The Orioles were shut out eight times this season and again yesterday when Rawlings announced its Gold Glove finalists.

Ramón Urías remains the last Oriole to win a Gold Glove, receiving the honor at third base in 2022. Manny Machado won it in 2015.

Rafael Palmeiro was the last Orioles first baseman to win a Gold Glove in 1998. Pete Alonso seemed to have a shot at it this season, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Christian Walker are the finalists in the American League.

Alonso registered 0 Outs Above Average, much better than his minus-9 in each of the last two seasons, but below Guerrero, Pasquantino and Walker. He also was behind them with minus-4 receiving, per Statcast data.

Colton Cowser had a strong defensive season in center field, amassing 10 Outs Above Average to rank in the 95th percentile and 13 Defensive Runs Saved, but didn’t fell short of the innings requirement. Evan Carter, Steven Kwan and Ceddanne Rafaela are the finalists.

The Orioles also didn’t have any finalists in 2025.

Cowser (in left field) and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle made the ballot in 2024. Mountcastle was a repeat finalist but went 0-for-2.

Catcher Adley Rutschman and left fielder Austin Hays also were finalists in 2023. Center fielder Cedric Mullins was a finalist in 2022 and right fielder Anthony Santander in 2020.

Eighteen different Orioles have earned a total of 72 awards since its creation in 1957.

Defense wasn’t a team strength this season, with the Orioles leading the majors in most unearned runs allowed and tying for 19th with minus-19 Outs Above Average. Alonso was the only real possibility.

“I think the bottom line is we haven’t played great defense as a team,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said in late July. “The results have been had there. I mean, look, I think we knew going into this that the team wasn’t built around defense, but we could have played better than we have been. When you have some defensive lapses, it’s going to show up in close games.

“Certainly when it comes to those closes losses, I think we look in the mirror and I think that this team can play better defense. We talk about it. I don’t think it’s the coaches fault, and the players are working hard. I look at it, me and my staff, I think we need to do a better job in that regard. You can’t go all-in on defense. You still have to worry about other parts of the game, scoring runs. But we’re trying to get better and get smarter in the front office. This isn’t something that we don’t emphasize or don’t care about, but just the execution of it and the evaluation. So I’m focused on me and what I can do better in that regard.”

Andrés Giménez, Taylor Walls and Bobby Witt Jr. are the finalists at shortstop, with Gunnar Henderson again excluded from the group.

Tanner Bibee, Jacob deGrom and José Soriano are the pitchers; Dillon Dingler, Brandon Valenzuela and Austin Wells are the catchers; Michael Massey, Chase Meidroth and Cole Young are the second basemen; Caleb Durbin, Brooks Lee and Nick Loftin are the third basemen; José Caballero, Ezequiel Duran and Zach McKinstry are the utility players; Cody Bellinger, Wyatt Langford and Chandler Simpson are the left fielders; and Wilyer Abreu, Nathan Lukes and Cam Smith are the right fielders.

*The Orioles made another minor league move this week by signing free-agent right-hander Connor Cooke and assigning him to Triple-A Norfolk.

Depth matters, too.

They also released right-hander Alex Ramos from Class A Delmarva’s roster.

Cooke, who turns 27 in November, was the Blue Jays’ 10th-round draft pick in 2021 out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He hasn’t been with an affiliated team since 2024 at Triple-A Buffalo. He spent this year with independent Lexington Legends and posted a 2.66 ERA and 1.183 WHIP in 22 games, with five walks, 28 strikeouts and one home run surrendered in 23 2/3 innings.

Over four minor league seasons, Cooke has registered a 4.57 ERA and 1.370 WHIP with 193 strikeouts in 138 innings. He spent 2025 on the 60-day injured list after Tommy John surgery and was released in March, a hard fall from his prospect status with the Blue Jays.

Cook and Brandon Young were college teammates.

Ramos signed in July 2024 and never appeared in a game due to injuries.

*Though the Orioles finished below .500 for a second consecutive year, their 79-82 record gave Craig Albernaz a .491 winning percentage that was the highest by a full-time manager in his first season with the team since Davey Johnson’s .605 percentage (88-74) in 1996.

Yeah, those Orioles reached the American League Championship Series.

Ray Miller was 79-83 in 1998. The Orioles played 161 games this year because a storm forced a cancellation on Sept. 27 at Yankee Stadium.

The Orioles were 74-88 under Mike Hargrove in 2000, 78-84 under Lee Mazzilli in 2004, 70-92 with Sam Perlozzo in 2006, 68-93 with Dave Trembley in 2008, 69-93 under Buck Showalter in 2011, and 54-108 under Brandon Hyde in 2019 to begin the rebuild.

*A couple of former Orioles will be looking for jobs during the offseason.

The Phillies aren’t retaining infield coach Bobby Dickerson, and the Astros have included catching coach Tim Cossins among their massive changes.

Dickerson was on Showalter’s staff as bullpen and third base coach and earned a reputation as one of the top infield instructors in baseball.

Cossins joined Hyde’s staff as major league field coordinator and catching instructor. They were fired on the same day on May 17, 2025.

The Astros also announced yesterday that they aren’t renewing the contract of manager Joe Espada, who is Hyde’s brother-in-law.