Orioles reshaping coaching staff after bitter end to 2024 season

With at least four coaches from the 2024 Orioles departing, the team’s coaching staff will look much different from the one that ended the season on October 2^nd.

The Orioles have regularly made adjustments to manager Brandon Hyde’s coaches during his six seasons, but never have this many not returned.

On Monday, co-hitting coach Matt Borgschulte left the Orioles to join the Minnesota Twins as a hitting coach. Last week, Ryan Fuller, the other co-hitting coach, bench coach Fredi González and major league coach José Hernández were told they would not be back in 2025.

The Orioles, like all major league teams, have multiple hitting and pitching coaches, and after the rough second half and the dismal offensive performance in the Wild Card Series loss to Kansas City — one run in two games — it was not a surprise that changes were coming.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias signaled that moves would be made the morning after the Wild Card Series ended.

“I am going to work tirelessly to make adjustments and improve and put us in the position to have a better outcome than we just had,” he said. “My staff and I will not rest this winter, and we will put ourselves in that position. There is a lot to be confident about with this team’s positioning going forward into 2025.

“This is all very raw, very fresh, and the thrust of what I want to say right now is the seriousness with which we will be attacking questions about what we’ve done well, but more importantly what we can do better, what we need to self-examine and adjust starting this offseason and going into next season, so that this very promising, very talented group can reach a better facsimile of its potential in the postseason.”

Besides Fuller and Borgschulte, who had been with the club for three seasons, the Orioles had a former major league player, Cody Asche, as the team’s offensive strategist as a third hitting coach.

Asche played five seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox while Fuller played one season in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Borgschulte never played professionally.

The other two coaches who won’t be back, González and Hernández, had extensive major league experience. Though González never played in the major leagues, he had a 25-year career as a coach and manager. He managed the Braves and Marlins for 10 seasons.

Hernández was an accomplished major league infielder, playing 15 seasons with nine teams, and a 2002 National League All-Star. He also had been a minor or major league coach with the Orioles since 2010, one of the few who predated Elias’ arrival.

He and Tim Cossins, the major league field coordinator/catching coordinator who remains, had been the only holdovers from Hyde’s first staff in 2019.

There’s been no explanation for the changes from Elias, and until the replacements are named, the reasons for some of the moves may not be addressed.

The changes in hitting coaches shouldn’t be a surprise. The Orioles didn’t fulfill their potential offensively in 2024, and when that happens, there will be turnover.

While the multiple coach arrangement is standard in the industry, not having a lead coach was always confusing, though Fuller and Borgschulte seemed to co-exist well for three seasons.

It’s unclear whether the Orioles will recruit hitting coaches with major league coaching experience or hire former players or promote from within their minor league staff.

Former Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo was in spring training with the team as a guest instructor in 2023 and could carry some clout. Besides being a recent player, Trumbo was with the Orioles in 2019 and is familiar with their analytic approach.

It’s not clear what role Asche, who was respected in the clubhouse, will have on the new staff.

González and Hernández were bilingual, and perhaps one of the new hitting coaches will be a Spanish speaker.

The Orioles have had an increased presence in Latin America and have many more Spanish-speaking coaches and managers in their organization than they’ve had before Elias’ arrival.

Roberto Mercado, who spent two seasons managing High-A Aberdeen, his first professional experience before moving up to Double-A Bowie this season, could be a name to watch.

So could Buck Britton, a longtime Orioles minor leaguer who has managed and coached in the organization since 2017. Britton has spent the last three seasons managing many of the Orioles’ young players at Triple-A Norfolk.

In the past, coaching searches have been thorough, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Elias is answering questions about coaches during the Winter Meetings in Dallas in early December.

It’s obvious that Elias was troubled by the second straight early exit in the postseason, and that just qualifying for the playoffs is no longer a reason to celebrate.

For now, the changes have been concentrated in the field staff, and soon we’ll see how aggressively Elias moves to change the mix of players that the new coaches will work with.