The Orioles gave up on wondering what else could go wrong a long time ago.
Their luck wasn’t going to change for the better. A horseshoe would come from the thoroughbred that trampled them.
Shortstop Gunnar Henderson, starter Grayson Rodriguez and reliever Andrew Kittredge didn’t break camp with the team, and that should have provided a hint. The 2025 season was going to destroy everything in its path. It was going to break them.
Only nine players are on the active roster from the 26 who made the club on Opening Day. Seven are on the injured list, including utility player Jorge Mateo, who was questionable throughout camp after undergoing left elbow reconstructive surgery.
Remember when his status in Sarasota was worthy of daily updates?
Mateo appeared in 31 games and hit .180/.231/.279 before going on the injured list in June with a left hamstring strain. He won’t return before September and might be done.
Catchers Adley Rutschman and Gary Sánchez made it through camp. Rutschman spent time on the injured list with an oblique strain. Sánchez returned to it with a right knee sprain and won’t return before September if he plays again.
Sánchez has been limited to only 29 games after signing a one-year, $8.5 million contract and is batting .231/.297/.418.
We’ll always have June, when Sánchez hit .354 with four home runs, 18 RBIs and a 1.061 OPS in 13 games. He went 1-for-13 in July and disappeared.
First baseman Ryan Mountcastle has returned from his Grade 2 hamstring injury but Ryan O’Hearn was traded to the Padres at the deadline. Infielder Ramón Urías was traded to the Astros.
The Orioles headed north with outfielders Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill, Heston Kjerstad and Ramón Laureano. None of them are on the active roster.
Cowser fractured his left thumb diving into first base in the opening series in Toronto and now is on the seven-day concussion list. O’Neill is on the IL for a third time, currently due to right wrist inflammation. Mullins was traded to the Mets and Laureano to the Padres.
Kjerstad was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk and he’s on the minor league IL, with the initial reason linked to fatigue. The Orioles aren’t ready to share more details.
The rotation consisted of Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Cade Povich. Eflin will undergo surgery next week on his lower back, known as a lumbar microdiscectomy, and is done after only 14 starts and three trips to the IL. Morton was traded to the Tigers, just as he was getting good. Povich has returned from a hip injury.
The bullpen is unrecognizable except for Yennier Cano, who was optioned earlier this season, and Keegan Akin, who went on the IL with left shoulder inflammation and is serving as the primary closer without the actual title.
The Orioles traded Bryan Baker, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto from the Opening Day roster, and Kittredge also is gone. They outrighted Cionel Pérez. And we learned yesterday that closer Félix Bautista has a serious injury to his right shoulder and won’t pitch again this season.
We don’t know about 2026. One disaster at a time.
Rodriguez never made it back to the Orioles except for flat ground and bullpen sessions, finally taken down for good by elbow debridement surgery. Henderson’s season debut was put on hold until April 4 and he might be Most Valuable Oriole almost by default. He’s trying to fend off Trevor Rogers.
The injured list is holding 14 players, but Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells and Albert Suárez are getting closer to leaving it. Bradish is down to two more rehab starts, the next coming Thursday in Jacksonville. Wells is down to two or three and he pitches again Friday. Suárez made his first rehab appearance last night at Double-A Chesapeake, allowing four runs and throwing 42 pitches in two innings, and being prepped as a bulk reliever shortens his assignment time.
Bradish will jump in the rotation, hopefully without tearing anything. Wells could join him or be used out of the bullpen, with interim manager Tony Mansolino explaining the risks yesterday of having two starters returning from elbow-reconstructive surgeries.
Cowser and O’Neill seem to be progressing favorably and can return to an outfield that’s as unrecognizable as the bullpen. Daniel Johnson arrived yesterday, with Jordyn Adams optioned. The lineup consisted of Ryan Noda in right, Dylan Carlson in left and Greg Allen in center. They also comprised the lower third of the order.
The franchise record for most players used in a season is 62 in 2021. The 2025 Orioles are up to 60, with appearances last night by pinch-runner Daniel Johnson and reliever Rico Garcia. Fifty-eight was the fifth-highest total in the majors, with the Mets and White Sox at 59 and Braves at 60.
We have a change in the standings.
Bradish and Wells would make it 62 if no one else arrives, but we know at least two prospects will make their debuts. Outfielder Dylan Beavers could beat Bradish and Wells to the active roster. Samuel Basallo might be held back until Sept. 1, but that isn’t confirmed. An earlier arrival is possible.
Of course, they need to stay healthy.
That lucky rabbit’s foot probably came from a rabid bunny.