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The Orioles are ready to begin an extensive managerial search at an accelerated pace, with the goal of making a decision as soon as possible, said president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias.
Perhaps the hire comes before a GM is chosen for the front office. The possibility exists, according to Elias. And interim manager Tony Mansolino is going to be counted among the many candidates.
“First of all, understanding the timing, the manner, the context around how Tony got that assignment, and everything that he needed to do and was in front of him and worked through, we think he did a terrific job as the interim manager with that particular assignment in 2025 with where the players were, with where the organization was,” Elias said during today’s press conference.
“I thought he added a lot of value and did a great job with that assignment and I got the chance to work with him much more closely during this and I'm very impressed with him as I've gotten to know him more, and I think he's a very talented guy and has a lot of skills that would add up to a great major league manager now or in the future. I've told him that we are going to utilize the opportunity of having the permanent chair vacant to talk to other people and learn and see who is available, who's interested and figure out who the right fit is for this team for 2026. That process is going to include him and he will be a real candidate, but I expect we are going to talk to other people and we're initiating that process imminently.”
Mansolino took over for Brandon Hyde on May 17 and the Orioles went 60-59, which demonstrated improvement but didn’t get them out of last place. Some jobs are just too big.
NEW YORK – The real work begins today.
Games are done until spring training and they won’t become official until March 26, when the Orioles play the Twins at Camden Yards. But the team must be rebuilt and rebooted. A repeat of 2025 won’t suffice. Anything close to it could spark an overhaul.
The Orioles will reach important dates in the offseason, including the GM and winter meetings, the start of free agency, exercising or declining options, and the non-tender and Rule 5 deadlines. Busy hands will reshape the roster.
This could be the most active offseason in a while. What just transpired was too traumatic to tweak.
Players will trust the process, as usual.
NEW YORK – Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino is celebrating his 43rd birthday, joking with media earlier today about being old but mostly somber over the finality of the season.
“It’s always a weird feeling,” he said. “There’s certainly a strange feeling of unfinished business in a lot of ways because our fate is to go home and we’re not gonna have a workout day tomorrow and then kind of prep ourselves for a hopeful playoff run that we’ve had the last couple years. That feeling we’ve had. It’s very different, it’s a little sad is probably the right word that we’re at this point.
“Just sad in some ways.”
Joy was missing again in the Bronx today. The Orioles were swept.
Game 162 concluded with the Orioles losing 3-2 to the Yankees before an announced crowd of 45,004. They went 60-59 under Mansolino after he replaced Brandon Hyde, who was 15-28 prior to his dismissal.
NEW YORK – The Orioles finish their disappointing season this afternoon with Ryan Mountcastle as the designated hitter, possibly in his last game with the team, depending whether they tender him a contract in his last year of arbitration eligibility.
Coby Mayo is at first base. Dylan Beavers is in left field and Tyler O’Neill is in right.
Mayo is slashing .410/.521/.769 (16-for-39) with two doubles, four home runs, six RBIs, seven walks and nine runs scored in 14 games since Sept. 13.
Kyle Bradish makes his sixth start, with seven runs and 18 hits allowed in 28 innings. He’s walked 10, struck out 39 and surrendered two home runs.
The Yankees see Bradish again after he held them to one run and two hits with nine strikeouts in six innings. He owns a 2.90 ERA and 1.419 WHIP in six career starts against New York.
NEW YORK – This is it.
The 162nd game will be played later this afternoon, with more first-pitch swinging if one team didn’t need the win. The Yankees are fighting for the division title, still tied with the Blue Jays. The Orioles made their travel plans and are set to scatter.
Fire the starting pistol and watch them go.
The Orioles probably need a general manager with Mike Elias’ promotion to president of baseball operations. They need to decide on a manager, which could impact the entire coaching staff. They need pitching and bats. And they need to search for silver linings in a season with 86 losses heading into today.
There must be knowledge gained from it.
NEW YORK – Tomoyuki Sugano’s future is up in the air with free agency approaching for the first time in the U.S.
Fewer fly balls might prolong his career, wherever he’s pitching next year.
Sugano surrendered three more home runs today and they came in the first two innings. Aaron Judge hit his 53rd, Giancarlo Stanton his 24th and third in two games, and Ryan McMahon his 20th. No one has allowed more in the American League.
The solo shots led the Yankees to a 6-1 victory over the Orioles before an announced sellout crowd of 46,085 in the penultimate game of the regular season.
The Orioles are 75-86 and assured of a last-place finish in the division. They can’t nudge the Rays out of fourth place.
NEW YORK – Dean Kremer made his final start of the season on Tuesday.
He might not be done pitching.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino said there’s a chance that Kremer is used out of the bullpen for Sunday’s finale. He’s pitched twice in relief out of 125 major league games, including seven bulk innings on June 12 against the Tigers.
“He’s been advocating to come out of the bullpen between starts from Day One, so yes, he’s advocating and we’ll see,” Mansolino said.
“There’s a day tomorrow, right? Isn’t tomorrow on turn for him? We’ll see how it goes. Depends if he’s pleasant to be around today or not.”
NEW YORK – The latest bullpen change for the Orioles came this morning with left-hander Grant Wolfram recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and left-hander Dietrich Enns going on the paternity list.
Wolfram has a 4.85 ERA and 1.769 WHIP in 20 appearances.
Ryan Mountcastle is out of the lineup again today. Coby Mayo is playing first base and Tyler O’Neill is the designated hitter.
Dylan Beavers is playing left field and Jeremiah Jackson is in right. Samuel Basallo is catching, which puts Adley Rutschman on the bench after he was behind the plate last night.
Tomoyuki Sugano makes the final start of his U.S. rookie season after posting a 4.54 ERA and 1.336 WHIP in 29 games. He avoided the injured list, which made him an exception on the 2025 Orioles.
NEW YORK – Orioles reliever Rico Garcia can inherit a mess or create his own. The outcome is the same.
The man wanders into a buzz saw and walks away without a scratch.
Garcia has kept opponents hitless in 10 at-bats this season with the bases loaded, including 0-for-1 with the Mets. It’s a neat escape act that shouldn’t be attempted by just anyone.
The Orioles beat the Red Sox 4-3 in 11 innings on Aug. 19 at Fenway Park after Garcia struck out Jarren Duran, Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida in the eighth to strand three of Kade Strowd’s runners. The Rays led 5-2 in the eighth inning Thursday at Camden Yards when Garcia replaced Strowd and allowed three consecutive singles. He struck out the next two batters, retired another on a line drive, and home runs from Coby Mayo and Dylan Beavers ignited a 6-5 walk-off win.
What’s the magic?
NEW YORK – The exit interview for Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers won’t mimic what he heard last fall. He won’t need a new plan to get stronger physically and mentally. The conversation will be much simpler.
“I think just rub him on the back,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said earlier today, “and tell him, ‘Please do it again next year.’”
Left unspoken will be the need to avoid what happened tonight, a beating totally out of character from the 2025 version of Rogers.
The Yankees hit three home runs off Rogers in three innings, matching his entire season total, in an 8-4 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 44,596. Giancarlo Stanton had a pair of two-run shots after two at-bats and Aaron Judge clubbed his 52nd.
The three homers tied Rogers’ career high. The last time it happened was May 20, 2022 against the Braves.
NEW YORK – The exit meetings that are held with players at this time in the year are a custom fit for each individual. The talks don’t come off the rack.
There is, however, one central message that applies to everyone, the veterans and the core that’s much shorter on experience.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino wants something specific to resonate with this group.
“That this needs to never happen again,” he said. “That we need to solve the issues that we have and we need to fix it. And it’s up to the staff and the front office to set the path forward to fix it individually and holistically for the team.”
The Orioles are two games behind the Rays for fourth place in the division, but it’s an unappetizing consolation prize. They’d like to escape the basement but won’t celebrate it, not after back-to-back playoff appearances.
NEW YORK – Jackson Holliday and Samuel Basallo return to the lineup tonight, as the Orioles begin their final 2025 series against the Yankees.
Basallo is serving as designated hitter after being hit on the right wrist by a fastball over the weekend. Holliday, leading off as usual, has been nursing a sore knee.
Dylan Beavers is in left field and Tyler O’Neill is in right. Coby Mayo is the first baseman.
Adley Rutschman has a .421 career on-base percentage against the Yankees, second-highest in club history with a minimum 150 plate appearances, per STATS.
Gunnar Henderson needs one more stolen base to become the youngest Oriole to swipe 30 bags in a season.
The intent wasn’t to create a baseball game show, with Orioles catchers spinning like a wheel through the season. It just happened over time.
They used seven in 2025 to set the franchise record. The 2022 Pirates are the last with eight.
David Bañuelos, an Orioles taxi squad catcher for what feels like the entire season, got into one game as the designated hitter. He doesn’t count.
Samuel Basallo was drilled on the right wrist by Pete Fairbanks’ 96.6 mph fastball leading off the ninth inning Wednesday night. Bañuelos might have gotten a shot. Or the Orioles could have brought back someone else. But X-rays were negative for a fracture and Basallo, who had the wrist taped yesterday, is expected to play this weekend in the Bronx.
Trevor Rogers was my first contestant this week in trying to name the seven catchers and how many he pitched to this season. I could have made it easier on myself by writing the names on an index card, but I worked from memory with Basallo, Adley Rutschman, Gary Sánchez, Alex Jackson, Maverick Handley, Jacob Stallings and Chadwick Tromp.
The Orioles turned on the power at closing time.
Fans stood and cheered Orioles left-hander Cade Povich this afternoon as he walked off the mound for the last time in 2025. The game didn’t turn out as he wanted. The effort and ability to make 20 starts, along with two relief appearances, seemed to be appreciated. A kind gesture from the crowd.
The place erupted on Coby Mayo’s game-tying two-run homer in the eighth, and again in the ninth when Dylan Beavers demolished Kevin Kelly's first-pitch cutter and reached the flag court. Both appreciated and celebrated with gusto. The ballpark came alive, absolutely electric, with placement in the division standings irrelevant.
Beavers' walk-off homer gave the Orioles a 6-5 win over the Rays before an announced crowd of 16,777 at Camden Yards, which brought the season total to 1,803,655. The ball left his bat at 107.7 mph, he took a few steps toward first base and flipped the lumber so high he could have brought rain.
A teammate tossed him a Ravens helmet before he touched home plate. Beavers scored the game-winner and didn't fumble his opportunity.
The 96.6 mph fastball that slammed into catcher Samuel Basallo’s right wrist last night in the ninth inning didn’t cause a fracture and might not keep the rookie from playing this weekend in New York.
Basallo had the wrist wrapped this morning after being hit by Rays reliever Pete Fairbanks and leaving the game in obvious pain.
“I tried to react but I didn’t have enough time to do so,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Hand's feeling much better today. Couldn’t really feel it yesterday. Thankfully today I’m feeling better.”
Asked about appearing in the final series, Basallo said, “Yes, I think it’s going to be something day-to-day right now. They’re giving me a day to see how I feel and hopefully I’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
“I think he’ll be in there tomorrow,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino.
The final home game for the Orioles in the 2025 season comes with a lineup this afternoon with Dylan Beavers leading off for the second time in the majors.
Samuel Basallo said his right wrist feels much better today and he hopes to play Friday night at Yankee Stadium. Alex Jackson is catching today.
Jeremiah Jackson is in right field and Jorge Mateo is at second base, with Jackson Holliday on the bench. Holliday is dealing with a sore knee.
Gunnar Henderson stole his 29th base last night and has been successful in his last 15 attempts since Aug. 4.
Colton Cowser, in center field again today, is 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts. He would set a team record.
The Orioles are happy with their internal options for the starting rotation and also know that upgrades are important. They will check the various markets, see whether trade partners and free agents provide any solutions.
Trey Gibson will be a phone call away. He’s easy to reach.
Gibson, 23, went from High-A Aberdeen to Double-A Chesapeake and Triple-A Norfolk this season and was chosen as the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year, achieving the honor as an undrafted free agent in 2023.
How close is he to making his major league debut?
“I think pretty close,” he said yesterday while meeting with the media outside the Orioles’ clubhouse.
Tyler Wells made it back onto a mound this summer after his reconstructive elbow surgery in June 2024. He found a spot in the starting rotation, which is his preference among roles on the Orioles’ pitching staff.
The rehab and perseverance earn him a win every time he picks up the ball.
It won’t show on his record tonight.
Wells turned in his poorest showing among his four starts, allowing three runs over four innings in a 6-2 loss to the Rays before an announced crowd of 18,367 at Camden Yards.
More stressful was rookie Samuel Basallo leading off the ninth against Pete Fairbanks and getting hit on the right wrist by a 96.6 mph fastball. He was in obvious pain as he crouched and then walked off the field while tilting back his head, grimacing and holding onto his wrist, but X-rays were negative for a fracture.
Jackson Holliday was in the Orioles’ original lineup tonight but a sore knee moved him to the bench.
“A little banged up,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “In one of the knees, something he’s been dealing with all year. I think it flared up on him a little bit today. Wisely, just kind of took a step back with it today. I definitely think that, I’d say nine out of 10 players have something going on right now. This for him today was something we didn’t feel like was appropriate to deal with.
“I’ve said this before, I think if we’re chasing down the pennant he’s probably in there today, but we’re just trying to be smart with the kid.”
Holliday has appeared in 146 games, four behind leader Gunnar Henderson. He has the most at-bats with 575, has avoided the injured list and ranks second in the majority of offensive categories except for the 17 home runs that lead the club.
“Listen, what we’ve asked of this kid this year has been a lot, and I do feel like he’s answered in a lot of ways,” Mansolino said. “This is a long season. The stress on this season in particular, how it’s been here in Baltimore this year and just kind of not meeting expectations as a team, and the pressure and stress and everything and having to play every day and be a focal point, lead off and be in the middle of the field every single day, it’s a big ask for a 21-year-old kid.
Dylan Beavers is batting leadoff for the first time in his brief career, as the Orioles try to secure their series against the Rays at Camden Yards.
Jackson Holliday is on the bench, freeing up second base for Jordan Westburg.
Samuel Basallo is playing first base.
Basallo didn’t have any hits against inside pitches in August, but he’s hitting .286 and slugging 1.000 this month, per STATS.
Jeremiah Jackson gets the start at third base.
