Should Orioles trade left-handed hitters? | MAILBAG

Question: The O’s always value defense vs. offense, and I know they thought they were loading up the offensive side this past season. It did not pay off as expected! Seems we have too many lefty hitters who can’t hit left-handed pitchers. Should we trade some of them to get more righty hitters? From: Jim Scarborough

Answer: Jim, you’re correct that the best hitters on the Orioles in 2026 were right-handed: Pete Alonso, Blaze Alexander, Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.

None of the main left-handed hitters — Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday — hit well.

They hope that Jordan Westburg, a key right-handed hitter, will be back, and the guess here is that they’ll try to add another right-handed hitting outfielder. Their primary right-handed hitting outfielder, Tyler O’Neill, has not lived up to expectations.

They think at least some of these left-handed hitters will rebound, and then the offense won’t look as lopsided. 

Question: Are there any updates on Nate George’s mysterious injury/health issue? From: Phil Wetzel

Answer: Phil asked this question a couple of weeks ago, and in case you didn’t read what Mike Elias said about him at the General Managers Meetings on Tuesday, here it is: 

“He’s hitting. He’s doing great. I think he’s on the other end of the malady that held him out the last couple of months, and he should be totally back to a normal citizen when spring training kicks off.”

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.