No matter what roster moves are completed in the offseason, the Orioles won’t go far unless their core group makes the necessary strides. You heard it before and will again. Help must come from within.

Theories are floated on why some players regressed, whether it’s the individuals or the messaging. The problem is much harder to fix without knowing the answer. 

There could be more than one.

Asked at his season-ending press conference how much of a priority he’s placing on offensive improvement, president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias said, “When you have a season that misses the mark by this much, there’s a lot on the list of what went wrong. But certainly, that was amongst the most, I don’t know if I want to say ‘surprising,’ but kind of fundamental, that a lot of our core drafted players that have formed the spine of not only this winning team the last few years, but the rebuild leading into it, most of them were hurt or had down years or stagnating in some form or fashion, and it’s definitely concerning to watch it happen and concerning to watch it happen to a lot of them simultaneously.”

“We have talked a lot with them individually about it. I think all of us in the org, there’s a lot of soul searching and looking in the mirror individually what could each of us have done better to get a better result for the team, and that definitely applies to those guys. We’ve talked about it. We’re formulating plans. And we’re going to do everything that we can to kind of have them bounce back and get back on track.

“Very, very, very confident that that’s going to happen with this group, and it’s obviously a huge factor for the team next year. But the talent in those guys and the work ethic and the mindset all points to optimism.”

I reheated this leftover quote because I spoke with a scout from another organization who also wondered about the source of these struggles. There’s a lot of that going around.

“To me, there’s a couple things we could break down and dissect, right?” the scout said. “Is it the player? Did all of a sudden these guys just wake up and forget how to hit? Or is it what they’re being fed from information? What BP is like? Are they hitting off machines? Everybody does it differently now. I don’t necessarily agree with machine BP before a game. I think seeing an arm is a little bit different.

“I find it hard to believe that that many guys could just all of a sudden forget how to hit.”

That explains why it’s such a mystery, and why so many people close to the team or in the industry anticipate a bounce back in 2026. They didn’t forget how to hit.

I tossed out some random names to get feedback from the scout, as long as I had him on the phone.

Gunnar Henderson
“I think Gunnar’s a very good player. I think Gunnar is kind of in that situation where like it was late in the year and he’s playing for a bad team. You and I both know, and you’ve seen plenty of bad teams there, he still performed but what was the difference in energy level? For me, I think Gunnar, it’s energy because it’s was a bad team. He’s gonna be fine.”

Dylan Beavers
“I think Dylan Beavers is gonna be just fine. I really liked him. I get it. They’re trying to find maybe some versatility and put him in different spots, but I think, just put him in one corner spot and leave him there. Don’t jerk him around. I think he’s gonna hit.”

Adley Rutschman
“Rutschman has to stay on the field. I thought Adley looked really good with what I saw in the brief looks that I got in spring training. Physically, he looked good. I thought this was gonna be a little bit of a bounce back year for him.”

Jackson Holliday
“Jackson’s just young, right? We’re talking about a kid who, is he 21 now? He would be a junior in college. He’s taking his licks at the big league level. There’s gonna continue to be adjustments with him. I definitely think the defense has to get better. No question. But as far as hitting goes, I think he’s gonna be fine.

“Adam Jones came up, struggled. He got a lot of reps in Triple-A before he got to the big leagues. But that was a different Triple-A than what Jackson’s playing in. Triple-A now, there’s such a disconnect now between Triple-A baseball and the big leagues that a guy like Jackson, it’s like, the heck with it, we’re gonna have him take his licks up here because the pitching in Triple-A just isn’t really good enough and consistent enough. He’s not gonna learn as much there as he will at the big league level.”

Ryan Mountcastle
“I liked Mountcastle. He’s probably at the point where he just needs a change of scenery. Maybe you put him in a different ballpark and with a different voice in his head and he taps back into some of that power. You’re talking about a guy who’s hit .265-.270 in the big leagues. I don’t see a reason why he all of a sudden he wouldn’t hit.

“Even if he taps into some more power and he has to sell out a little bit to get it, let’s just say he gets back to knocking between 17-24 (homers) and he hits .250-.260  doing it. Like, I’ll take that for the upgrade in power.”

The scout liked Colton Cowser’s defense but didn’t see enough of him to offer an opinion on his bat. Maybe another time.

* Left-hander Luis De León was named the Arizona Fall League’s Pitcher of the Week after he allowed an unearned run and one hit with seven strikeouts over four innings in his debut start for Peoria.

MLB Pipeline ranks De León as the organization’s No. 21 prospect.

* The Orioles have interviewed Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas for their managerial opening, according to SNY's Andy Martino.

Rojas managed the Mets from 2020-21 and went 103-119. His option for 2022 was declined.