Whether it’s been the Blue Jays, the Orioles, or both, birds have been living near the top of the AL East since the start of the 2020s. Last year, the Blue Jays reigned supreme, but the Orioles are aiming to rewrite the script after having a busy offseason. Let’s take a look at where Baltimore stood last year, as well as their outlook for this season.

It started poorly, and it remained poor for the Orioles throughout their 2025 campaign. Coming into a season where expectations were high, their only taste of first place in the AL East was after an Opening Day win over the Blue Jays. After that, they never saw first place again, and after April 22nd, they’d be in last place for the remainder of the season.

The Orioles hovered around the bottom-third of the league in several categories, including batting average (.235), runs per game (3.97), ERA (4.60), and WHIP. They suffered 35 losses in which they lost by 5 or more runs and were 22-30 against AL East foes. All in all, they finished 75-87, their worst record since 2021.

Injuries and trades held the Orioles to just two hitters who logged over 100 games last season. Those two were Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday, who both churned out subpar stat lines relative to expectations, although it was Holliday’s first full season in the bigs, to be fair. Henderson slashed .274/.349/.438 with 17 home runs, 68 RBIs, and a career-best 34 doubles. The strikeouts were down, and he posted an OPS of 1.037 with runners in scoring position on the season, but his slugging was down noticeably.

Holliday got off to a nice start to his sophomore season before things cooled off. Through 149 games, he hit .242 with a .690 OPS, 17 home runs, and 53 RBIs, including a homer that broke up a Yoshinobu Yamamoto no-hitter in the ninth inning of a September tilt against the Dodgers. There are plenty of strides for Holliday to make both at the plate and in the field (-8 OAA and -11 DRS aren’t pretty), but at just 22 years of age and improvements made from year one to year two, there has to be some encouragement there.

Unfortunately for the club, it was a rough season for their backstop Adley Rutschman, who was held to just 90 games after suffering right and left oblique strains. In the games that he was able to play, however, he posted a .220/.307/.366 slash line with 9 homers and 29 RBIs, moving him further away from his All-Star and Silver Slugger 2023 season. It also prompted some trade rumours in the media-sphere, which should always be taken with a grain of salt, but with slugging prospect Samuel Basallo knocking on the door and even making his debut last year, that trade talk sounded somewhat valid.

Rutschman’s injury-riddled season, coupled with poor play, is a great setup for a bounce-back campaign for the switch-hitting backstop. But it certainly didn’t help the Orioles last season, with things already hitting the fan. It was hard to turn to others for help due to a stockpile of injuries. Tyler O’Neill (wrist, shoulder), Colton Cowser (thumb, concussion), Jordan Westburg (hamstring, ankle), and Ryan Mountcastle (hamstring) all hit the shelf at some point last season.

Given the trajectory of Baltimore’s season, multiple impact bats were dealt away at the trade deadline, including Ramón Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn, and long-time Oriole Cedric Mullins. Laureano had paved his way to every day playing time, and you could argue he would’ve done that even with the Orioles at full strength; he hit .290 with an .884 OPS in 82 games with Baltimore, numbers that he had achieved only a couple of times through his 8-year career.

Although this article paints a dark picture, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Orioles last season.

Trevor Rogers, a starting pitcher they acquired at the ’24 trade deadline, pitched at an All-Star level for them over 18 starts. He posted a 1.81 ERA through 109 2/3 frames, a 0.90 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, and a career-best 2.4 BB/9, and he allowed more than two earned runs in a single start only twice.

Sending away a pair of talented young players in Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby to get Rogers, this was an excellent turn of events for the Orioles. With Stowers having an impressive year with the Marlins, the aftermath of this trade wasn’t tilting in Baltimore’s favour until Rogers began to shove.

The Orioles also got Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells back from their respective elbow surgeries in the later stages of last season. Bradish made six starts and allowed just nine earned runs over 32 innings, good for a 2.53 ERA and 13.2 K/9. Wells made just four starts, allowing only four earned runs over 21 2/3 innings and striking out 18.

The Orioles received tough news during August of last season, losing closer Félix Bautista to shoulder surgery. After missing all of 2024, Bautista will be in line to miss most, if not all, of 2026. To make matters worse, Yennier Cano regressed heavily last season, posting a 5.12 ERA in 62 games, and his strikeout rate dropping 5%.

Like the batting order, Baltimore dealt away a pair of high-leverage arms at last year’s deadline, sending Seranthony Domínguez to the Blue Jays and Gregory Soto to the Mets.

Baltimore addressed several position groups during their offseason spending, but we’ll start with their acquisition of one of the best sluggers in baseball since his debut in 2019, Pete Alonso. The 31-year-old first baseman has hit 264 home runs since he entered the big leagues, with only Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber hitting more in that time period.

Aside from the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Alonso has hit at least 34 home runs and 88 RBIs in each season he has played, while also logging at least 152 games. Last year, he hit .272/.347/.524 with 38 homers, 126 RBIs, and an NL-best 41 doubles. He played in all 162 games for the second consecutive season, and he also made his fourth consecutive All-Star game. Signed at five years for $155 million, Alonso is the highest-paid player on Baltimore’s roster by AAV and total volume. They will be hoping he doesn’t turn into Chris Davis 2.0.

The Orioles continued to add to their lineup by trading for LF Taylor Ward from the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for SP Grayson Rodriguez. Like Alonso, Ward has been very durable in recent seasons, playing in all but 11 games during his previous two campaigns. While his batting average dipped last season, his slugging percentage increased by 50 points as he hit 36 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 31 doubles, all career-bests.

By parting ways with Rodriguez, the O’s are giving him a fresh start with another franchise after being one of their top prospects for several seasons. After making his debut in 2023, Rodriguez would only make 43 starts in his Orioles career, and he missed all of last season with lat and elbow injuries.

Baltimore stayed in the trading mood by acquiring UTIL Blaze Alexander from the Diamondbacks in exchange for reliever Kade Strowd and a pair of prospects. Alexander has played in 135 games between the ’24 and ’25 seasons, hitting .237/.322/.366 with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs. His defensive versatility is probably his best attribute, as he has played at second, third, shortstop, left field, and centre field so far in his career.

To round out their offensive additions, the O’s inked OF Leody Taveras to a one-year, $2 million deal, and they signed veteran 2B Thairo Estrada to a minor league deal. Taveras, a member of the Texas’ World Series run in 2023, split time with the Rangers and Mariners last season, hitting just .205 with a .530 OPS, three home runs, and 17 RBIs. Like Alexander, he will likely serve as a depth piece on their bench.

On the mound, the Orioles traded with the Rays to acquire starter Shane Baz in exchange for prospects C Caden Bodine, OF Slater de Brun, RHP Michael Forret, OF Austin Overn and a 2026 Competitive Balance Round A draft pick. Once a top prospect in Tampa Bay’s system, Baz made 31 starts last season, the most of his career after having multiple elbow surgeries earlier in his career.

Baz rode peaks and valleys last season, failing to find much consistency. He finished the year with a 4.87 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and a 9.5 K/9. Baz pitched all of his home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field (home of the Yankees’ single-A affiliate) last season, and his road numbers were far better than what they were at home. Should he register another full season of work, it will be interesting to see how his numbers look, pitching his home games at Camden Yards. Baz averaged 97 mph on his fastball last year and held whiff percentages in the 20s on that pitch, as well as his knuckle curve, cutter, and changeup.

Baltimore further bolstered their rotation with the signings of veteran arms Chris Bassitt and Zach Eflin to respective one-year contracts. Bassitt just concluded a three-year stint with the Blue Jays in which he continued to represent consistency and durability, posting at least 30 starts with an ERA no higher than 4.16 during all three seasons of that contract. He pitched out of the bullpen during the ALCS and World Series last year, allowing just one earned run over 8 2/3 innings. For a rotation that has been decimated by injuries, Bassitt’s resume brings a breath of fresh air.

Eflin was acquired by the Orioles before the 2024 trade deadline from the Rays, and after completing the absorbed contract with Tampa, the Orioles are bringing him back for another go. The right-hander was limited to just 14 starts last year due to lat and lower back injuries. In the starts he was able to make, he pitched to a 5.93 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and a 6.3 K/9, some of his worst numbers since the beginning of his career. In his defense, he did post three solid starts before his first injury.

The rotation of Baz, Bassitt, Eflin, Rogers, and Bradish does push Wells to the bullpen; the tall righty has stated he is ready for the challenge.

Somewhat similar to Eflin’s path, the Orioles are reconnecting with reliever Andrew Kittredge via a trade from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash. Kittredge was signed by the Orioles to a one-year deal last season with a $9 million club option for ’26, but he was dealt to the Cubs at the trade deadline. Just like that, he’s back again! Between the Cubs and Orioles last year, the 36-year-old righty owned a 3.40 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, a 10.9 K/9, and a 1.9 BB/9.

Kittredge and Wells could find themselves in many high-leverage roles, but with Bautista on the sidelines, the Orioles inked closer Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $20 million deal with a player opt-out following this year.

A long-time Cardinal, Helsley was dealt to the Mets at last year’s trade deadline and struggled mightily. He recorded a 7.20 ERA over his 22 outings as a Met after holding a 3.00 ERA and 21 saves to start the year with St. Louis. The fastball velocity was still present with an average of 99 mph, but opponents were hitting it at a .422 clip with a .667 slugging percentage. He’s had five scoreless outings in this year’s Spring Training as he looks to get back on track.

Every team deals with injuries, but Baltimore has really been through the wringer the past few seasons, especially last year. And, oh yeah, don’t think they’re out of the hole just yet. Holliday and Westburg are already out with hamate and elbow injuries, respectively. Holliday is scheduled to take live batting practice this week, and Westburg has avoided surgery to this point, so the long-term outlook might be OK.

The Orioles would be a fun playoff team, particularly with the ceiling that their offense provides with the addition of Alonso and another year under Holliday’s belt (once he’s healthy). I think it’s fair to say the pressure is starting to mount to some degree for the likes of Rutschman and Henderson, especially with Rutschman due for free agency following the 2027 season. Being the young, up-and-coming stars of the league can only be the narrative for so long. Just two playoff appearances and no playoff wins since they’ve made the majors will start to become the storyline, if it hasn’t already.

Despite making several tweaks to the pitching staff, the Orioles still feel like they need an ace, and this was an offseason where  Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, Dylan Cease, and Michael King were available.

The Orioles are a team where it wouldn’t shock me if they made the playoffs, but it wouldn’t shock me if they miss it, either. They’ve got the talent, but the rest of the AL East is still talented, and there are questions as to whether their pitching staff can hold it together for an entire season. Do we know how good Shane Baz is with just one full season under his belt? Can Trevor Rogers repeat what he did last year? Can everyone stay healthy?