Early Trends That Have To Change for the Orioles To Contend

During spring training, the vibes surrounding the Baltimore Orioles were high. The young core looked determined and refreshed after a disastrous second half and postseason. Moreover, signings that had created scrutiny from fans were turning in solid performances as well.

However, we’re nearly a month into the regular season, and those positive vibes have nearly vanished.

Fans on social media are growing more and more displeased with manager Brandon Hyde and GM Mike Elias, and injuries have caused players who were not expected to be everyday starters to take on vital roles.

For example, if you had told an Orioles fan back in January that by mid-April the No. 1 starter in the rotation would be Charlie Morton, they most likely would not receive that news very well.

Fortunately for O’s fans, no one in the AL East is running away with the division. While the Orioles find themselves four games back, there is still plenty of time to make up that ground.

So, how do they turn the ship around? This article has two trends that the Orioles must change to improve their season.

Stats and rankings taken prior to first pitch on April 23.

1. Southpaw Struggles and Lineup Inconsistency 

The focus of the Orioles’ offseason spending was on right-handed hitters. Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sánchez and Ramón Laureano were all acquired to help complement a predominantly left-handed-heavy lineup. 

So far, the group has not been doing much complimenting.

The Orioles are hitting .165 against lefties to go along with a .472 OPS. Compare that to the team’s performance against righties (.247 average and .789 OPS, second in MLB), and it is evident that there is a disparity in production.

The main reason the Orioles’ numbers against lefties are so low is because the players they brought in to hit lefties have failed to do so. The aforementioned trio of O’Neill, Sánchez, and Laureano is a combined 3-for-48 (.063) with just two RBIs against lefties this year. That is simply not going to cut it.

Then there is the case of Jorge Mateo. The utilityman missed most of spring training rehabbing an elbow injury he sustained last July. After making the team out of spring training, Mateo’s role has mostly been to replace Jackson Holliday at second base when a lefty is pitching.  

On the season, Mateo is batting .091 against lefties, going 1-for-11 with a double. In 12 total games, he has already accumulated -0.6 fWAR.

This alludes to an issue that Orioles fans on social media have been very vocal about since the season began: Young guys like Holliday and Heston Kjerstad are being kept out of the lineup just because a lefty is starting.  

How are the young guys supposed to improve against lefties if they never face them?

Instead of keeping those guys in the lineup consistently, Hyde will pull them from the lineup when facing a lefty, not allowing the duo to get more exposure to left-handed pitchers.

The craziest part about the situation is that Holliday and Kjerstad are better hitters against lefties compared to the guys replacing them in the lineup.

Respectively, Holliday and Kjerstad are hitting .182 and .200 against southpaws, as well as both guys having on-base percentages around .300. They are not exactly tearing the cover off the ball, nor are those numbers all that impressive, but it’s at least better than their counterparts.

So, what needs to change?

The Orioles must hit lefties better, period. However, it may be time to realize that the best way to do that is by starting your best players everyday instead of platooning them just to avoid a lefty-lefty situation in the batter’s box.

2. The Rotation Must Turn Things Around

I recently wrote about the Orioles’ rotation and their early-season struggles, so I will keep this section a bit shorter. For a more in-depth dive, you can check out my article here:

The rotation continues to be the biggest weak spot of this Orioles team as we get further from spring training. While it may be early, time is running out for this group of starters to figure things out before massive changes need to be made.

The Orioles have the single worst rotation in MLB with an ERA of 6.22. They’re also the only stating rotation with a negative fWAR (-0.4) in Major League Baseball.

This past week, the Orioles shared that Grayson Rodriguez has picked up a new shoulder injury, separate from the elbow/triceps injury he was working his way back from. No determination has been made on how much more time he will miss, but that is certainly not good news for Baltimore.

The Orioles are also missing Kyle Bradish and Zach Eflin from the rotation as they are working back from injuries. This has led to certain starters like Charlie Morton and Dean Kremer having bigger roles with the team.

Unfortunately, Kremer and Morton have not found much success so far. The duo has a combined 2-8 record, and Kremer is sporting an ERA north of 6.00 while Morton’s ERA currently sits at a whopping 10.89.

While the rotation has struggled, the bullpen has been stellar.

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With the offensive inconsistencies and tattered rotation, the O’s bullpen has flown under the radar. Arms like Yennier Cano, Seranthony Domínguez, and Bryan Baker have led the charge for Orioles. 

After earning All-Star honors in 2023, Cano had a calmer season in 2024. Out of the blocks in 2025 though, Cano has rekindled that 2023 season, tossing 8.1 scoreless innings.

Domínguez was acquired at the 2024 trade deadline from the Philadelphia Phillies. While Domínguez had more of a closer’s role in the back half of the 2024 season, his transition back to a middle reliever has been successful, leading to 10 strikeouts in 8.1 scoreless innings.

Baker is the biggest surprise so far. After posting a 5.01 ERA in 2024, Baker has managed a 0.93 ERA in 9.2 innings.

If the rotation can stabilize their performances and stay healthy, the bullpen is playing well enough to carry the team until the big three of Bradish, Rodriguez and Eflin are back.