The Baltimore Orioles had a disastrous season in 2025. Many had expected the Orioles to gain a playoff spot for the third consecutive year, but the team sunk like a stone from the very early part of the season. That's a problem when playing in the American League East because the competition is simply too tough.
The New York Yankees are always going to be in the race and they are not going to go away any time soon. The Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays engaged in a race for the division title last year. The Bronx Bombers had the edge through the early part of the season but the Blue Jays surged past them in June.
Instead of pulling away, the two teams battled to the end and the Blue Jays gained first place because they had a better head to head record against the Yankees after the two teams finished tied with a 94-68 record. The Boston Red Sox finished in third place in the division and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2021 with an 89-73 record.
The Orioles fell all the way to the cellar with a 75-87 record as they could not get out of their own way and could not even pass the homeless (technically) Tampa Bay Rays.
Orioles made big changes in offseason
Despite the failure, the Orioles were not about to accept their performance without making some big moves in the offseason. General manager Mike Elias made a couple of huge moves as the Orioles hired Craig Albernaz as manager after he served as a coach for the San Francisco Giants and the Cleveland Guardians.
Albernaz will bring a new voice and a new perspective, and that should help get the bad taste of the 2025 season out of the Orioles' collective mouths. But that was not enough. Elias made a huge move in free agency when the Orioles signed slugger Pete Alonso away from the New York Mets.
Alonso was the Mets' all-time leading home run hitter and he will fit right in the middle of what should be a dynamic lineup. In addition to Alonso, the Orioles have potential stars in Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday to fill out several of the key positions in their lineup.
The presence of Alonso will hopefully make all of them better. However, it will take a while before he helps Holliday. He will be out with a broken hamate bone and he underwent successful surgery in February.
There's a chance Holliday could be back in late April or May, but there are no guarantees. As a result of Holliday's injury and successful surgery, Blaze Alexander will likely play the position in his absence. However, Jeremiah Jackson will also have a shot to win the job and the two will have a battle for the position — at least in the early weeks of spring training.
The 26-year-old Alexander has played 135 big league games over the past two seasons. He is a right-handed hitter who batted .230 with 12 doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 28 RBIs over 74 games for the Diamondbacks. As a fielder, he has played third base (49 games), second base (14), left field (4) and center field (3).
Jackson does not have as much experience. He started the 2025 season at Double-A Chesapeake and then received a promotion to Norfolk at Triple-A. He put together some excellent numbers, hitting .377 with 11 home runs and 22 RBI. That got the Orioles' attention and he got his chance to play in the big leagues with Baltimore last season. He slashed .276/.328/.447 with 5 home runs and 21 RBI while playing 48 games and gaining 183 plate appearances.
After he was promoted to the Orioles, he primarily played outfield and 3rd base last season and he also played 1 game at 2nd base. He will get his chance to compete for the 2nd base job while Holliday recovers.
Ryan Mountcastle is still with the Orioles — for now
Ryan Mountcastle has been a solid slugger for the Orioles throughout the majority of his career, but he was limited to 89 games last season because of a hamstring injury. While he did sign a one-year contract with the Orioles during the offseason, Alonso plays 1st base and it will be his position.
Mountcastle and Colby Mayo are likely to play backup roles for the Orioles for the time being. Mountcastle certainly has power and he has proved it throughout his 6-year career with the Orioles. He belted 33 home runs in 2021, and he has a per game average of 24 home runs.
He will be a free agent at the end of the 2026 season, but the Orioles may end up trading him at some point during the season. While Alonso will play 1st base, Mountcastle can man the designated hitter role if Albernaz wants to use him in that position.
Mountcastle is a popular figure among his teammate, and it will be hard to trade him and take him away from the locker room. However, that does seem the likely outcome — especially if the Orioles find themselves in contention for a playoff spot this season.
