The Orioles acquired Ryan O’Hearn from the Kansas City Royals on Jan. 3, 2023 for cash considerations. And now, whether he remains an Oriole in 2025, will have a lot to do with how they consider using their cash.

He has a $8.0 million dollar club option for next season. It was originally $7.5 million but that could expand by $500,000 if he exceeded 120 games played, which he did at 142.

On the one hand, some might consider that pricey after he played for $3.5 million last season, an amount that was settled in February to avoid an arbitration hearing. On the other hand is it that pricey for a key player who took 76 percent of his plate appearances in the 2024 season by hitting either third or fourth?

It's a decision the club must make within five days of the end of the World Series. 

He's a middle-of-the-order bat on a team with an above-average major league offense.

The month of October can be slow for teams that aren’t in the playoffs. That’s sort of the idea. The spotlight shines on the ones who remain in the championship chase. The others quietly take care of their business and wait until free agency begins and other important dates arrive. Big announcements are frowned upon.

The last Orioles transaction is left-hander Tucker Davidson choosing free agency on Oct. 7 after he was designated for assignment on Sept. 29. However, changes are being made in the front office.

According to a source, Bill Wilkes, Ben Sussman-Hyde and Sam Berk will not return to the advance scouting and strategy department in 2025.

Wilkes served as the Orioles' manager of major league strategy since October 2021 after spending three years as advance scouting operations manager. Sussman-Hyde was major league video/run creation strategist manager after three years as major league video/advance scouting coordinator. Berk finished his first year as an advance scouting analyst after his promotion from advance scouting fellow.

Director of baseball strategy Brendan Fournie remains in the department.

There was a time in Major League Baseball when there were no divisions – just the American League and National League. The two winners “won the pennant” and went to the World Series.

In MLB, the first “modern” World Series was in 1903 and one team from each league would play in the World Series through the 1968 season.

But that all changed in 1969 – the beginning of divisional play in baseball and now there was an AL East and AL West, same in the National League. Now four teams would make the playoffs. Now for the first time ever there would an American League Championship Series. It was a best-of-five series. That changed when it became best-of-seven in 1985.

The Orioles played in, hosted and won, the first AL Championship Series game on Oct. 4, 1969 at Memorial Stadium. Led by Earl Weaver, they beat manager Billy Martin’s Minnesota Twins 4-3 in 12 innings and went on to a three-game sweep.

In that first-ever ALCS contest, lefty Mike Cuellar (23-11) started for Baltimore and Jim Perry (20-6) for the Twins, who sported a lineup featuring Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva.

Will a team be slugging their way to a World Series title over the next couple of weeks. Do home runs now play well in the playoffs?

For years a narrative was that teams that hit a lot of homers won’t in the playoffs and that type of offense won’t work.

Are the 2024 Orioles evidence of that. They finished second in the majors in homers this year but hit just one and lost two games to Kansas City scoring one run on that homer.

But other slugging teams are winning and have won. The 2023 Texas Rangers finished the 2023 regular season third in the majors in homers and OPS (.790) and runs per game at 5.44.

On their way to the World Series, they swept the Orioles three straight out-homered them 5-3 in that series. For the postseason Texas hit 30 homers in 17 games, produced a .792 OPS and averaged 5.70 runs per game. They put up big offense during the year and in the postseason too. Their postseason team ERA was a respectable 3.83 and sure you are going to need some solid pitching too.

As the Orioles didn’t win as much in the final months of the season, the focus was often on the offense which was not performing at earlier levels.

But also, during those last two months and the in the postseason the team was without a key rotation pitcher (several of course) in right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.

Up until he got scratched for a start Aug. 6 at Toronto right before game time, he was having a pretty solid season. And I will post some stats later that make it look like he is trending toward becoming a top-of-rotation starter. Maybe Rodriguez will turn out to be that next ace the organization drafted, developed and produced.

His last start this season was July 31 and then he was out with right lat/teres discomfort, a similar injury that cost him three months on the farm during 2022. The O’s were hopeful he would get back late in the year, but he didn’t make it. He is expected to be a 100 percent full go to start 2025.

Rodriguez went 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA over 20 starts in 2024. In 116 2/3 innings he posted a 1.243 WHIP with a 2.8 walks per nine and 10.0 strikeouts.

Colton Cowser has a chance to be special in two more ways in 2024.

Cowser is trying to become the first Orioles outfielder chosen as the American League’s Rookie of the Year since Al Bumbry in 1973. Bumbry is remembered as a center fielder but he made 58 starts in left and 24 in right. He didn’t have more than one start in center until 1976 – making 53 in center and left.

Infielder Gunnar Henderson was named Rookie of the Year in 2023, reliever Gregg Olson in 1989, infielder Cal Ripken Jr. in 1982 and designated hitter/ first baseman Eddie Murray in 1977.

The Orioles never had a left fielder win a Gold Glove, but Cowser is a finalist. Rawlings began distinguishing outfield positions in 2011, but eight-time winner Paul Blair was a center fielder.

(Props if you remember the one game that Blair played at third base in 1968. He didn’t start but he totaled eight innings and committed an error.)

It came up again during Game 1 of the AL Wild Card round playoffs when the Orioles hosted the Kansas City Royals. The Orioles, who issue some of the fewest intentional walks in the majors, had a chance to walk Bobby Witt Jr. with a base open in a key spot.

They pitched to Witt with a man on third and two outs in the top of the sixth of a 0-0 game. Witt singled to left off Corbin Burnes to score the game’s only run as Kansas City beat the Orioles 1-0 and they were halfway to a series win.

Witt batted the next day with runners on first and third and two outs in the sixth of a 1-1 tie. This time he singled in a go-ahead run again. There was a base open here – just not first-base – so that would have been a real unconventional intentional walk to load the bases, but it was there if the O’s wanted it.

The O’s were not beat in that series because they pitched to Witt, it was more about scoring one run in two games. But when you are not scoring, every run against you seems magnified.

I would have walked Witt in that spot in Game 1.

The changes coming to the Orioles coaching staff will be more extensive than anticipated earlier this week.

The co-hitting coach arrangement with Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte is completely gone. The Orioles aren’t retaining Fuller, and a source confirmed today that Borgschulte is returning to the Twins organization.

Borgschulte was Triple-A St. Paul’s hitting coach in 2021 before the Orioles hired him. He’s accepted a position as a Twins hitting coach.

Minnesota is shaking up its staff by moving on from hitting coaches David Popkins and Rudy Hernandez and assistant Derek Shomon.

The Orioles are down to offensive strategy coach Cody Asche, who pretty much served as a third hitting coach. They haven’t confirmed the departures or how the staff will be structured in 2025.

They are two of the most important players on the Orioles roster. They both have had some struggles in their short careers. We are talking here about Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman.

If one player got turned around in Gunnar, can’t Rutschman do the same in 2025?

Sure he can and after producing an OPS of .814 in 2023 to rank 15^th in the American League and .893 in 2024 to rank seventh, does anyone even remember Gunnar’s struggles?

Yep, probably not.

But early in the 2023 season there were even fans calling for Henderson to be sent back to the minor leagues. From Opening Day 2023 through May 12, Henderson had this batting line - .170/.341/.310/.651 over 33 games. Through June 8 and 54 games he had started to turn it around but still was batting just .206 although his OPS was up to .732. The rest is history.

The Orioles have removed three coaches from their staff. That’s one more than they did after winning 101 games and the division title in 2023, returning Chris Holt to an exclusive role as director of pitching, and dismissing assistant pitching coach Darren Holmes.

The trend continues of making changes under executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde. They’ve been together for six seasons and the staff hasn’t stayed the same, though it came really close in 2023.

Hirings were made later than usually for the 2019 season after Hyde’s hiring a month earlier. You have a good memory if you can recite them. Only Tim Cossins remains as major league field coordinator/catching instructor, though he’s relocated from the dugout to the bullpen.

More emphasis was placed on experienced veterans like pitching coach Doug Brocail, hitting coach Don Long and first base coach/outfield instructor Arnie Beyeler. José Flores was named third base coach/infield instructor, replacing Bobby Dickerson after entire staff had been retained for 2018.

Howie Clark stayed as assistant hitting coach but was gone by 2020. John Wasdin was promoted to bullpen coach after spending the past two years as minor league pitching coordinator. José Hernández was major league coach, changed titles later, went back to this one and lasted until Friday.

When three teams that each won division titles and more than 100 games last year all lost in their first playoff series and went a combined 1-9 last October, the theory was that the long layoff was an issue.

This year three of the four division winners, teams that once again had five-day layoffs before opening their Division Series, won to advance to the League Championship Series.

In 2023, the 104-win Atlanta Braves and the 101-win Orioles and Dodgers went out quick in the postseason.

But this year three division winners - the Yankees, Dodgers and Guardians - are moving on. The Los Angeles Dodgers shut out San Diego in Game 4 and Game 5 to advance to face the Mets for the National League Championship. The American League series, which starts at Yankee Stadium on Monday, has New York versus Cleveland. 

So much for the theory that the five-day layoff is too much to overcome. That narrative was fun while it lasted. 

An Oriole since the December 2016 Rule 5 draft and an Oriole now for parts of eight major league seasons, the 2025 season could open with outfielder Anthony Santander playing for another major league club for the first time.

He’s finally reached the service time to become a free agent and Santander’s chance to cash in on a 44-homer season is almost at hand.

Can the Orioles re-sign him and how far should they go to do just that? No doubt the team would love to have a middle-of-the-order bat back for their 2025 lineup. Not to mention a team leader who seems universally loved within the clubhouse. The fans admire and appreciate Santander greatly as well.

His loss would be big.

As usual, it may come down to years and price. If he gets a three-year deal, say in the $75 million range, would the O’s be in the hunt at those dollars? If the years and dollars go up from there which is possible, maybe very possible, how competitive will they be? Should they be?

The uncertainties over the Orioles’ roster for 2025 include how they intend to use Heston Kjerstad. Will he receive an opportunity to play every day, no matter the matchup, and how many starts will he get in the outfield?

Some stability would be a nice advancement for the second-overall draft pick in 2020.

Kjerstad was optioned multiple times and had multiple stints on the concussion injured list. He totaled 39 games and 114 plate appearances, batting .253/.351/.394, and made his second playoff roster.

It’s hard to label Kjerstad’s usage as a platoon because he didn’t play regularly, but he had only 16 at-bats against left-handers and collected six hits.

Manager Brandon Hyde was asked at his season-ending media session about platooning some of the younger hitters.

Late in the year, and for much of the 2024 season, O’s fans saw right-hander Corbin Burnes take the mound and pitch as the ace he was said to be.

You can earn ace status when you win a Cy Young Award, as he did with Milwaukee in 2021. From 2020 through 2023, Burnes finished sixth, first, seventh and eighth for the award. He should be in line for another finish up the board this winter too.

Over 32 O's starts, Burnes went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA over 194 1/3 innings. He recorded 22 quality starts and had a 1.096 WHIP while averaging 2.2 walks per nine and 8.4 strikeouts per nine.

His K per nine has dropped every year since 2020 and yet he posted a sub 3.00 ERA in four of those five seasons. The guy is just good with a big strikeout total or not.

Look at what might be his last two O’s starts, one in the regular season at Yankee Stadium where he was held to five innings and one in the playoffs against Kansas City.

Players were in a daze or deep inside their emotions after Game 2 of the Wild Card. Media chased after veterans like Anthony Santander and Corbin Burnes, who could leave via free agency and made sense to speak about the jarring finish to the season. Young stars like Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman stood at their lockers with tears in their eyes and tried to express how much they hurt. Jordan Westburg sat with his head lowered, aware that he’d also draw a crowd. Colton Cowser, a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year in the American League, first had to address his fractured left hand before delving into the loss. 

Jackson Holliday, the first-overall draft pick in 2022 and former No. 1 prospect in baseball before graduating from eligibility, quietly got dressed at his locker near the entrance. He didn’t play in the postseason and was in the lineup only once after Sept. 21, starting at shortstop a week later in Minnesota so that manager Brandon Hyde could give Henderson a rare break.

Holliday went 3-for-4 with a double and two walks and was 1-for-1 with a walk the next day in a reserve role. A nice finish after going 2-for-34 in 10 April games and packing his bags for Triple-A Norfolk, hitting a grand slam onto Eutaw Street after returning on July 31 but going 21-for-96 with 33 strikeouts in August and 12-for-55 with 17 strikeouts in September.

Reporters and other credential-wearing folks finally made it to Holliday, some just drawn by the convenience of having the kid reachable as opposed to the huge scrums that made it much harder to hear players. He wasn’t as qualified at age 20 to impart wisdom or to offer a deep dive into the offensive shutdown while spending both games on the bench. But he’s Jackson Holliday and that’s a good enough reason.

Holliday came with his own storyline. His first major league season, being optioned and finishing with a .189 average and .565 OPS in 60 games. His first time confronting failure. What he learned from it. And the joy of being on a playoff team.

The Orioles and MASN today announced the promotion of GREG BADER to Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). Bader will immediately begin the transition from his current role as Orioles Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer to the role with MASN, with a complete transition effective January 1. He will report to CATIE GRIGGS, Orioles President, Business Operations.

Bader served as EVP and COO since September of 2023, overseeing all day-to-day business needs of the club, including Revenue, Operations, Orioles Entertainment, and Broadcasting. Bader will build upon his industry expertise to oversee both the Orioles and Washington Nationals day-to-day coverage and business needs with MASN. A Baltimore native, Bader first joined the Orioles as a public relations intern in 1994 and has served in multiple roles over the last three decades, including Director of Communications, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, and Senior Vice President, Administration & Experience. 

“Greg has an unparalleled level of expertise of both baseball administration and the sports industry overall which I’m confident will allow him to seamlessly transition into the role with MASN. I look forward to continuing to work alongside him for years to come,” shared Griggs.

“It’s been an honor to have devoted my professional career to the Orioles and Major League Baseball, and I am equally honored to begin this new role with MASN,” said Bader. “Like millions of baseball fans throughout the Mid-Atlantic, I have welcomed MASN into my home for the past twenty seasons, and I am thrilled to now play a role in working to enhance that experience as the network continues to bring unmatched coverage of two great teams to two incredible baseball communities.”

About MASN
The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is a regional sports network and multimedia platform that televises every available game of both the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, pre- and postgame shows, and NCAA Division I men’s and women’s sports, totaling more than 500 live events annually. The network is available in a seven-state region, from Harrisburg, Pa., to Charlotte, N.C., on more than 20 cable and fiber optic providers, and is televised nationally via satellite provider DirecTV. MASN’s digital home – masnsports.com – features news and sports content and offers in-market streaming of both O’s and Nats games. MASN has won more than 100 Emmy and Addy awards for broadcast and marketing excellence.

Hurricane Milton, a violent Category 3 storm that made landfall Wednesday night near Siesta Key, apparently didn't cause major destruction to the Orioles' spring training complex in Sarasota.

Sustained winds reaching 120 mph tore the fabric roof off Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Ed Smith Stadium complex appears to have been spared.

The storm weakened to a Category 1 as it moved through the state this morning.

“We are evaluating the Sarasota complex at this time, but initial assessments have not yet uncovered significant damage,” Orioles senior vice president of communications Jennifer Grondahl said in a statement. “FP&L (Florida Power & Light) is activating from our facility to help restore power to our community. We will share additional ways in which we intend to support the response efforts as plans are finalized.”

FP&L is using the facility as a staging center and local officials marked it as a sandbag distribution center. The Orioles evacuated personnel Monday at Ed Smith and the minor league complex at Twin Lakes Park.

If the Orioles are to maintain a highly rated farm system, they will need to keep producing premium prospects. First there were Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman and they sort of turned it over to the likes of Coby Mayo, Jackson Holliday and Samuel Basallo.

The O’s hope more is on the way through their 2024 MLB Draft class. A class headed by their top selection, North Carolina center fielder Vance Honeycutt, who they picked No. 22 overall in July.

On the last day to sign draft picks, which was Aug. 1, he signed a $4 million dollar bonus deal, just over the No. 22 slot amount of $3,802,200.

To say the least, Honeycutt had some adjustments to make to pro ball and had his struggles in a small 13-game sample, eight with Low-A Delmarva and five in early September with High-A Aberdeen.

He went 9-for-51, batting .176/.250/.196/.446. When I interviewed Honeycutt, 21, in early September in Aberdeen, he talked about his first few pro games.

It is a key question both in looking back at the Orioles’ 2024 season and ahead to what they hope is another good year for 2025.

What will it take to get Adley Rutschman’s bat going again?

Was he hurt when he slumped for much of the second-half?

“There is not an injury that I would speak to of any nature,” Mike Elias said during the season-ending press conference. The Orioles keep indicating that while Rutschman may have had the usual bumps and bruises, no injury was the main cause for his poor late-year stats.

Unless and until they tell us something different, that is what we have to go on here.

For Orioles young catching prospect Samuel Basallo, a 2024 season that began with him rehabbing a stress fracture in his right elbow and spending time as a DH ended with him healthy, hitting well and advancing to Triple-A for the first time in his career.

Basallo spent most of this year with Double-A Bowie over 106 games but in late August moved to Triple-A Norfolk and played his final 21 games for the Tides.

He was named by Minor League Baseball as the Top MLB Prospect in the Double-A Eastern League. He played in the Futures Game in July and is now ranked as the O’s No. 2 prospect in the team top 30 and No. 13 in the national top 100 at season’s end by both Baseball America and MLBPipepline.com.

Not bad for the youngster from the Dominican Republic, who was signed to a $1.3 million bonus in January of 2021. He flew up prospect rankings in 2023 and by the end of the year was a top 50 prospect. So he was a marked man all this year and still put up a .790 OPS between Bowie and Norfolk. He is the first Baysox to be named Top Prospect in the league by Minor League Baseball since Adley Rutschman in 2021.

This was his age 19 season by the way, and he did not turn 20 until Aug. 13.