What does a "successful" rest of the season look like in Baltimore?

The 2025 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Baltimore Orioles.

At 19-36, the O’s have dug themselves quite a hole to kick off the campaign. Time is not their friend. 

As the calendar rapidly approaches June, expectations from the offseason feel distant. A great comeback is still possible, but Baltimore is heading toward the middle innings down a handful of runs. 

This week on “The Bird’s Nest,” Annie Klaff and I zoomed in. Expectations, hopes and goals must be modified as circumstances change. The standings are what they are, and now, pose a new question: what does a “successful” rest of the year look like? 

That’s the question we attempted to tackle. With a quick rundown of our thoughts here, you can find more in-depth analysis in our latest episode: https://masn.me/c9bhmg4f 

Making the Playoffs 

The first pathway to success lies in the most obvious way: a mid-season surge that gets the O’s on a roll all the way to the postseason.

It’s certainly not impossible. The Orioles would likely need to finish the season about 10 games over .500, based on the record of the previous final playoff teams. To do that, Baltimore would need to, at least, match their winning percentage from the 2023 season at over 60 percent. Much of that same core is still in Orioles orange, talent that we’ve seen perform at a high level.  

Everything would need to fall perfectly into place, but hey, with the injury luck that the O’s have endured, maybe they’re due. 

Retool, not Rebuild 

If all had gone according to plan, the Orioles, more than likely, would have been buyers at this year’s deadline, moving prospects for some high-end starting pitching and bullpen help. The season has, of course, not gone according to plan, and Baltimore could find themselves in a seller’s market. 

Picture this: the O’s shift gears, moving some expiring contracts for young, controllable arms. Those controllable arms are ready to contribute to winning at the big league level sooner rather than later, giving Baltimore serious value for players that may not have been in their future plans to begin with. Sure, they’ve moved on before anyone had hoped they would’ve, but the Orioles suddenly find value in trading players that may have walked in free agency for nothing. 

So, a season that didn’t find success in the win column has suddenly recouped value, and the O’s are ready to make a charge in 2026. A “reset” year, while falling short of expectations in the short-term, could still be beneficial down the line. 

Reasons for Optimism 

Success isn’t always defined by the wins and losses. 

It’s easy to look at the standings and point to the Orioles’ offseason moves. Mike Elias was the first to admit that the front office may have fallen short in their roster construction responsibilities. 

However, those moves were meant to supplement one of the best young cores in baseball. A core which has, for the most part, been underperforming to start the year. We’ve seen elite play from players like Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman in the past, but it hasn’t clicked in 2025. 

The O’s can make whatever supplemental moves they want, but getting their young core back to playing their best baseball is priority number one. 

So, perhaps a “successful” rest of the season isn’t defined by the wins and losses. Perhaps it’s felt in the later months. Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish could be back in the rotation tossing gems. Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg’s returns could bring some jolts of energy into the lineup and clubhouse. Henderson and Rutschman could return to their elite forms. Players like Heston Kjerstad and Ryan Mountcastle could find their power swings once more. Plus, perhaps Baltimore could get an extended look at top prospects Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo. 

Of course, the word “could” appeared abundantly in that scenario. All of that happening would certainly result in some more wins, too. The point being: this team will go as the young core goes. If they show signs of a return to form down the stretch, there’s a lot of reason for optimism in 2026. 

The story of the 2025 season is a long way away from being written. There is a scenario in which the Orioles make a miraculous comeback and find themselves in the postseason, and there is one in which they fall short of their preseason expectations. The outcomes don’t have to be so black and white, however. 

Perhaps there’s a space for “success” with a re-defined lens.