For the Orioles, the window to win is open and should stay that way

Even in going 0-5 in the last two postseasons, one thing that must be of some comfort for Orioles fans moving forward is that their team should be good again. Both in 2025 and likely for years beyond that.

The Orioles' window to win, as they call it, seems wide open and vast.

The current group plus players that get added should make another run next season and maybe for several years after that.

But having a large window does not mean you will win a championship. It would seem likely to increase the odds, said Captain Obvious. But the Captain also noted that when the Dodgers won this year it was just their second title since 1988, and one came in a shortened season. That is a span of 36 years. In losing the World Series, the Yankees are now without a championship since 2009. That is 0-for-the-last-15 years even though they made 11 playoff appearances in that time.

It's hard to win it all, no matter how good your team is.

But the Orioles are the third-winningest team in the majors over the last two years and are top five in the last three.

Most wins in MLB since 2023:

198 – Dodgers
193 – Braves
192 – Orioles
185 – Brewers, Phillies

Most wins in MLB since 2022:

309 – Dodgers
294 – Braves
284 – Astros
275 – Orioles, Yankees

The Orioles have several reasons to be optimistic about their future to include a talented, young core of players and more coming from their farm and international program. They have new ownership which could lead to increased spending and they have the payroll flexibility to make moves. They have a quality front office that took them from 115 losses to this point and now is challenged to take larger steps.

And while fans sometimes clamor to see some of their young talent signed to long-term deals, almost all of them will be around for several more seasons.

Several.

Adley Rutschman cannot be a free agent until after the 2027 season and has at least three more years before that. Gunnar Henderson cannot be a free agent until the end of 2028 and has four more years. Same for pitcher Kyle Bradish. Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg and Grayson Rodriguez cannot be free agents until the end of the 2029 season and they have five more years. Jackson Holliday cannot be a free agent until the end of 2030 and has six full years until that comes around.

From the farm, we have barely seen Coby Mayo yet in the majors and we have not seen yet at all catcher Samuel Basallo. And there is more coming from the minors.

On the other hand, we can’t deny that the Orioles, while finishing 20 games over .500 last year, were an under .500 team for more than half of the season. On June 21, they went to Houston with a record of 49-25 but got swept three in a row. They would go 42-46 (.477) over the final 88 games. A team playing at that win percentage all year would win just 77 games. But the Orioles were better than that over the full year and you can’t take away the first 74 games.

The World Series winning Dodgers matched the Orioles’ 20-games over mark at 72-52 on Aug. 17. Then they went 26-12 (.684) the rest of the way and 11-5 in the postseason. We can’t forget they would have lost in their first series but came from 1-2 down to win in five games versus the Padres in the National League Division Series.

I think there will no doubt be some pressure on Mike Elias and his staff to fortify the 2025 O’s roster and keep this team on top of and/or contending for an American League East championship. But with a young core, currently a lower payroll and time on their side, the O’s run at a playoff spot should be ongoing for several more seasons.

Minor league free agents: According to Baseball America, MLB has declared 513 players as minor league free agents. These players' minor league contract terms expired.

From the Orioles, the now minor league free agents are right-handed pitchers Nick Anderson (AAA), Nolan Hoffman (AAA) and Adrian Houser (AAA) and left-handed pitchers Matt Krook (AAA), Cooper McKeehan (A+), Nick Vespi (AAA) and Baltimorean Bruce Zimmermann (AAA). The list also includes infielders Garrett Cooper (AAA), Terrin Vavra (AAA), J.D. Davis (AAA) and Niko Goodrum (AAA) and outfielder Forrest Wall (AAA).