Baltimore Orioles Struggles Mean 'Heads Are Going to Roll' Says Former MLB Exec

The Baltimore Orioles are a team that everyone is going to be keeping a close eye on in the coming weeks.

Are they going to finally find their stride and begin playing up to their potential? Coming into the season, they were considered legitimate contenders in the American League.

Entering play on May 9, they aren’t close to that level.

The Orioles are 13-23, in last place of the AL East with only three teams, the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies, having less victories.

One of those teams, the Pirates, has already made a major change with their coaching staff, firing manager Derek Shelton after a 12-26 start.

Whose Could Lose Jobs in Baltimore?

Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) believes the Orioles have been the most disappointing team in MLB thus far, and some massive changes could be on the horizon.

“It’s been a disastrous start to the season and if they don’t turn it around fast, I think heads are going to roll in Baltimore. No one in the front office or field staff should consider their jobs safe at this point,” the former MLB executive wrote.

All of the moves that the team has made in the offseason have backfired.

Allowing ace Corbin Burnes, who has shown some signs of regression, to leave was criticized. To make matters worse, they didn’t bring in any replacements to assume his role atop the rotation, signing veterans Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Kyle Gibson instead.

Morton has been a disaster, being removed from the rotation for a few games before making a start again this week. Gibson has been lit up in two starts and 7.2 innings, allowing 12 earned runs and six home runs.

Sugano has been everything the team had hoped for, but at this stage of his career, being counted on as an ace is a recipe for disaster.

They are second to last in ERA, strikeouts and batting average against as a staff in the MLB through May 8, not being able to take advantage of what has been a mostly stellar bullpen to date.

The lineup has been just as underwhelming, with their young stars, catcher Adley Rutschman, infielder Jordan Westburg and shortstop Gunnar Henderson, all getting off to painfully slow starts.

Free agent additions Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sanchez and Ramon Laureano have not panned out yet, either.

With that many swings and misses when it comes to roster construction, when expectations were so high, people’s jobs are going to be on the line, as Bowden suggested.