Less than two years after winning the American League Manager of the Year award, the Baltimore Orioles have fired Brandon Hyde following a dismal start to the season.
The O’s are currently in last place in the AL East with a 15-28 record. They’re on a four-game losing streak and were swept by the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards.
Baltimore’s downfall this season stems from their pitching and inconsistent offense. The front office never adequately replaced Corbin Burnes when he left for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Orioles rotation ranks 28th in baseball with a 5.60 ERA.
Instead of signing Max Fried or trading for Garrett Crochet, the O’s brought in 41-year-old Charlie Morton and 35-year-old Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano. While Sugano has pitched well in his first MLB action, the Morton signing has been a disaster. Morton is 0-7 with an 8.35 ERA, 46 ERA+, and a minus-1.2 bWAR and was demoted to the bullpen.
On top of that, Grayson Rodriguez has yet to pitch this season due to right elbow inflammation and a right lat strain. He could potentially begin throwing by the end of May.
The Orioles also missed on their big bat pickup in Tyler O’Neill, who is hitting .188/.280/.325 with just two home runs. As a team, Baltimore ranks 22nd in baseball with a .682 OPS and 25th in runs scored at 159.
With Baltimore’s poor start, Hyde was the first to take the fall, despite leading the O’s to the postseason the previous two seasons.
Veteran pitcher Zach Eflin gave a candid assessment about Hyde’s firing.
“It sucks. It’s a result of us sucking,” Eflin told reporters Saturday, including Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka.
Zach Eflin: “It sucks. It’s a result of us sucking.” pic.twitter.com/hywP35atWp
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) May 17, 2025
Despite the dire situation the Orioles are in, Eflin still holds out hope they can recover.
“We’re going to continue to try to go out there and fight because the season’s not over. The season’s not lost,” said Eflin. “We’re going to go out there with our hair on fire and continue to do everything we can to win baseball games.”
Third-base coach Tony Mansolino has been named interim manager.
Hyde was hired in 2019 as Orioles manager amid their rebuild and endured two 100-loss seasons before back-to-back playoff appearances. In seven seasons, he compiled a 421-492 record.
