The high expectations for the Orioles began to erode with the injuries and the underperformance of so many important players that made it impossible to claim a playoff spot.

No division title, no Wild Card, and a second straight losing record.

The surprises were a mixed bag of good and bad. Here are five.

*Jackson Holliday went from playing in 149 games in 2025 to only 98 this season. He went from ranking second behind Gunnar Henderson’s 154 to starting and finishing the season on the injured list with a broken right hamate bone and TFCC tear in his left wrist.

This is why the first day of spring training has become an event. President of baseball operations Mike Elias meets with media outside the baseball operations building and drops health bombs.

The hook of the hamate bone was fractured while Holliday swung a bat in February, shortly before players reported to camp. The rehab and projected return became one of the most compelling stories leading up to Opening Day, and past it after a couple of setbacks.

*Jordan Westburg didn’t appear in a single game in 2026.

Speaking of compelling stories, there’s the latest round of injuries to Westburg, one of the better young hitters on the club who was supposed to play third base every day unless subbing for Holliday at second.

Westburg tweaked his right oblique in January, an injury that can linger but didn’t figure to be that impactful because of the early date. Availability for the first exhibition game was questioned. Opening Day seemed safe.

Rumors began to swirl about an elbow injury, but Elias’ update simply stated that Westburg was “just physically unable to go.” Media debated how to word it, without confirmation on the elbow, and spent one evening listening to Elias’ appearance on 105.7 The Fan.

“He came into camp with an oblique injury, so he hasn’t been real visible and real active in the camp thus far,” Elias said on the radio station. “When it comes to any other injuries or anything else going on, if you’re the club, if you’re management with the club, we can’t get out there and start talking about things until we really have our arms around a diagnosis, a prognosis, a plan. Whether it’s his case or any others, we’re just not there yet, and we’ll have something to share very, very soon.

“I’m just not at a point to be able to address anything publicly in a responsible manner outside of what we’ve already shared as a club. But we do that as soon as we’re able to, and I expect that we’ll be able to share some news soon.”

Westburg underwent Tommy John surgery in May after a platelet-rich plasma injection on Feb. 20 didn’t solve the issue. Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the procedure in Los Angeles.

The start of a hitting progression this week brings more optimism that Westburg will be in the lineup for the 2027 opener. Or at least on the active roster, which in itself would be a massive win. He can be a real difference-maker on a club that kept experiencing offensive outages this year. And he’d sure make that infield look deeper and more talented.

*Ryan Helsley didn’t actually replace Félix Bautista as closer.

It was more of a group effort.

Eleven relievers recorded saves this season to set the franchise record. Andrew Kittredge was the leader with 11, one more than Rico Garcia. Helsley had eight among his 17 appearances, with two trips to the injured list because of right elbow inflammation.

Helsley’s second rehab appearance with Triple-A Norfolk lasted one game, on Sept. 12 in Memphis. The Orioles had to pull him from the assignment, and their last injury report included how he “discontinued baseball activities going into the offseason.”

“Helsley was doing pretty well in his rehab,” Elias said last month. “With the calendar where we’re at, we got to the point where we had to kind of decide whether to push the envelope a little bit and compress his time between outings and ramp him up and get ready for the big league level. Taking a look at that and just taking everything into account, we decided that might not be the wisest play. So we’re going to shut him down, basically, and conclude his season.

“He’s healthy. We want to gear him toward 2027 at this point.”

The Orioles signed Helsley to a $14 million contract on Dec. 1 with a $14 million player option. The better he pitched this season, the less likely he’d stay. But now the team is envisioning Helsley in its bullpen next spring and beyond.

They’ll need a much better version of Helsley. Not just a healthier one. He posted a 4.11 ERA and 1.435 WHIP in 15 1/3 innings, with nine walks and 21 strikeouts. His first clean appearance came in his seventh game.

*Garcia came to the rescue.

Yeah, let’s double back to Rico.

The journeyman broke camp with the team and lasted the entire season, which rated as a major accomplishment. But he also led the Orioles with 75 appearances and had a 0.97 WHIP in 67 innings.

Garcia went 5-1 after entering the season with one career win and no saves. Eighteen of his last 20 outings were scoreless. He stranded 14 of his last 15 inherited runners.

Jamie Walker was the last Oriole to appear in at least 75 games, when he set the franchise record with 81 in 2007. Yennier Cano led the team three consecutive seasons before Garcia ended the streak.

Garcia is listed among players receiving votes for Most Valuable Oriole.  

*“Missing Mountcastle” wasn’t the storyline that everyone anticipated.

A winter and spring topic was Ryan Mountcastle’s usage this season after the Orioles signed Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract. Alonso plays every day. How would manager Craig Albernaz get at-bats for Mountcastle after the first baseman signed a $6.787 million contract that included a $7.5 million club option for the 2027?

Mountcastle was viewed as a non-tender or trade candidate, but he broke camp and spent most of his time on the bench before fracturing his left foot while running out a double on April 11. He was in the lineup four times and received only 14 at-bats.

This was a prime example of Mountcastle’s rotten luck, and also how crowded rosters and positions have a way of working themselves out.

It gets worse.

Mountcastle was ready to begin a rehab assignment and suffered a serious oblique injury before his first game on July 28.

The Orioles called the injury “pretty significant.”

“We’ll get him back as soon as we’re able to and hopefully that’s in 2026,” Elias said at the time, “but it’s a tough restart for Ryan.”

The foot wasn’t feeling 100 percent when Mountcastle tried to come back, and the oblique tear sealed his 2026 fate. And maybe 2027.

Will they pick up the option?

Was that ever the plan?