Pete Alonso is about to get the kind of welcome that usually follows a homecoming, even if the feelings behind it are complicated. He returns to Citi Field today with the Orioles after signing a five-year, $155 million deal, and he has already delivered enough to make that price look justified. He’s one homer shy of 300, and reaching that number in Queens would be a fitting touch to the trip.
The Mets never seriously got into a negotiation with him, and that left plenty of their fans sour. Alonso left, and the Orioles got the payoff: big home runs and production across the board. So the ovation figures to be loud, long and a little loaded.
Once that moment passes, Baltimore has bigger concerns. The Orioles are trying to keep their Wild Card hopes alive after yesterday’s 8-1 loss in Toronto, which, combined with the Guardians’ 9-2 win in Minnesota, pushed them four games out of the final spot. They have 12 games left, including three more against the Blue Jays, three against the Brewers and three at Yankee Stadium.
The Mets, meanwhile, come in at 11 games under .500 after their 2-0 loss to the Yankees yesterday. They’ve taken seven of their last 10 and nine of 14, but they’re clearly counting down the days until the season ends.
Baltimore has seen this matchup recently enough to remember both sides of it. The Orioles dropped two of three at Citi Field in 2024 after sweeping the Mets in three games at Camden Yards the year before.
In the regular season, they’re 22-31 all-time against New York, and they’re 1-4 in the postseason. We won’t dwell on that last part.
There’s also a bullpen situation that keeps moving. Félix Bautista is eight appearances into his rehab assignment, with seven of those coming for Triple-A Norfolk.
Over 6 2/3 innings with the Tides, he’s given up two runs and four hits while walking four and striking out eight. He still hasn’t pitched on back-to-back days, though that may not be a hard requirement before he’s activated.
His rehab clock runs through Sept. 21.
The velocity chatter around Bautista keeps coming up, but the numbers haven’t exactly screamed old self yet. He reached 95.6 mph on Saturday after touching 97.9 mph in his previous outing, and a first-pitch out earlier in that inning came on a 94.8 mph sinker. That’s why the idea here isn’t that he needs to be sitting at 99-100 mph before returning, but also why 2023 Félix isn’t walking back through that door.
Yaramil Hiraldo was recalled from Norfolk yesterday when Kyle Bradish went on the 15-day injured list, and Hiraldo was charged with four runs in the eighth inning, three of them after he had already returned to the dugout with the bases loaded. That creates a simple path for Bautista when he’s ready, though the Orioles could always choose another route.
Ryan Helsley also made his first rehab appearance Saturday for Norfolk and threw 10 pitches in a perfect inning. He only got into two games during a previous assignment, so he may need a bit more work in the minors. His last outing with the Orioles came June 27, and he then went through a long shutdown that raised questions about whether he’d be back in 2026.
Baltimore has used 21 different pitchers in relief this season, though that total includes infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson and catcher Chadwick Tromp. The bullpen had posted a 2.34 ERA since Aug. 21, second-best in the majors, heading into yesterday. Then came Friday’s two-run homer allowed by Alex Hoppe and Saturday’s runs surrendered by Anthony Nunez and Cam Sanders, followed by yesterday’s eighth-inning unraveling.
Josh Walker has been one of the steadier pieces in the mix. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 16 games, covering 14 innings since Aug. 6, which is the longest Orioles streak since Yennier Cano ran 17 games from April 14-May 17, 2023. Walker has clearly used this season to build some momentum heading into spring training.
Looking ahead, there’s plenty for Baltimore to sort through. Helsley’s $14 million player option and Bautista’s expected health next spring could give the Orioles a late-inning pairing that changes the whole shape of the bullpen. The questions after that are obvious: who closes, whether it becomes a tandem setup, or whether something else emerges.
Andrew Kittredge is nearing free agency, while Cano is set to be back in 2027 unless the Orioles decide to trade him. Rico Garcia, Alex Hoppe and Grant Wolfram would all fit into a rough projection, and Anthony Nunez and Cam Sanders remain in the picture as well.
The Orioles have also moved young left-hander Luis De León into short relief, though the expectation is that they still want him developing as a starter. Albert Suárez, as the saying goes, could be told to leave and still be stuck to the window.
Bullpens don’t stay fixed for long, and Baltimore may make several changes over the winter or whenever teams are allowed to do business. A left-on-left weapon would be a clear need, even with the three-batter minimum in place.
Walker’s splits against lefties and righties, along with Wolfram’s, show why that kind of piece still matters. And if president of baseball operations Mike Elias could somehow get the 2023-24 version of Cionel Pérez back, he probably would.
Manager Craig Albernaz also said yesterday that Bradish, who is on the injured list with lower abdominal discomfort, will fly back to Baltimore for imaging. Albernaz added that another pitcher will be inserted into the rotation, and the Orioles are off Thursday.
The organization also made two more minor-league moves, promoting infielder Aron Estrada and catcher Ethan Anderson to Norfolk.
In Other News...
Orioles Suddenly Have A Real Third Base Answer For This Stretch Run
With 13 games left, the Orioles are still trying to keep themselves in the Wild Card race while juggling the realities of a season that has been battered by injuries and roster turnover. Jordan Westburgs surgery and the setbacks that followed have left a hole at third base, but the club has kept searching for answers even as it navigates the broader effort to blend present-day urgency with future-minded development.
Coby Mayo has been one of the more encouraging developments in that mix, showing better performance at a time when Baltimore needed somebody to stabilize the position. The Orioles have also continued folding in young talent from the trade deadline as part of that balancing act, and with the front office recently parting ways with vice president Matt Blood, the broader organizational picture is shifting even as this stretch run demands immediate production at the hot corner. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Have One Huge Samuel Basallo Question This Offseason
Samuel Basallos first full taste of the big leagues gave the Orioles plenty to think about, and not just because of the flashes he showed at the plate. The young catcher looked encouraging in the first half of the season before a right shoulder injury sent him to the injured list on July 22, and his year also included left knee discomfort and a left shoulder issue. For a Baltimore club always trying to balance present needs with long-term upside, Basallo remained one of the more intriguing pieces on the roster.
The challenge was what came after he returned on August 19. His batting average, slugging and exit velocity all dipped, and the timing lined up with a broader team slump as the Orioles slid out of playoff contention. That leaves Baltimore heading into the offseason with a familiar but important question around a high-upside young player: how much of the late-season drop was tied to the injuries, and what does it mean for his role going forward? [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Face A Tough Kyle Bradish Decision At The Worst Time
Kyle Bradishs latest turn only sharpened the questions already circling around the Orioles rotation. In a recent loss to Toronto, he was knocked out after three innings and gave up five runs, another uneven outing at a time when Baltimore can least afford one. The timing is especially awkward with the club still fighting through a tight playoff race and the calendar running thin.
Manager Craig Albernaz said the team is weighing all of its options, even as he continues to view Bradish as a competitor he trusts. Bradish, for his part, said fatigue is not the issue, which leaves the Orioles trying to sort out whether the problem is something they can fix on the fly or something that forces a tougher call soon. [Read more 🡒]