Orioles are playing better, but ’25 season remains a disappointment

During this Orioles season, I’ve often received questions from readers asking me if I ranked 2025 as the most disappointing of all Orioles seasons.

Now, no less an authority than The Athletic’s Jayson Stark has opined that this season’s Orioles are not only the most disappointing team in franchise history, but “the most disappointing team of modern times,” and I can’t disagree.

Stark quotes a National League executive: “I think the difference with them,” the executive said, “is that most of the teams that we would qualify as disappointing were teams that added big-time free agents and spent a bunch of money and then it just didn’t work. Where this one probably is even more disappointing is, I think we all just felt like it’s a lot of young positional players that are just going to continue to get better.”

Last week, Mike Elias endorsed his young position players in our interview with him, saying: “I think this is a great core. A lot of them have been injured, or they’ve been underperforming for a stretch. That’s going to continue to be the backbone of this team for the next several seasons, so they’re very much a part of any strategy.”

The most disappointing of all position players is Adley Rutschman, who was voted the American League All-Star catcher a year ago, and over the last year has been hitting .212 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs with a .625 OPS.

When Rutschman was drafted in 2019, talent evaluators raved about him, thinking he was the best catching prospect in years. At worst, one scout said, he’d have a career similar to longtime Yankees catcher Jorge Posada.

Rutschman, who’s been out with a strained left oblique since June 20^th, seemed likely to fulfill the promise in 2022, his debut season, and 2023.

His numbers at the All-Star break a year ago were fine: .275 with 16 home runs and 59 RBIs with a .780 OPS.

Something happened in the second half of last year when he hit only .207 with three homers and 20 RBIs and a .585 OPS. Was Rutschman hurt? Was he harmed by carrying the psychological burden of the club’s weak offensive performance in the second half?

No one’s really sure, but this time, everyone knows he’s hurt. Rutschman hopes to return after the All-Star break. Maybe a strong return after a long in-season rest will help, but for now, he’ll have to stand as the most disappointing player on the team.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson isn’t having close to the year he had in 2024. Last season, Henderson had a 9.1 WAR (Wins Above Replacement). This year, his WAR is only 2.3, and we’re barely through half the season.

His stats aren’t awful — a .271 average with a .778 OPS, 10 home runs and 29 RBIs, but they should pick up in the second half.

Heston Kjerstad, the overall No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, has been a huge disappointment. He has a -1.5 WAR, with a .192 average, four homers, 19 RBIs and a .566 OPS. Kjerstad, who was sent back to Triple-A Norfolk, is hitting just .146 for the Tides.

Outfielder Colton Cowser and infielder Jordan Westburg both missed significant time with injuries this year, so it’s fair to think of them as disappointments this season. Cowser’s average is just .217 in 31 games, but he’s shown significant power, hitting eight homers and driving in 17 runs, good for a .767 OPS while Westburg is batting .243 with nine home runs and 17 RBIs and a .780 OPS.

Jackson Holliday can’t be labeled a disappointment. At 21, he’s hitting .260 with a .724 OPS, 11 home runs and 36 RBIs. He was second in fan voting among second baseman, and he, like Henderson, could be tabbed as an injury replacement.

It’s not only the young position players who’ve been disappointing. There are 14 players on the injured list, and while outfielder Tyler O’Neill was removed from the IL last week, four players — starter Zach Eflin, reliever Keegan Akin and two catchers, Gary Sánchez and Chadwick Tromp, were added to it.

While some diehard fans think the Orioles can still get back into the playoff hunt, it would take a 14-5 record to register a .500 mark (54-54) by the July 31^st trade deadline.

There’s no question they’re playing better under interim manager Tony Mansolino with a 24-16 record over the last 40 games, but have failed to gain significant ground.

On June 3^rd, the Orioles were seven games out of the final wild-card spot, and five weeks later, they still are.

Notes: Right-handed pitcher Luis F. Castillo passed through outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. … Double-A Chesapeake right-hander Trey Gibson was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week. Gibson threw a seven-inning complete game on July 2^nd, allowing one hit in seven scoreless innings in the second game of a doubleheader against Richmond.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.