Orioles try to come to grips with another playoff sweep and pending losses within clubhouse

Cionel Pérez sat frozen on the Orioles’ bench on a 65-degree night at Camden Yards. Most of his teammates who stood at the dugout railing and watched the Royals celebrate on their field had gone inside. Pérez didn’t budge except for the moment when he lowered his head.

Pérez rubbed his hands across his face, but he couldn’t make it all go away.

The Royals did that to the Orioles in the Wild Card round, winning 2-1 to sweep the series. It’s always jolting, the elongated and exhausting stretch from report dates in spring training to the playoffs followed by an abrupt finish. The slamming of brakes can rattle bones.

The Orioles traded for ace Corbin Burnes and got a new ownership group. They won 101 games in 2023 and thought they’d do better. But the second half was “mid,” as the younger generation says, and in the truest sense at .500. Injuries devastated the team, and it doesn’t matter that others had similar experiences throughout baseball. That fact does nothing to minimize the impact on the Orioles, who lost their rotation except for Burnes as well as key members of their bullpen and lineup. It bordered on cruel. Some would say exceeded it.

Media entering the visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field in Texas last October were met with an eerie silence, players sitting with stunned and pained expressions. It was like walking into a viewing before the funeral. Last night was similar in some areas but mostly teammates circled the room and hugged. That was the only sound created, the smacking of backs.

A few lasted longer than others.

Anthony Santander had a long embrace with Gunnar Henderson, whose eyes were red and filled with tears. He whispered into the shortstop’s ear, the only one doing the talking. The moment was private inside a crowded room, and it was emotional because Santander could be gone in free agency and this had the look and feel of a genuine goodbye, with advice left for the young star to carry into next season.

Henderson probably will be a top five finisher in Most Valuable Player voting after winning Rookie of the Year in 2023, but he struck out three times last night, taking the season’s final swing. He was inconsolable. Santander did his best.

This is an extremely close group, and just like in Texas, players scanned the room and wondered how many of them would be gone by next spring. Santander and Corbin Burnes hugged, which also provided a mental snapshot for observers because of the possibility that they’re both with different teams next year.

Santander later stood with his hands on his hips and just stared, expressionless, at teammates, at everything that unfolded in front of him. Taking his own mental pictures. It’s hard to see that and not be moved.

Henderson and Adley Rutschman tried to hold back tears but that proved to be an impossible task – harder than scoring runs against Kansas City pitching. They had been crying immediately after the game.

“I mean, it obviously sucks whenever you’re done at the end of the year,” Henderson said, readying himself for the huge media scrum after asking for more time. “Everybody knew that we could make a pretty good run this year and it just didn’t happen.”

What can be done to go further?

“Obviously, just get back in these situations,” he said, “and I feel like the more we’re in it, the better prepared we’re going to be.”

It won’t be the same group. That’s a huge part of the hurt.

“There’s a lot of great guys in this clubhouse,” said Ryan Mountcastle. “I wish we could have them all back, but it’s just the nature of the game. Guys are going to move around. It was a great team we had this year.”

Burnes already was lined up for a mega-payday and he did nothing in 2024 to hurt his bargaining power, especially with his Game 1 gem that went unrewarded in a 1-0 loss. He’s likely to leave for greener pastures – cash instead of grass - and the Orioles gave up DL Hall and Joey Ortiz for the rental.

The former Cy Young winner wasn’t ready to think about his future last night while the present was playing out in front of him.

“It’s still so fresh,” said Burnes, who signed a jersey for Henderson’s collection.

“Take time to digest the season and just really look at what I was able to accomplish this season and what we were able to accomplish as a team. Once you go over that and watch a couple more postseason games and let it dig into you a little more, then you start looking for what’s next.

“Right now, it’s getting home and seeing the family. I was away from them for most of the season. So got a lot of quality time with them to make up for. So that’s first and foremost, but once I get home, get settled, get through a little bit longer of the postseason, I can start looking at it.”

James McCann is one of the pending free agents who would like to stay but will let his agent search for the best offer and situation.

“I haven’t really thought that far ahead,” he said. “We didn’t come into this series expecting it to be our last series, we didn’t come into tonight’s game even down 0-1 that we were expecting it to be our last game. I haven’t really thought much past this particular moment, honestly.”

McCann is in his 11^th major league season with his fourth team and the goodbyes actually get harder.

“As you get older you realize that there’s a lot of things you can’t control as far as who your going to be teammates with again," he said. "There’s been a lot of times in my career where I expected to be teammates with someone and I ended up not being teammates with them. That’s the hardest part of this game is you form these relationships, and by things you can’t control, you may or may not ever be teammates again. So those emotions are real, and it’s difficult to swallow.”

The Orioles hold a $7.5 million option on Ryan O'Hearn's contract for next season, which also clouds his future. His career was revived in Baltimore.

"A lot of really good people in this clubhouse," he said. "Some friends that I'll hopefully have forever. Hopefully everybody comes back. I know that's not how the business works. It just sucks. Hopefully as many of the guys in this clubhouse, a lot of them come back because they're all great people and talented baseball players. I think we're better than what we just showed."

Reliever Danny Coulombe was away from the team for most of his three-month recovery and build up after elbow surgery. He sat alone at his locker last night except for the times when he’d rise to wrap his arms around another teammate. Then, he'd settle back in his chair.

“It sucks, especially on our home field,” he said. “I thought we played good baseball these last two days. We pitched really well. A few balls didn’t bounce our way. That’s baseball. I’m proud of this team. We fought. We went through so many injuries. We did our best, for sure.”

Coulombe pondered the number of guys he’s grown close to that he might not see again except for games against certain opponents.

“You just never know,” he said. “You have friendships that you’ll have for the rest of your life on this team. Baseball’s a unique bond. I love Mac, I love Tony, all those guys. It’s going to be hard. But hopefully maybe we can get a guy or two back.

"Hopefully we cross paths again some day.”