of Darren Holmes. This year, they have shifted to changes to other elements of the game, including the dismissal of Hyde’s lieutenant, González. If things go sideways in October again in 2025 (provided the team actually makes the playoffs) there will be nowhere else to look by right at Hyde.
To some, that may seem unfair. Hyde has help to build this team up from the disaster it was when he took over to today. But the amount of talent on this team is also undeniable, and repeated short stints in the playoffs are unacceptable. They are dangerously close to squandering the best years that this core of players has. Here’s hoping that whatever changes they do make are the magic bullet to get things fixed.
Links
Leftovers for breakfast | Roch Kubatko
Some interesting Arizona Fall League updates are in here, including some quick scouting on Tyler Burch. The 27-year-old is sitting at 98 mph in his outings right now. He is eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December, so the Orioles probably won’t to be sure of what they have before making a decision. He threw 9.1 total innings this year after having surgery on his right elbow to remove bone chips.
Who will lead the rotation and more offseason questions for O’s | MLB.com
It will be interesting to learn if the lack of free agent spending to this point has been entirely a product of the Angelos family’s recent reluctance to spend or if it was also a Mike Elias tenant of team-building. That’s not to say Dave Rubenstein is going to match Steve Cohen’s propensity for writing checks, but he should have more flexibility than the previous ownership group.
Examining the Orioles’ coaching changes | Baltimore Baseball
Rich Dubroff points out how much turnover there has been in the last two seasons. It certainly feels like an inflection point for Hyde. Is the person to lead the Orioles to the promised land? Signs are pointing towards 2025 being his last shot.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Francisco Peña is 35 today. He caught 19 games for the Orioles between 2016-17.
- Nolan Reimold celebrates his 41st birthday. The outfielder had two injury-plagued stints with the Orioles, from 2009-2013 and again from 2015-16.
- Paul Janish turns 42. He was a reserve infielder for the Orioles from 2015-17.
- Leslia Brea is 51 years old. Between 2000 and ‘01, he pitched in eight total games for the Orioles.
- Sid Fernandez turns 62 today. He pitched in 27 total games, mostly as a starter, with the Orioles between 1994 and ‘95.
- The late Ray Murray (b. 1917, d. 2003) was born on this day. He appeared in 22 games as a catcher for the 1954 O’s.
This day in history
1969 – The Orioles drop Game 2 of the World Series to the Mets, 2-1. Dave McNally is out-dueled by the Queens combination of Jerry Koosman and Ron Taylor, who hold the O’s to just two hits.
1979 – A four-RBI game for Kiko Garcia leads the Orioles to an 8-4 win over the Pirates in Game 3 of the World Series.
1997 – The O’s cough up a 4-2 lead to Cleveland and ultimately lose 8-7, going down 3-1 in the ALCS. Brady Anderson, Harold Baines, and Rafael Palmeiro all hit home runs, but it’s not enough to overcome a poor start from Scott Erickson.
2012 – The Orioles’ fairytale season comes to a close as CC Sabathia and the Yankees beat them 3-1 in Game 5 of the ALDS. Sabathia tosses a complete game, beating out an impressive start from Jason Hammel. The lone Baltimore run scores on a Lew Ford single to drive in Matt Wieters.