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Tony Mansolino wrote out his lineup again yesterday, confirmed the plan for starter Dean Kremer in Toronto and tried to guide the Orioles to a series sweep against the Pirates before boarding the team charter for another road trip.
The season is down to the final 16 games. The Blue Jays are in first place in the American League East, fighting to stay ahead of the Yankees. The Orioles play them, too – four games at Camden Yards and three in the Bronx to close out 2025.
Mansolino dismissed a suggestion yesterday that he isn’t managing under any pressure based on the team’s last-place residency and being outside the heat of a playoff chase. That maybe the job is different for him. He recalled some advice he received many years ago from former Cleveland manager Terry Francona.
It still applies with the Orioles as Mansolino related the question to managing in the majors versus the minors.
“He told me at the time, ‘Make Lynchburg your Cleveland,’” Mansolino said.
“It’s wherever you’re at, make that your big leagues. So in this scenario here for me, whatever it is, yeah, in some ways we’re not in the playoff hunt, but believe me, there’s plenty of pressure in the building in a lot of ways. I think you guys can probably understand why.
“Have I tried to make this feel like a pennant race for us? Absolutely, there’s no doubt. And are we running the games like that? Yeah. Are we doing some developmental stuff right now? Without a doubt. Did we do some developmental stuff before the trade deadline? Yes. As much? Probably not. So I think it’s a mix of a lot of things. But are we trying to treat this as if they are the most important game in the world on that day? Without a doubt. And is there pressure involved in that? Yes.
“And do we want the pressure? Absolutely.”
Can’t get much clearer than that, right?
Mansolino talks about players competing for their professional lives and how results obviously are going to be better some days than others. He’s wearing the interim tag since replacing Brandon Hyde in May. The Orioles are (53-49) in that span, the injuries and massive departures at the deadline unable to completely sink them. They’re still paddling.
The club isn’t discussing its search plans but Mansolino figures to be under consideration in a large field. Mike Elias was hired as executive vice president/general manager on Nov. 16, 2018 and he chose Hyde from a group of six finalists – also Manny Acta, Mike Bell, Pedro Grifol, Chip Hale and Mike Redmond - on Dec. 14.
Elias made the right call. Hyde did a superb job of guiding the Orioles through the rebuild, shocked the industry with a winning record in 2022 and made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. He was twice named The Sporting News Manager of the Year and also received the honor from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. But Elias can work at a more deliberate pace and expand the field.
Mansolino isn’t making any assumptions or losing sleep over it. The uncertainty could gnaw at him, but he’s just moving along one day at a time and focusing on the job at hand.
“Listen, for me, when I took this job the goal was to get Baltimore out of the bad news section and put us in the good news section, and I do think we’ve accomplished that in a lot of ways,” he said earlier this week. “And I think there was probably, once we traded everybody away, it was probably a feeling of here we go again, and that hasn’t happened.
“I had a college coach that would always say, make the seat better for the next guy, talking about as a player. So my whole goal has just been to make the seat better for the next guy, whether it’s me or whether it’s somebody else. And I do feel like with the help of a really good staff, a staff that has absolutely coached their butts off here over the last 3 ½ months, I feel like we’ve done that.”
Hyde never lost the support of his players and they’ve rallied around Mansolino, appreciating him and how he was put in a difficult spot, having the duties thrown at him unexpectedly and replacing a friend – the man who brought him to the majors as third base coach.
He didn’t want this opportunity under those circumstances and said as much on his first day.
“I think he’s done an incredible job,” said first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, traded to the Padres at the deadline. “Being put in that position going from a third base coach, and then obviously things aren’t great and you’ve got to manage a room that’s going through some hard times, and I think he did as good as you could possibly do.
“I think Manso’s a great leader, he’s a great communicator, cares about the guys. He’s a smart baseball guy. When I was there, he made great decisions. I think Manso would make a hell of a major league manager.”
“I think that’s kind of been the understanding that we have for him is it’s definitely a tough position to be in,” said Jackson Holliday. “I think he’s done a great job. I know he has the respect of everyone in this clubhouse, the way he’s a baseball guy and the way he handles managing and how honest he is. I know everyone really appreciates it and I think he has almost everyone’s support to be in the running for manager again next year. I’d be happy to see it.”
“I think he did the best job that he possibly could with the situations he’s had,” said Trevor Rogers. “He’s very blunt, he’s gonna keep guys accountable if he feels they’re not doing everything they’re capable of and meeting that standard. Of course, there’s only so many things you can do still having that interim manager tag on you. To me personally, I hope he’s back next year just because of the vibe that he brings to the clubhouse. He expects guys to play the right way, but he's also loose and keeps the guys light at certain times, too. So he’s definitely that even balance.
“Obviously, he has no control over it, but I know I’d certainly be glad to have him back in this clubhouse next year.”
“Not an easy situation to step into anywhere really,” said Keegan Akin, “but I think he’s done really good at it and I think we’ve had a lot of really good feedback and positive feedback from the players and other staff. Just keep chugging along for the rest of the year, and whatever happens at the end of the year is kind of out of his control and we go from there.”
Buck Britton, promoted from major league coach to third base coach, also has noticed how Mansolino’s adapted to managing and found his comfort zone over the course of the summer. Everything seems more natural to him compared to those early weeks, when he was feeling his way through the dark and trying not to trip over the furniture.
“I think he’s done great,” Britton said. “At the beginning, he was thrown right into the fire. He’s had some experiences in the minor leagues doing it, but Manso’s got a good leadership quality about him. You notice when he’s in the room. Another guy that really understands the game. His dad (Doug) did this for a long time. He’s got him to lean on for stuff. He’s been really good.
“I think he’s been good for the players. He just has this way about him that I think kind of frees up the players. He understands there’s gonna be mistakes and he loves to coach. He’s on top of things. And he’s been real good for me with the infield stuff, being my first year taking that over. Looking over my shoulder, making sure all the little details are being taken care of. He’s done a really nice job here.”
