The Orioles may still not be mathematically out of the playoff race, but the real picture is already clear: this season is going nowhere, and the bigger question is what the 2027 roster looks like if Mike Elias is still calling the shots.
That matters because ownership, based on what has been said and what is being heard around the league, does not appear ready to make a change. So with Elias likely still in place, the focus shifts to which bats on the 40-man roster are part of the next wave and which ones are headed out the door.
The first group looks like the foundation Elias would want to keep around: Pete Alonso, Jordan Westburg, Blaze Alexander, Samuel Basallo, Coby Mayo, Dylan Beavers, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Tyler O’Neill and Carlos Narvaez.
Alonso is the easy one, since he is already signed long-term. Westburg fits the same broad picture, while Alexander is young enough to stay in the mix.
Mayo needs more at-bats next season, and maybe more time at DH. Encarnacion-Strand has produced runs, and Elias has shown a willingness to bet on those AAAA-type bats when he thinks he has found something.
Narvaez also fits what they can use alongside Basallo, since he is bilingual and a strong receiver.
O’Neill is a different case. The Orioles are not expected to buy him out, even though Dan O’Dowd and Jim Duquette and others believed he should have been gone at the trade deadline.
Then there is the next cluster, where the future starts to get messy: Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle, Luis Robert Jr., Leody Taveras, Yohel Pozo, Rece Hinds, Christian Franklin and Heston Kjerstad.
Henderson is the biggest name in that group, and the hardest one to sort out. Elias knows he cannot fix him.
Henderson has gone from a top-five MVP candidate in June 2024 to a sub-.700 OPS player who cannot play shortstop, gets picked off, does not get on base enough for his speed to matter, and has become, in the article’s words, “the embodiment of frustration.” With two years of control left, the sense is that the Orioles will not wait forever.
Selling low would hurt, but the risk of more damage in 2027 could be worse. The expectation here is that he is gone by the 2027 trade deadline at the latest, and possibly sooner.
The Adley Rutschman trade is framed as only the beginning of a larger cleanup among former first-round and first-overall picks who do not appear long for Baltimore.
Mountcastle’s $7.5 million team option means he has to go. Robert Jr.’s $20 million option is too much for a player whose body is broken.
Taveras is no longer catching the ball well and played too much this year, while Enrique Bradfield Jr. is seen as a possible fourth outfielder. The rest are viewed as AAAA types, and the Orioles will keep finding new ones.
Heston Kjerstad, meanwhile, will be 28 and is stuck on the bench, though at least he has not been marooned in Norfolk for 250 games.
The final group is the one that may be squeezed hardest by the roster math: Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser and Jeremiah Jackson.
Holliday came up often before the deadline, and the bat has not taken off the way the Orioles wanted after some adjustments. He also is not good at second base.
If the club does not believe he can handle the outfield, he could be moved even if Henderson is gone. Westburg would be a better fit at second, Mayo and Encarnacion-Strand can handle third, and Alexander would be an upgrade at shortstop over Henderson and far better than Holliday there.
Cowser, a former fifth-overall pick, is viewed as a fourth outfielder. That makes him a difficult fit, and while he would not bring much back on his own, he could be included in a larger package of broken prospects. The Orioles badly need a real everyday center fielder next season, free agency is not expected to provide one, and trades will matter.
Jeremiah Jackson also looks expendable. If Westburg returns, his role becomes redundant, and with Mayo and Encarnacion-Strand already ahead of him among right-handed bats, this feels like the end.
In Other News...
Why Orioles Fans Still Wonder What Happened To Merv Rettenmund
Merv Rettenmund gave Orioles fans a brief but vivid reminder of what a polished left-handed bat could look like in Baltimore. In his early seasons with the club, he hit well enough to earn a place in World Series lineups and looked like a player who could stick as part of the core, even as the roster around him kept evolving.
What makes Rettenmund such a lingering question for Orioles followers is how quickly that promise began to fade after 1971. A changed swing, injuries and mental challenges all played a role, and the once-promising outfielder never fully got back to that early level before moving on to the Reds, Padres and Angels. He later earned respect as a hitting coach, and his death in 2024 at 81 only sharpened the sense that Baltimore never quite got the full story of what might have been. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Infield Depth Suddenly Matters More Than Fans Wanted
With Gunnar Henderson nursing a sore left knee and Blaze Alexander sidelined by back spasms, the Orioles had a clear need to shore up their infield options. Baltimore answered by adding Jeremiah Jackson to the major league taxi squad, giving the club another versatile glove in case the current injury situation lingers.
Jackson, signed to a minor league deal in November 2024, has not yet appeared in the majors for Baltimore, but his ability to handle multiple positions makes him a useful insurance piece. For a team already trying to keep its everyday alignment intact, the move is a reminder that depth can become a daily concern fast when the middle of the diamond starts to thin out. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Suddenly Have A Lineup Concern They Cant Ignore
The Orioles lineup has taken another hit just as they are trying to keep their infield and outfield depth steady for the stretch run. Blaze Alexander was placed on the 10-day injured list because of low back discomfort, and Baltimore brought Jeremiah Jackson back up to take his roster spot. Alexander has been one of the more useful surprise pieces on hand, hitting .303/.358/.414 over 93 games while providing steady versatility around the diamond.
The bigger worry, though, is that Alexander is not the only regular sidelined right now. Gunnar Henderson is also dealing with left knee discomfort and is out of the lineup, which has forced Baltimore to shuffle pieces and move Jackson Holliday and Jeremiah Jackson into different spots. For a team that has leaned on flexibility all season, the timing makes this a tricky spot, with the Orioles now having to manage not just one absence but the way multiple absences ripple through the lineup. [Read more 🡒]