The Orioles reach another milestone today with their last off-day in 2025.
We’re counting it.
The next break will extend through the winter and into spring training. There could be an instructional camp in January, but we’re not counting it.
Do the last six games on the schedule matter? Winning is better than losing – if we learned anything from Bull Durham – and therefore, yes, a team should keep fighting as a matter of pride and because it’s the job.
Beating the fourth-place Rays at Camden Yards, where their series begins Tuesday night, could lift the Orioles out of the basement. Beating the Yankees in the Bronx over the weekend won’t influence whether the front office is more active in the offseason or becomes convinced that they can contend. Just like losing three of four at Camden Yards doesn't lower their opinion.
President of baseball operations Mike Elias and control owner David Rubenstein already made it clear that they expect the team to contend and that injuries and some regression were major influences. They won’t be swayed by taking two of three or whatever.
Also, momentum doesn’t carry through an entire off-season and spring training. It doesn’t carry into the next day. The starting pitcher controls it.
“The Curse of the Andino” isn’t the reason why the Orioles made the playoffs in 2012, but it’s a fun story.
Let’s take this opportunity to review a few reasons why it’s worth tracking games this week while fighting the distraction of the NFL and other life-altering events.
Will an Oriole hit 20 home runs?
Jackson Holliday remains in the team lead with 17, followed by Gunnar Henderson with 16 and Colton Cowser with 15.
The mathematical possibility remains that it could happen, but Holliday hasn’t homered since breaking up Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth inning on Sept. 6. Henderson’s last homer was Aug. 24.
Don’t come at me with Ramón Laureano. He hit only 15 of his 24 homers with the Orioles.
Jay Gibbons and Chris Richard are the last Orioles in a full season to lead the club in homers with fewer than 20, finishing with 15 in 2001. The 1974, ’57, ’55 and ’54 teams also fell short.
Watch Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo co-exist.
Rutschman is expected to be reinstated from the injured list this week, maybe later today, after completing his rehab assignment. He hasn’t played since Aug. 17, with a second oblique strain sending him back onto the IL.
Basallo, the No. 1 prospect in the system, had his contract selected that day and they were together in the lineup in Houston. Rutschman didn’t play the next day, was scratched from the lineup on the 19th and went on the IL on the 21st.
A fun part of “Fan Appreciation Weekend” was yesterday’s invitation for kids to attend interim manager Tony Mansolino’s pregame media session and ask questions after the beat crew was done. A young boy wondered how Rutschman and Basallo would “work in tandem.”
We were impressed.
“Where are your parents at? Who set you up with that thing? My goodness,” Mansolino said.
“Adley Rutschman is going to be your catcher here as long as we’ve got him. He’s a really, really good catcher. The beautiful thing about Sammy Basallo is he’s also a very good first baseman. So between the first base position, the DH and the catching position, there is no doubt they can both be in the lineup at the same time pretty much every day.
“Good question.”
The naming of Most Valuable Oriole.
An informal poll reveals that it’s a two-man race between Henderson and Trevor Rogers, which is probably what you’d expect.
I can’t speak for every ballot, of course. The voting extends beyond the beat crew that’s with the team throughout the season, and we’ve had some really weird selections in past year. I mean, really, really out there.
Anyone other than Henderson and Rogers is thinking a little too far outside the box.
Only the winner is announced, along with players who also received votes. Three boxes must be filled, and the biggest debates in the press box consisted of third place – which, again, doesn’t matter in the grand scheme because the Orioles don’t award bronze medals.
Who’s No. 71?
This could be a trick question. The Orioles tied the 2024 Marlins for most players used in a season with 70. A 71st might not exist.
They claimed reliever Dom Hamel on waivers from the Mets Saturday and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. He can’t be recalled unless he’s replacing an injured player. So, maybe.
No one on the injured list would be making his season debut. No other prospects are expected to arrive this week.
Heck, you can’t even count on taxi squad catcher David Bañuelos, who appeared in one game.
The continuation of Jeremiah Jackson’s audition.
If nothing else, Jackson has earned a chance to compete for a job in spring training. Maybe it won’t be handed to him, but he’s got to be in the mix.
Jackson doubled and walked yesterday and is batting .281/.327/.456 with nine doubles, two triples, five home runs and 21 RBIs in 44 games, but he’ll need to earn the organization’s trust with his glove. He charged a bunt yesterday and threw the ball into right field.
“Thrilled with the work in right field,” Mansolino said. “You go back to that game in Wrigley and the ball that he dropped and how that affected us. Again, we’ve talked about managing failure. He managed it incredibly. He’s been really good out there. So I feel like he’s excelling in right field in a lot of ways and sky’s the limit there.
“I think here in the infield, again, I think he came up as a shortstop, probably not gonna play shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles. The next position is probably second base, probably not gonna play second base for the Baltimore Orioles. We’ve got two pretty good players out there that are gonna ideally play 150-plus every year. So kind of lands on third base and matching up.
“You’ve got Westy (Jordan Westburg) you can flip over to second base, play a legitimate second base in the big leagues. So he’s got to be able to play third. … He’s just got to continue to get opportunities and take advantage of them the way he has, and I think if he does that, you get him to spring training, makes himself a viable candidate for that utility-type role.”
Is Coby Mayo the solution at first base?
There isn’t really a problem, but Ryan O’Hearn is gone and the Ryan Mountcastle has one more year of arbitration eligibility after making $6.787 million this season.
The Orioles really like Basallo at first, but they’ve stayed patient with Mayo and worked hard to teach him the position. John Mabry is out there with him practically every day. In a perfect world, Mayo is the primary guy and Basallo spells him when he isn’t catching or serving as designated hitter. But also, Mountcastle could return and he’s a two-time Gold Glove finalist.
How it plays out is going to be interesting.
Mayo’s ability to handle the defensive responsibilities is only part of it.
“He's got to hit,” Mansolino said. "You've got to swing the bat. If you're a first baseman, the expectation of offense at first base is very different than the other positions. You're not gonna be a glove-first defender at first. That's not how that position works. I think he's shown signs of that, and I think at some point this kid's really, really going to hit in the big leagues in a lot of ways. Everybody develops at different rates, so once the bat kind of reaches its potential, is the glove good enough to play him there? Without a doubt.
"I'm not stressed out when he's playing first base right now. Early when he got here, it stressed me out. I think it stressed everybody out. Your first baseman's got to be able to play defense over there. Watching him four months later, he can play some defense over there. There are still parts of his game defensively that need to improve and he knows it and he's working his butt off in order to improve it. But it's all gonna come down to swinging the bat for the kid, and at this point that's OK. For young hitters, it takes a little bit of time."
Mayo had another hit yesterday to give him 12 in his last 10 games.
Mayo said he's growing more comfortable at first, which makes sense considering how much he’s playing it.
“There’s plays every single day that pop up that you might go back and talk to the coaching staff about, but for the most part I’m feeling good out there,” he said. “The coaching staff has done a great job all year in all parts, especially at first base with (John) Mabry and Buck (Britton) and (Robinson) Chirinos and Manso. Just everybody is doing a great job to chip in and it gives me confidence.”
Will an Oriole homer onto Eutaw Street?
They’re running out of time with only three home games left.
The Orioles did it six times last season but have watched three opponents reach the iconic stretch of road in 2025 – the Rays’ Jonathan Arranda, the Yankees’ Trent Grisham and the Reds’ Jake Fraley.
Not including the COVID 2020 season, this would be the lowest total since Chris Davis hit all three in 2015.
This also would be the ninth time that the Orioles didn’t hit a ball onto Eutaw, including the 2014, 2007, 2005, 2001, 2000, 1994, 1993 and 1992 seasons.
The more you know …