The Baltimore Orioles were a losing team in a year when the American League was mostly pathetic.
Going into year nine of a rebuild. And the top baseball architect and his âlil sidekick who runs the dugout are both coming back. Which tells you literally everything you need to know about owner David Rubenstein and what he really cares about (stadium upgrades, franchise value).
So as the Orioles prepare to play possibly their last game of the season Sunday in the Bronx – or maybe it will just be washed away by this storm â it begs the question of what precisely are the strengths of the roster they bring into 2027? We have chronicled, in depth, their five massive needs (we could have gone deeper with that list whatâs the use when you know feckless Mike Elias doesnât think he needs to change one bit despite the verbal garbage he will spew at his end-of-the-season press conference Monday.
The fact the Orioles will finish nearly 20 games below .500 against winning teams and roughly 20 games off the pace in the AL East for the second straight year really tells you all you need to know about the âtalentâ Elias has assembled.
But letâs keep an open mind here. Letâs try to find three true clusters of this roster than stand out as possible building blocks. There certainly arenât many and even the three we came up with have big caveats attached.
Bullpen
It was the strength of the team and they got shockingly good performances from guys like Rico Garcia, Josh Walker, Alex Hoppe, Anthony Nunez (second half). Of course, with so much variance in relief pitching in general and none of these guys having a track record of being elite for any prolonged period of time, weâll see how much carries over.
But letâs give them their due in 2026 â they enter the final day of the season 11th in the season in pen ERA (3.82), and, perhaps most importantly for a group that doesnât get as much swing-and-miss as you would like, the Oâs rank second in MLBÂ in relief pitching homers allowed. Now, being 19th in K-rate is far from ideal and they also did all of this in 2026 without a real closer. Good luck pulling that off next year and if they pretend Ryan Helsley or Felix Bautista is the answer they will pay dearly for it.
Mid-Rotation Starters
Mike Elias loves to overpay for innings eaters who grade out as league average guys â or slightly better â whether signing broken old dudes for too much or parting with too much in trade. But the 2027 Orioles have a stacked middle class of starters, especially after Brandon Youngâs breakthrough season.
Having Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz signed for years to come and Young under long-term team control gives them a better foundation that most other years during this endless rebuild. And with so many top pitching prospects now at AA and headed higher, there is depth and some quantity.
If they fail to get someone with more upside than any of them â Bradishâs control was a massive concern in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery and time will tell if that was a blip â then expect them to lack anything close to what you want for a post-season series (not that they are getting to October).
Redundant Depth
Iâm feeling generous, so weâre going to spin this as a positive. Or, Iâm desperate to get this list to three areas and Iâm really reaching here.
But Iâm going to go head and say that having Pete Alonso, who posts for 160 games a year at first base/DH, along with a ton of other power-based right-handed bats who also offer very little defensive flexibility (Coby Mayo, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Tyler OâNeill) is a strength.
If this team had anyone with a clue running it theyâd use some of this to try to address their many gaping needs, Threading a needle with CES and Mayo basically the same guy with CES better with the glove but by no means special, will be tricky. Elias loves bench pieces that donât fit and and variance in skillset/abilities so why should 2027 be any different.
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