The Baltimore Orioles entered this season expecting a trip back to the playoffs. Instead, they’ve spent most of the year chasing the standard they set and missing it, with a 65-69 record leaving their postseason path looking thin.
That’s the backdrop for a tough question around Craig Albernaz. According to Karl Rasmussen of Sports Illustrated, the Orioles could choose to move on from their first-year manager after only one season if the club stumbles badly in the final stretch.
"Albernaz was only just hired by the Orioles last offseason, but the team's struggles could spell an early end to his tenure," Rasmussen writes. "... It wouldn't be a surprise if Albernaz got a second season at the helm, but if Baltimore struggles down the stretch, the 43-year-old could wind up as being a one-and-done."
For now, Baltimore is still hanging around the race. The Orioles are on the outside looking in, but they’re only 3.0 games back in a weak American League.
There’s still a real path to the postseason if they catch fire late and grab the third and final Wild Card spot. That would matter, too, because the third Wild Card team would most likely draw the winner of the AL West, and that division leader is at .500 as of August 28.
So the range of outcomes is wide. The Orioles could still rally and make this all look a lot different by the end of the month. Or they could fade in September and drift completely out of the picture.
If that second version happens, the disappointment around this team could grow even sharper, especially with the possibility that this group is nearing its end after the trade of Adley Rutschman.
Baltimore isn’t in a position to start over from scratch, and that reality may push the organization toward patience. One more run in 2027 with Albernaz and this core wouldn’t be hard to imagine.
But if the finish goes sideways, Albernaz’s first year could end up being his only year, a brutal one-and-done as Orioles manager.
In Other News...
Tyler O'Neill Said Exactly What Orioles Fans Needed To Hear
Tyler O'Neill gave the Orioles a jolt in more ways than one during their August 22 win over the Rays, most notably when he made a crucial diving catch that helped preserve the kind of late-game momentum Baltimore has been trying to build. It was the sort of all-hands contribution that has mattered so much as the club keeps pushing for a Wild Card spot, especially with reliever Andrew Kittredge also pointing to the positive energy around the team.
Now the challenge is keeping that momentum going without one of the players who helped spark it. O'Neill was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 26 because of a strained rotator cuff, and for an Orioles team trying to stay in the race, the timing makes his absence feel even more significant. The balance between recent confidence and the need to weather another injury is becoming a defining part of Baltimores stretch run. [Read more 🡒]
Trey Mancini Is Getting A Birdland Farewell Fans Will Feel
Trey Mancinis baseball journey is set to come full circle in Baltimore this month, with the former Orioles standout returning for a formal farewell that will anchor a night at Camden Yards. Mancini, who announced his retirement from professional baseball, will sign a one-day contract so he can retire as an Oriole on Sept. 19 during the game against the Brewers, a fitting touch for a player whose name still carries real weight around Birdland.
The club is planning more than a simple ceremony, too, with a limited-edition hat and a new permanent sign in the dugout among the tributes built around his return. Mancinis place in Orioles memory goes beyond his production on the field, shaped just as much by his cancer battle and comeback as by the career that followed, and he is also scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch as part of the sendoff. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles May Need A Full Outfield Reset For 2027
The Orioles have spent the last two seasons trying to patch together an outfield that has not given them much either at the plate or in the field, and the conversation around that group is starting to sound less like routine roster tinkering and more like a long-term reset. Former MLB executives Jim Duquette and Dan ODowd both raised concerns about the current mix, pointing to the lack of stability in a unit that has been hit by injuries and has not consistently solved either side of the ball.
With free-agent help looking thin and the internal options not offering an obvious fix, the discussion has widened to include bigger structural changes. One idea floating around is moving prospects like Jackson Holliday and Blaze Alexander to the outfield, while the team also weighs what to do with established names such as Colton Cowser and Tyler ONeill as it tries to build something more dependable for 2027. [Read more 🡒]