2025 MLB Season Recap: Baltimore Orioles

The Pitching

The Good

While the Orioles’ pitching staff was an issue — and I’ll get more into that in the next section — the team that did have arguably one of the top five starters in the game this season was Trevor Rogers.

Rogers, acquired last summer for Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby, was a 2021 NL All-Star who burst onto the scene the year before. The left-hander had trouble staying healthy in 2022 and 2023. However, with the Marlins looking for hitting depth, Rogers was brought in to help out the O’s in 2024.

The 27-year-old missed most of the first two months with a knee subluxation. Rogers was recalled shortly after being optioned in May and was fantastic. In his lone start before a demotion to Triple-A, Rogers struck out five over 6.1 IP against the Red Sox on the 24th. Rogers was recalled in June and…the rest was history.

Rogers made the most of his deceptive four-seamer. Opposing batters hit just .158 with a 24.2% Whiff% on it. He still mixed in the sinker he incorporated later in his tenure as a Marlin. And, the results were incredible. A 1.81 ERA that would have been the best in baseball had he thrown enough innings.

Taking wOBA into account, no starter in baseball had a lower one (.226) than Rogers this season (min. 100 IP). Not Tarik Skubal, and not Paul Skenes.

Aside from Rogers, the Orioles received solid contributions from Dean Kremer, who led the Birds in innings pitched (171.2 IP) this season. He posted a 3.97 FIP, buoyed largely by his ability to limit runners on base via the walk.

Felix Bautista, back after missing all of 2024, had ups and downs but was effective as Baltimore’s closer. Unfortunately for the O’s, the good feelings didn’t last long, as he’ll likely be sidelined until 2027 thanks to a UCL tear.

Offensively, Jackson Holliday settled into a regular role. Holliday tweaked his approach in 2025, shortening up even more. He also dropped the chase rate by almost 5%. No, the .242/.314/.375 slash line wasn’t impressive on paper. But, Holliday cut the strikeout rate down and nearly had a 20-20 season.

Jordan Westburg blasted 17 home runs across 85 games in an injury-shortened campaign.

The Orioles also saw some of the next wave of young hitters in Baltimore late in the year. Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers each had 10 extra-base hits over the final few weeks. Coby Mayo, another one of those youngsters, hit 11 home runs over 85 contests.

The Bad

Eight Orioles finished the 2025 campaign in double-digits in terms of home runs. However, nobody on the team hit 20 or more home runs. It’s a rather incredible feat, especially given that the Orioles had a 44-home run hitter in 2024, plus 37 home runs from Gunnar Henderson last year, as well.

Granted, a lot has changed. Anthony Santander, the Orioles’ home run leader from 2024, is now in Toronto. Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn could have gotten to that marker had the two stayed. Instead, both were traded at the deadline, as the Orioles fell out of playoff consideration quickly.

Baltimore fired Brandon Hyde after 43 games. The O’s went 15-28 in that span, quickly falling out of the AL East playoff picture. Tony Mansolino went 60-59 after replacing Hyde. Nonetheless, the damage was done.

The Orioles couldn’t get much in the way of offense or pitching during Hyde’s final days as Baltimore manager. When Hyde was fired, the Orioles conceded 244 runs, second-most in the American League behind only the Athletics.

Focusing on pitching for a second, Rogers & Kremer were the two true reliable starters. It was a difficult year for the Orioles’ rotation on the injury front. Grayson Rodriguez — expected to be the staff ace after Corbin Burnes left — missed all of the year. Zach Eflin, acquired last summer, only made 14 starts.

Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells, two valuable arms in 2023 and 2024, missed most of the year recovering from surgery. While the two pitched well when they came back, Bradish and Wells pitched in games where the Orioles were already out of contention.

Rather than go big in free agency, the Orioles sought short-term deals on veteran arms. Charlie Morton (74 ERA+) and NPB veteran Tomoyuki Sugano (87 ERA+) were not league-average pitchers this season. Kyle Gibson, brought in late, gave up 23 earned runs (seven HR) over 12.1 IP before he was cut, and ultimately, retired.

As for the offense, the Orioles’ big pickup this past winter didn’t produce as hoped. Tyler O’Neill, a slugging right-handed hitter with a significant injury history, only played 54 games in 2025. Adley Rutschman only played 90.

Rutschman, yet again, had another down year. The switch-hitting catcher slashed .220/.307/.366 (.673 OPS), one year after he posted a sub-.600 OPS in the second half of 2024.

Combine all of those factors, and it’s not hard to see why the Orioles failed to contend. Now, the Orioles didn’t do too badly in the returns received for traded veterans. The O’s received a high-upside infielder, Wilfri De La Cruz, for Andrew Kittredge. Additionally, several high-upside pitchers, including Boston Bateman and Wellington Aracena, were acquired in July.

But, it doesn’t change that this was, at its core, a very disappointing 2025 in Baltimore.

Early Projected Lineup for 2026

• C: Adley Rutschman
• 1B: Coby Mayo
• 2B: Jackson Holliday
• 3B: Jordan Westburg
• SS: Gunnar Henderson
• OF: Tyler O’Neill (LF), Colton Cowser (CF), Dylan Beavers (RF)
• DH: Samuel Basallo
• SP: Trevor Rogers, Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells
• RP: Keegan Akin, Yennier Cano, Rico Garcia, Jose Castillo, Kade Strowd, Dietrich Enns, Colin Selby, Grant Wolfram

The Orioles’ lineup will likely include the familiar faces. Baltimore doesn’t have much money on the books, although Gunnar Henderson will hit the arbitration well for the first time in his MLB career.

As far as potential upgrades are concerned, it would make significant sense to target pitching. The rotation looks, on paper, better heading into 2026. However, injuries are an inevitability in the Majors.

Filling out a bullpen that won’t have Felix Bautista should also be a priority.