Improving the defense is a priority for the Orioles after a second straight losing season.

Identifying the problem is the easy part. The organization isn’t blind to the breakdowns. But the fix is more complicated.

The infield might be set with Jordan Westburg’s return from Tommy John surgery. Gunnar Henderson will be the shortstop, Pete Alonso the first baseman and Jackson Holliday the primary second baseman. Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand are two big right-handed bats who also showed improvement at third. Blaze Alexander can play anywhere.

Colton Cowser is the club’s best defensive outfielder. He was exceptional in center and also skilled in the corners. He isn’t a worry.

Taylor Ward was inconsistent in left before the Orioles traded him to the Mariners. Tyler O’Neill didn’t look like a two-time Gold Glove winner in 2025 but was better this season and led the team with seven outfield assists. His diving catch on Aug. 22 saved a game and damaged his shoulder.

Dylan Beavers has room to grow at the plate and certainly in the outfield. Leody Taveras looked better in right than center. Christian Franklin brings athleticism to the position, but his sample size is small. Rece Hinds’ issues in right are well documented and now feel like piling on, so let’s move on from him.

Cowser (10), Encarnacion-Strand (three) and Henderson (one) are the only Orioles on the plus side in Outs Above Average. Alonso was much better at first than his reputation and past numbers, but he registered a zero.

Then comes a decline that includes Beavers at minus-nine.

The Orioles’ 96 errors tied for seventh-most in the majors, and their .983 fielding percentage put them ahead of only the Marlins, Nationals and Giants at .982. Their minus-10 OAA was 22nd. And no team allowed more unearned runs than the Orioles.

The outfield posted a minus-nine in OAA and minus-eight in defensive runs saved.

Manager Craig Albernaz spoke on Monday about execution being the primary message moving forward. Asked what he tried to implement or change during the season to accelerate that process, he replied, “The defensive play was the biggest driver.”

It was partly responsible for wrecking the season.

“Obviously, there’s emphasis in spring training and obviously there were some ups and downs with that, and as the season went on, I feel like our defense got better as the year progressed,” Albernaz said.

“That’s something where, I don’t know if everyone saw it that was here every day, but doing cuts and relays before every game, not every game, but first game of series, PFPs, like that’s something that we carried on throughout the season, and it paid dividends for us. … I can’t thank the players enough. They made my job easier. Whatever we asked of them, they did. And to do the stuff like that before the game at the big league level, it’s not commonplace.

“So for them to kind of go outside their comfort zone was, I was impressed by it, and I know our staff was forever thankful and it proved dividends for us. So that’s one little thing that we did to kind of sure up the execution in the moment.”

President of baseball operations Mike Elias cited injuries multiple times as a major factor in the team’s demise, including in his July dugout scrum, but he also said, “I think we knew going into this that the team wasn’t built around defense, but we could have played better than we have been. When you have some defensive lapses, it’s going to show up in close games.”

He then added the following:

“You can’t go all-in on defense. You still have to worry about other parts of the game, scoring runs. But we’re trying to get better and get smarter in the front office. This isn’t something that we don’t emphasize or don’t care about, but just the execution of it and the evaluation. So I’m focused on me and what I can do better in that regard.”

Now we circle back to how the Orioles can improve their defense without sacrificing offense. Which players should be targeted and where they fit.

The outfield is as unsettled as the infield is set, at least by appearance, but the solution isn’t merely to plug in new guys. The returnees at every position have to get better, whether through more work or diverse methods.

Albernaz was asked Monday what he’ll do differently next season. He zeroed in on execution, but applied it to many areas.

“That’s the biggest thing,” he said.

“It’s executing our game plan when the hitter’s in the box. Executing our game plan when we’re on the mound. Executing on defense, baserunning. Execution is the biggest thing. And that’s something that we’re going to be diving into and drilling hard this offseason, and then looking forward to spring training.”

It can’t flicker and fade if the Orioles want to get back on the other side of .500.

“Yeah, every great player in any sport, you don’t get bored with the basics,” Albernaz said. “Every great team in any athletic endeavor, it’s you don’t get bored with the basics, and for our guys, it really is just not getting bored with the basics. I’m not saying that they are bored. I think for us, it’s every little detail is the biggest thing that we can conquer.

“I told our guys in spring training during the first meeting that our guys, they’re talented. Everyone is talented in this game. They’re going to do cool things where they’ll hit, home runs, diving plays, whatever it is. But at the end of the day, we have to make sure that we do the little things right and the fundamentals right, and it really is more of a mental piece than actually physical. Everyone is physically capable of doing it. It’s just the consistency of mentally locking in on every single pitch, knowing what you’re supposed to do with the ball, or etc.

“So for us, it’s really drilling down on that mental capacity of each guy. And for us as a coaching staff, if there’s any shortcomings or anything that’s lost in translation, we have to be there to support the players.”