ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—It’s audition time for the Orioles. It can’t be anything else. These are opportunities for players to be evaluated to see if they can help the Orioles next year and for years to come. David Hess is getting a second chance to start now that Kevin Gausman is gone. In...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—So many big Oriole stars have been traded, and Chris Davis remains. Even if the 2018 season hadn’t been the horror show it’s been for Davis, he’d still remain with the Orioles because his contract effectively prevents him from being traded and the team owes him so much money that...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—It’s not often that a team commits five errors and wins a game. The Orioles managed to do that on Wednesday night. Shortstop Tim Beckham and catcher Caleb Joseph each made two errors, and second baseman Jonathan Villar had one in their 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. It...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—The Orioles’ massive trade deadline makeover, which culminated with the unexpected July 31 trades of starting pitcher Kevin Gausman, reliever Darren O’Day and second baseman Jonathan Schoop, has been debated among Orioles fans. Many fans and people inside the game expected the Orioles to trade shortstop Manny Machado, relief pitchers...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— It’s been almost unnoticed, but Alex Cobb has turned around his season. Invariably, in the season’s early going, Cobb would pitch poorly, or when he pitched well, the Orioles would offer little support. In the second half of the season, Cobb has pitched much better. On Tuesday night, he...
The Orioles are changing everything. They’ve traded away six longtime players, acknowledged they’re rebuilding and spending money on international scouting, technology, analytics and minor league development instead of the major league roster. Amid all these changes, there’s one thing that shouldn’t change: Buck Showalter. Unnoticed in all the tumult of the week...
ARLINGTON, Texas—The day was hot and sticky, and for nearly two innings, the pace dragged. It took more than an hour to play the two innings, and neither starting pitcher was effective. Yefry Ramirez yielded five runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Texas Rangers, and the Orioles hammered Drew Hutchison, who...
ARLINGTON, Texas—Before the Orioles traded Kevin Gausman, it was easy to think of Yefry Ramirez as the team’s fifth starter. But with Gausman gone, the only veterans remaining are Dylan Bundy, Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb. Unless the Orioles try to take the rebuild further and trade Bundy during the winter, the...
ARLINGTON, Texas—Ever since the Orioles traded Zach Britton to the New York Yankees, fans have been wondering who the Orioles would use as their closer. Brad Brach was the natural choice, but there weren’t any games to close between the time Britton was dealt and Brach was traded to Atlanta five days...
ARLINGTON, Texas—After the Orioles traded Kevin Gausman, they were left with an opening in their starting rotation. They hoped David Hess would be able to fill it. Hess’ performance on Friday did not present compelling evidence in his behalf. His time with the Orioles began with so much promise, but his awful...