With the Orioles entering the month of September with the final wild-card spot squarely in their sights, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. That’s the play of the year. I’ve seen some better catches, but none that ended a game as the unequivocal difference between winning and losing. Time will tell what Colton Cowser’s incredible game-saving grab means, but that’ll be remembered for a long time. This club’s defense is definitely improving.
2. Monday’s win put the Orioles at .500 for the first time since April 30. That’s hardly impressive, but it’s notable in this wild-card race of the undead. There’s no time to start puffing out their chests, of course, as a bad week all but cripples their chances at this point.
3. There’s no denying playing the junior varsity helps as Colorado and the Athletics are baseball’s two worst teams. The schedule’s about to pick up with Baltimore having just one more series against a non-contender, and the Mets are 22-19 since the All-Star break. The Orioles will have to earn it.
4. It’s funny that Cowser’s catch came on the day Mike Elias claimed Luis Robert Jr. off waivers. It’s a $5 million gamble on Robert’s outfield defense and streaky bat, so you hope it works better than the acquisition of another former Chicago White Sox top prospect a couple years ago.
5. Since April, Pete Alonso has been everything Baltimore could have imagined and just produced a 1.026 OPS in August. You can’t expect him to duplicate that in September, so a certain 25-year-old shortstop really needs to parlay an encouraging finish to August into his best month in a disappointing 2026.
8
6. Giving Cade Povich a start pushed back Kyle Bradish, who hasn’t trended well of late and has thrown more than twice as many innings than he had in the majors in the previous two seasons combined. Regardless of circumstances, you have to be mindful of how Bradish looks and feels.
7. Coby Mayo facing left-handers is like a video game, so I’m amazed to see opposing managers still not even try to avoid such matchups. The numbers against right-handers must improve, but I’d still like to see how Mayo would look in right field after a full offseason working out there.
8. Despite no Ryan Helsley and the subtraction of Tyler Wells, the Orioles have the AL’s best bullpen ERA since the trade deadline and rank a respectable 11th in the majors in relief ERA for the season. Even with Helsley barely pitching, that group has outperformed the outside perception all year
9. Speaking of relievers, Felix Bautista has three rehab appearances under his belt and appears to be throwing the ball well. The velocity isn’t where it was before multiple arm surgeries, but it’s been good enough to make him an interesting possibility. That’s assuming he continues feeling good, which remains paramount.
10. Christian Encarnacion-Strand was acquired from Cincinnati for cash in mid-April and has produced a .262/.305/.492 slash line since being recalled on July 16. Credit Elias for making that kind of impact addition for practically nothing, especially when it’s a player carrying minor-league options. What were the Reds thinking?
11. Speaking of trades, Adley Rutschman is batting .170 with a .500 OPS for Boston and continues dealing with physical concerns. No, I wouldn’t call this addition by subtraction by any stretch, but the Orioles hadn’t won with Rutschman for a long time. His decline was a significant reason why.
12. I won’t pretend to say I’ve enjoyed watching this team this season, and I still have significant concerns about the organization’s direction under Elias. That said, it’s OK to embrace this bizarre race. It took five months, but the 2026 Orioles are finally growing on me. Better late than never.
