Struggling Orioles face daunting schedule; Closer options might be expanding

BALTIMORE—Over the next four weeks, the Orioles play 25 games—all against teams with records over .500, and 22 against teams who now hold playoff spots.

The Seattle Mariners, a potential wild-card team, play three games against the Orioles beginning Tuesday night. After that are two series with Houston and Boston, followed by series with National League West teams San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles.

There’s not a game  against a team with a sub-.500 record until the 53-65 Orioles host 51-68 Pittsburgh on September 9^th.

That difficult schedule isn’t lost on interim manager Tony Mansolino, who just watched his team lose two of three to the A’s.

“And they loaded up, and it’s not the same Boston team we saw earlier in the year. They got a lot more pitching than they had,” he said.

The Red Sox don’t have Rafael Devers, but Masataka Yoshida has returned. The Astros have added Carlos Correa.

If the Orioles can somehow win the majority of those 25 games, even this they’re 13-12, that’s a positive sign.

“It’s going to be tough in terms of how you evaluate it,” Mansolino said. “For me, it’s the starting pitching because some of these starters are going to be here next year. I want to see how our starters compete against playoff-caliber teams.”

The Orioles will have to play at least some of these games without some of their regulars. Colton Cowser is on the 7-day concussion injured list and Tyler O’Neill  is on the 10-day injured list for the third time this season. This time, it’s right wrist inflammation.

With Ryan Mountcastle back, Mansolino has a bit stronger lineup: Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Mountcastle.

“I want to see how these top-five guys in the lineup compete against playoff-style pitching,” he said. “I’m hopeful that Cowser is back here, that it’s the minimum. I’m hoping that T.O. Is going to be back here soon. Now, you’re seven guys deep.”

An improving Coby Mayo would make it eight.

Mansolino is also hoping that the Orioles will call up catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers soon.

“Then you’re hoping that the two prospects end up here within that period of time where you’re going to see those kids play against really good teams,” Mansolino said. “At that time, the lineup gets a lot longer, gets a lot deeper, gets a lot more competitive.”

Kyle Bradish could return to the starting rotation in the next two weeks, and perhaps Tyler Wells will soon follow.

“I think the starting pitching, given health and Bradish coming back, there’s some optimism there that we can be competitive and hang in there,” Mansolino said.

“Then the question becomes, what can the bullpen do? If we get ourselves a three-run lead, can we hang on? Which I hope we can, and [executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias] wants. That’s what we’re trying to figure out right now.

“Pitching was already short. That’s how we got into this hole. It’s going to be a challenge. Our expectation is that we play our butts off, we compete, we compare, which we’re going to, and Gunnar’s going to lead that. Westburg’s going to lead out there. They’re going to make sure everybody competes, but I think that’s the evaluation.”

Closing dilemma: Mansolino insisted after Friday night’s game that the Orioles didn’t have a designated closer and weren’t going to have one.

Since the trades of Seranthony Domínguez, Andrew Kittredge and Gregory Soto, and the injury to Félix Bautista, there isn’t an established closer in the Orioles’ bullpen.

Mansolino has used left-hander Keegan Akin, who was the losing pitcher in Sunday’s game, and says he’s open to using Yennier Cano and Rico Garcia, who joined the team Friday but didn’t pitch over the weekend, in the closing role.

The Orioles also used Corbin Martin to get a save on July 29^th, though he allowed six runs without retiring a batter on August 4^th in Philadelphia.

Perhaps the team could consider Tyler Wells, who has five career saves, the same number as Akin. Wells is being stretched out as a starter in his rehab games, though.

Maybe they’ll think about Albert Suárez, who hasn’t pitched since March because of a rotator cuff injury. Suárez will begin a rehab assignment this week.

Bradish should rejoin the rotation in the next two weeks, and we’ll see if Suárez or Wells could be a bullpen piece for the rest of the season or in 2026.

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