Tony Mansolino gets blunt about Ryan Mountcastle's Orioles future

Mountcastle will become an unrestricted free agent after next season. But given his track record of success and the Orioles' need to address other roster holes, there's a sentiment swirling around that he could be traded this offseason.

Orioles Manager Speaks About Ryan Mountcastle's Baltimore Future

Mountcastle even addressed these rumors himself by saying, "You never know what's going to happen. Would love to come back. If it is my last game, I had a lot of fun here. If not, I'm super excited. I love all these guys, they're my family," per an X post from Jacob Calvin Meyer ofThe Baltimore Sun.

Despite Mountcastle's struggles, he's still a favorite in Baltimore's locker room. This was shown by comments Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino made, which were included in a September 29 article from Roch Kubatko of MASN.

“It’s gonna be one of my all-time favorite players that I’ve ever worked with for a lot of reasons,” Mansolino said of Mountcastle. “In terms of his growth, I think he went from being kind of position-less to being a frontline defender at first base in this league. I think he’s a guy that still hasn’t tapped into his immense potential offensively. I think we’ve seen glimpses of it.

“I’m still hopeful that he’s going to find it in himself. You’re hopeful that it’s in the organization that raised him and kind of helped to lead him to his initial success in this game, but just like coaches, this business is tricky on players, too. There’s nothing guaranteed in this game for any of us, whether you’re a coach or a player. I hope that Mounty finds a home. Hopefully it’s here. If it’s not, hopefully it’s somewhere else," he added.

"There’s gonna be a lot of people interested in the guy because of the skillset, because of the potential and because of some of the results that he’s had in this game. He’s been a really integral part of this organization turning into a winning organization and going through the lean years, and it’s somebody I love and somebody I’m very proud of," Mansolino concluded on Mountcastle.

It will be interesting to see whether Baltimore's front office decides to move Mountcastle and what they might get in return for him after his 2025 campaign.