Conventional wisdom is that Mike Elias would like to pattern the Orioles after the Houston Astros, the team he worked for before coming to Baltimore. He wouldn’t mind mimicking the Astros’ success, but the Orioles’ general manager has said more than once that he also admires the work of the St. Louis...
One of the most puzzling players on this year’s Orioles was reliever Mychal Givens. Manager Brandon Hyde and pitching coach Doug Brocail inherited a bullpen full of pitchers they knew little or nothing about, and they hoped they could lean on Givens. It turns out they couldn’t, and Givens’ future with the...
It’s been just over a year since Buck Showalter’s eight-plus-year tenure as Orioles’ manager ended. Since then, the Orioles have undergone a makeover, and Showalter, the 24th-winningest manager in baseball history, has been out of the game. This year, Showalter spent most of the year in his Dallas home. In the second...
As this desultory Orioles season ended, many of their fans turned their attention away from baseball and on to the Ravens. Others keep watching baseball in October. Last week, one of our readers asked on Twitter which team I was rooting for in the postseason, and wanted to know if it was...
When the 2019 season began, the Orioles thought Cedric Mullins would be their centerfielder. After a horrid start when Mullins went 6-for-64 (.094), he was back in the minor leagues, and the Orioles searched for a new centerfielder. They tried Joey Rickard, but he wasn’t the answer. Nor was Keon Broxton. For...
The Orioles continued their remake of manager Brandon Hyde’s coaching staff on Friday when bullpen coach John Wasdin was let go. News of Wasdin’s dismissal was first reported by The Athletic and confirmed by an industry source. Wasdin joins first base/outfield coach Arnie Beyeler and assistant hitting coach Howie Clark, who also...
One of the first hires made by the Orioles late last year was Chris Holt, who was named the team’s minor league...
The Orioles have begun to remake their coaching staff for the 2020 season. According to an industry source, the Orioles will not be retaining first base coach Arnie Beyeler and assistant hitting coach Howie Clark. News of the changes was first reported by The Athletic. Beyeler (pictured above), who also coached the...
The 2019 Orioles season was full of firsts and records. Most of them were not positive. It was the first time the Orioles lost more than 100 games in consecutive seasons, and their 223 combined losses in 2018 and 2019 was the fourth most in baseball history. Their pitching staff gave up...
Should the Orioles retain the 40th-best player in baseball? Usually, that’s an easy question to answer, but Jonathan Villar’s future is uncertain. According to FanGraphs, Villar was the 40th-best player in Major League Baseball in the 2019 season. Both FanGraphs and Baseballreference.com calculate Villar’s WAR (wins above replacement) at 4.0. That puts...