With the Orioles passing the quarter mark of the 2026 season with an 18-23 record, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Baltimore entered Monday on pace for 91 losses after a weekend series defeat. This hasn’t been a good baseball team for close to two calendar years now, and continuing to hear how talented the Orioles are is like nails on a chalkboard until it starts amounting to more wins.
2. The American League hasn’t been very good overall, which is a meaningful variable working in this club’s favor. Showing more fight against teams presently .500 or better would be a start. Losing two of three to the Athletics dropped Baltimore to 2-12 in that department.
3. One hopes Kyle Bradish turning in his best start of the season Friday and Chris Bassitt pitching well Sunday are signs of better things to come, but Bradish, Bassitt, and Shane Baz all being below replacement level so far says plenty. The Orioles rank 28th in starter ERA (5.07).
4. Woeful defense isn’t helping the pitching, and the organization now flirting with shifting Jackson Holliday to third base speaks to a larger development problem of chasing versatility at the expense of learning and mastering a position. Lining up at multiple spots isn’t the same as actually playing them effectively.
5. This is easily the best Adley Rutschman has looked over a 100-plate-appearance stretch since the first half of 2024, but it comes as Gunnar Henderson enters mid-May with a .269 on-base percentage and 30.1% strikeout rate. It’s been a long time since both looked right at the same time.
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6. The Orioles are 0-9 when facing left-handed starters. They signed Tyler O’Neill two winters ago to try to help remedy that problem, and he is 2-of-23 with two walks against southpaws this season and sports a .553 OPS overall. This signing couldn’t have gone much worse for Mike Elias.
7. It’s really tough to say you’re trying to win by continuing to play Coby Mayo regularly. Colton Cowser at least provides above-average outfield defense off the bench, but both remaining in the majors rather than working out their struggles in the minors doesn’t say very much for Baltimore’s Triple-A depth.
8. Samuel Basallo has been a bright spot with a .397/.435/.638 slash line over his last 62 plate appearances. The power is obvious, and the approach is improving to the point where I’d prefer seeing him against lefty starters rather than chasing the platoon advantage with lesser options.
9. Rico Garcia has been one of baseball’s best relievers with a 0.50 ERA and one hit allowed in 18 innings. He’s also converted a couple saves since closer Ryan Helsley went on the injured list. Not bad for someone who was contemplating retirement around this time a year ago.
10. Taylor Ward has a whopping 40 walks to lead the majors. However, he still has only one home run and a slugging percentage that recently dipped below .400. His patience has been refreshing, but there’s such a thing as being too patient when remembering he hit 36 homers last year.
11. The Orioles entered Monday averaging 4.41 runs per game, which is roughly league average. They’ve missed Jordan Westburg and Holliday, but they alone don’t explain the offense’s mediocrity after another offseason of hype. This team’s going nowhere without the hitting becoming a real strength rather than only a relative one.
12. The Athletic recently cited another MLB executive comparing the Orioles to “a showcase team,” which is tougher to protest as time goes on. Injuries continue to be a significant problem, but they continue to look unrefined and underdeveloped, which reflects poorly on Elias and the organization’s overall philosophies and methods.
