The Orioles are heading toward 2027 with a roster that still has more holes than answers, but there are a few places where the shape of the team actually looks respectable.
Start with the bullpen, which was the clearest strength on a club that spent much of the year searching for stability. Baltimore got unexpectedly strong work from Rico Garcia, Josh Walker, Alex Hoppe and Anthony Nunez in the second half.
Relief pitching can turn on a dime, though, and none of those arms has built a long stretch of elite production. Even so, the numbers were real enough to matter: the Orioles enter the final day of the season 11th in the season in pen ERA at 3.82, and they rank second in MLB in relief pitching homers allowed.
That came without a true closer, and they were 19th in K-rate, which leaves plenty of reason to doubt how much of this carries into next season.
The rotation is the other area that gives Baltimore something to point at. Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz are signed for years, and Brandon Young’s breakthrough season gives the Orioles a stronger middle class than they’ve had in a while.
Young is under long-term team control, which matters on a staff like this. There’s also depth behind them, with several top pitching prospects at Double-A and moving higher.
The catch is obvious: if the Orioles don’t add a starter with more upside than the ones already in place, the group still won’t look like a postseason rotation. Bradish’s control was a real concern in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, so there’s still some uncertainty baked in.
The last strength is more of a power cluster than a balanced lineup, but it’s still a real one. Pete Alonso gives the Orioles a bat that shows up for 160 games a year at first base and DH, and he’s joined by a collection of right-handed power hitters who bring plenty of thump and very little defensive flexibility: Coby Mayo, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Tyler O’Neill.
There’s a fit problem there, especially with Mayo and CES, who are described as basically the same player, with CES better with the glove but not by much. Still, in pure roster terms, that’s one of the few places where Baltimore can point to a defined offensive identity, even if it’s a clunky one.
That leaves the Orioles with three pockets of strength, but also a roster that still looks built around compromise. The bullpen has been effective, the rotation has some structure, and the lineup has power. Beyond that, the questions keep coming.
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Gibsons 2026 season was not a straight line, with a rough June and a return trip to Triple-A Norfolk before he settled in and began showing better control and more swing-and-miss stuff late in the year. The Orioles do not need to crown him based on one start, but the ingredients are there for cautious optimism, and his September work gave the organization a reminder that he could still factor into the rotation picture down the road. [Read more 🡒]