Gunnar Henderson’s move to the leadoff spot has only been in place for about a week, but the Orioles are already staring at the ripple effects. The change has nudged Henderson toward better on-base habits, yet it has also pushed Taylor Ward into the three-hole at a time when Camden Yards is already doing a number on his power.
That matters because the Orioles have been stuck in a familiar rut. They’ve scored three runs or fewer in six of their last nine games and four or fewer in seven of nine, and the lineup still hasn’t found a real jolt.
Henderson has gotten on base more, and he’s been more selective - he’s not pulling the ball as much and he’s not chasing as much - but those trends were already taking shape before the switch. The move hasn’t unlocked a power spike.
He has three home runs in his last 35 games since his last two-homer outing.
There have been some small positives. Since moving up a spot, Henderson has scored in five of six games, added a couple doubles and had a two-walk game.
He’s also been walking and striking out at a strong clip since the start of June, with 17 walks and 19 strikeouts. But the bigger issue is what the Orioles expected from him in the first place.
They needed an MVP-level bat, and right now he looks more like Ward: on-base production that isn’t carrying enough punch behind it.
The home split is especially hard to ignore. Henderson has basically the same slugging percentage and OPS at home and on the road, which is a problem for a player who should be feasting at Camden Yards.
At home this season, he’s sitting on a .262 SLG and .636 OPS, with five homers and 23 RBIs. That’s a long way from the 36 homers and 103 RBIs he posted last year.
Ward’s situation is even uglier. The former 35-homer hitter has had his power stripped away as an Oriole, and the left-field wall at Camden Yards has been a major factor.
He has only four doubles at home this season and no other extra-base hits there. He’s also got eight RBIs at Camden Yards.
If Henderson leads off and Ward stays in the three spot, the Orioles are making a choice that could backfire quickly.
Craig Albernaz explained the lineup change before the White Sox series late last month by saying, “It just breaks up the rhythm, breaks up the cadence, breaks up the routine,” Albernaz said when he made the change before the White Sox series late last month. “Obviously, both of those guys (Ward and Henderson) have hit in those two spots this year and in year’s past, so not a big change for them. Hopefully it kind of gets something going for us.”
So far, it hasn’t.
The base paths haven’t helped Henderson’s case either. He was picked off again over the weekend, and his stolen-base line - seven steals, four times caught stealing, and five pickoffs - doesn’t match his talent or athleticism.
The Orioles said part of the reason for moving him down was to ease the pressure on him, but leading off doesn’t really accomplish that. He’s also been used as the designated hitter only six times, and that number should be much higher.
There are other options the Orioles are not using. Albernaz has resisted moving Blaze Alexander, who has been the MLB leader in batting average since April 28, higher in the order.
Samuel Basallo, the 21-year-old catcher who has opened his career on an historic tear, is also carrying a heavy load. A version of the lineup with Henderson, Alexander and then Rustschman/Basallo would at least make more sense, especially with Alexander reaching base nearly 40 percent of the time for more than two full months.
Defensively, there’s even a small hint - and it’s a stretch - that Henderson’s improved metrics might be tied to the switch. He had a very strong series at the Reds. But that’s more speculation than proof.
The Orioles are going to need something to change soon. Since May 1, they’ve been held to three runs or fewer 29 times, which puts them in the bottom 10 in MLB, and they’re 5-24 in those games. If the current arrangement is going to stay in place through this homestand, it better start paying off fast.
In Other News...
Yankees Suddenly Have New Deadline Chips Fans Arent Talking About
A few lower-level Yankees prospects have started to make themselves more interesting at just the right moment, and that matters with the August 3 trade deadline approaching. Thatcher Hurd, Kyle Carr and Stiven Marinez are each showing enough in their own way to draw attention, whether it is Hurd working back from Tommy John surgery, Carr handling both Double-A and Triple-A, or Marinez holding his own in Rookie Ball.
For a front office that is always weighing present needs against future depth, that kind of progress can change the conversation quickly. Hurds recent outing hinted at real upside, Carr has paired command with swing-and-miss stuff, and Marinez has been productive as a teenager in the Florida Complex League after the Yankees made room for him in the international market. If those trends keep going, the Yankees may have a few more ways to navigate the deadline than fans realize. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Suddenly Linked To The Deadline Move Fans Have Been Demanding
The Yankees recent slide has only sharpened the conversation around what they might need to do before the trade deadline, especially with the club looking for a way to steady itself after a rough stretch. With about a month left before the 2026 deadline, the focus is drifting toward big-name pitching help, and one familiar front-line arm has started to surface in that conversation as a possible fit for a team trying to get back on track.
Sandy Alcantara is the kind of starter who would change the tone of any deadline discussion, and his name carries obvious appeal for a Yankees club that wants more certainty on the mound. Even so, any pursuit comes with the usual questions tied to his recent injury history and how he would hold up over the rest of the season, which is part of why this feels like the sort of move that could dominate the final weeks before the deadline. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Deadline Reunion Rumor Raises Big Question About This Lineup
The Yankees offense has spent much of the season looking like a group still searching for a spark, which is why any deadline chatter tied to middle-infield help is going to draw attention. One name floating into the conversation is a familiar one, and the appeal is obvious on the surface: a bat with enough familiarity to make the fit feel easy, at least in theory, for a club trying to patch over its lineup issues.
But the deeper look is where the uncertainty starts to creep in. The player in question has dealt with oblique trouble for much of the year, and even with the Yankees clearly needing more production, there are reasons to wonder whether this is the kind of move that solves the right problem. For a team under pressure to hit better now, the deadline will be about more than reunion nostalgia. [Read more 🡒]