Summary:
- Craig Albernaz is expected to become the Baltimore Orioles’ next manager.
- He would replace Brandon Hyde, who was fired after a rough start to 2025.
- Interim manager Tony Mansolino led the team to a 75-87 finish, but the organization opted for a different direction.
The Baltimore Orioles are close to naming Craig Albernaz as their next manager, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Albernaz will take over for Brandon Hyde, who was dismissed in May during his seventh season with the baseball team.
Hyde’s tenure ended after a rough start to the year, when the Orioles went 15-28, a sharp drop from the 101-win season they had in 2023 and the 91 wins in 2022. Hyde had even been named AL Manager of the Year in 2023.
After Hyde’s departure, interim manager Tony Mansolino led the team to a 75-87 record, the Orioles’ worst since 2021.
Mansolino had been considered for the permanent job, with team president Mike Elias saying in September that he was “a real candidate”, but the organization ultimately decided to go in another direction.
The Orioles’ move leaves five other MLB teams without a manager: the San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, and Washington Nationals.
Baltimore faces several challenges heading into next season. The pitching staff struggled, posting one of the worst ERAs in the American League.
Offensively, several key players underperformed, and the team may lose rotation pieces like Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano in free agency. Inconsistency plagued the Orioles all season, and under Mansolino, they barely finished above .500 for a stretch.
Elias said last month.
When you have a season that misses the mark by this much, there’s a lot on the list of what went wrong
Still, having a manager in place is the first step in addressing the team’s problems. Albernaz, who has been recognized for his work as a bench coach and development leader in the league, now has the task of guiding Baltimore through what they hope will be a turnaround season.
For a franchise that has not made a deep postseason run in more than a decade, leadership at the top will be crucial in building stability and putting the pieces together.
With Albernaz at the helm, the Orioles can start planning for the offseason and focus on strengthening the roster, addressing both pitching and hitting issues, and aiming for consistent performance.
The move may not solve everything straight away, but it sets the foundation for a team ready to compete at a higher level next year.
Will Albernaz lead the Orioles to glory next season? Who will compete for the 2026 World Series Title? All these and more odds can be found with our selected US Sportsbetting sites
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