Ice-Cold Baltimore Orioles Put Manager, General Manager On Hot Seat

Manager Brandon Hyde and General Manager Mike Elias are feeling heat the more the Baltimore Orioles play as if they are encased in ice.

After making the post-season in each of the past two years, the Orioles are a woeful last in the American League East Division at 15-27 and have lost 9 of their last 11 games.

They entered play Thursday 28th in hits, 26th in batting average, on-base percentage and total bases and 25th in runs. On the mound, they were 29th in strikeouts, 28th in earned run average and saves, 26th in hits allowed.

Injuries to the pitching staff are certainly a factor. Starters Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells and reliever Andrew Kittridge, an off-season free agent signing, have not thrown a pitch that counted in 2025. Relievers Albert Suarez and Cody Poteet each worked 2 2/3 innings apiece before going on the injured list.

Bradish and Wells have been out since last season. Coupled with losing staff ace Corbin Burnes to free agency, Elias knew last winter he had to get some arms. He signed Kittridge for $10 million. The reliever got hurt in spring training. He brought in 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano from Japan for $13 million and the soft-tossing right-hander is doing well: a 4-2 record and 2.72 ERA in eight starts.

Elias also gave 41-year-old Charlie Morton a $15 million contract after the 18-year veteran went 8-10, 4.19 ERA for the Atlanta Braves in 2024. Morton is a disastrous 0-7 with an 8.35 ERA this year.

Elias also signed 37-year-old Kyle Gibson to a $5.25 million deal late in spring training. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 13.11 ERA. Really.

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers signed 12-year veteran Patrick Corbin for $1 million. He’s 3-2, 3.35 ERA. The New York Mets signed Griffin Canning for $5.45 million. He’s 5-1, 2.36 ERA. Andrew Heaney got $5.25 million from Pittsburgh. He’s 2-3, 3.15 ERA. Milwaukee signed Jose Quintana for $4 million. He’s 4-1, 2.65 ERA though just went on the injured list Wednesday.

Jekyll And Hyde?

For the past couple weeks, the Orioles have appeared quite lethargic. During a game in Minnesota last week, Twins announcers noted that during a pitching change, no Baltimore infielders ventured anywhere near the mound nor Hyde. They did not even get together to chat and were altogether aloof.

Was that a sign of giving up?

If it is, then is Hyde the man for the job? He seemed so in 2023 when Baltimore won the AL East with a 101-60 record. He got the Manager of the Year award. Losing three straight in the playoffs to the eventual World Series champion Rangers was disappointing – but Texas was red hot. In 2024, the Orioles finished second in the East at 91-71 and lost the wild-card series to the Kansas City Royals in two games. This was much more troubling: an 0-5 record in the playoffs.

And worse, Baltimore led its division on July 31 with a 65-44 record. They went 26-27 the rest of the way.

100-Game Losers

Hyde was the manager when the Orioles had 108 losses in 2019 and 110 losses in 2021. They went 83-79 in 2022 before the fine 2023 season.

Those 100-loss seasons put Hyde and the O’s among 133 MLB teams since 1900 to lose 100 or more games in a season. Recently fired managers Derek Shelton of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Bud Black of the Colorado Rockies are on that list.

There have been 44 instances where the woeful won-loss record was shared such as Pedro Grifol and Grady Sizemore last year with the Chicago White Sox. Of the 89 times when a guy lost 100 or more on his own only six men later managed in the World Series:

Bill McKechnie

1935 Boston Braves, 115 losses

*1940 Cincinnati Reds, 100 wins

Fred Haney

**1939 St. Louis Browns, 111 losses

* 1957 Milwaukee Braves, 95 wins

Gil Hodges

1964 Washington Senators,100 losses

* 1969 New York Mets 100 wins

John McNamara

1974 San Diego Padres, 102 losses

1986 Boston Red Sox, 95 wins

Joe Maddon

2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 101 losses

2008 Tampa Bay Rays, 97 wins

* 2016 Chicago Cubs, 103 wins

Torey Lovullo

2021 Arizona Diamondbacks, 110 losses

2023 Arizona Diamondbacks, 84 wins

* – Won World Series

** – Haney also lost 104 and 101 games with the Pirates in 1953 & 1954; and won a second NL pennant with the Braves in 1958

Those guys were fortunate to get another chance. Most 100-game losers are written off and seldom get to work with better players in a better situation.

The skimpy success list shows the odds are against Hyde managing a team to the World Series, however.

Several formerly successful managers later lost 100 or more, including Casey Stengel, Leo Durocher, Sparky Anderson, Chuck Tanner, Jim Leyland, Ned Yost and Ralph Houk. Management is more willing to give a guy with a winning past more leeway – or hire him in hopes that he can “work his magic,” with a group of lousy players. Clearly, that doesn’t work all the time, either.

Of all MLB managers in history, Hyde ranks 276th with a .461 won-loss percentage, one place ahead of Black. The only managers to have a lower winning percentage and win a World Series are:

Fred Haney, .453, won 1957 World Series with Milwaukee Braves

Dave Martinez, .447, won 2019 World Series with Washington Nationals

Interestingly, Martinez was the bench coach and Hyde the first-base coach when Maddon managed the 2016 Cubs to victory in the exciting seven-game World Series over the Cleveland Indians.

So Many Wins, Even More Losses

Connie Mack has the strangest managerial record. He won nine pennants and five World Series. He also finished 217 games under .500.

Mack managed the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 149-134 record in 1894-96, then had his greatest highs and lows in a remarkable 50 years as Philadelphia Athletics manager. Of course, it helped that he owned the team, so he didn’t fire himself when things went sour.

Over his final 17 seasons, Mack lost 90 or more games 10 times to finish with a career record of 3,731-3,948.

The Baltimore Orioles’ Future

Two years ago, it looked stunningly bright. The lineup was loaded with sluggers, the bullpen was sound and the starting pitchers were savvy enough to take a lead to the relief corps. The farm system was growing even more players.

Now, everything is a mess. Catcher Adley Rutschman (.200), first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (.234), third baseman Jordan Westburg (.217) and outfielders Heston Kjersted (.208) and Tyler O’Neill (.188) have seemingly forgotten how to hit. Precocious Jackson Holliday (.250) has made some strides but is nowhere near the player everybody in the game had ranked as the sport’s No. 1 prospect a year ago. Outfielder Cedric Mullins (.232) has had torrid two-week streaks at bat followed by two weeks of nothing.

There’s a lot of talent on the roster. The hitters seem to be pressing because the starting pitchers give up so many runs that the Orioles are constantly playing from behind. It is a viciously cruel cycle and perhaps the only answer is a new manager.

Replacing one man is easier than changing 10 players. Then again, does one manager make that much of a difference when 20 guys are under-achieving?

The Baltimore Orioles’ future seems as baffling as the present.