The Baltimore Orioles came into the 2025 season with huge expectations. They had made the playoffs recently and had bigger dreams. Hence, they didn’t shy away from spending, shelling out over $100 million on free agents in the off-season. All this to chase that elusive World Series title. But just 42 games in, the reality is what they didn’t see coming. What’s worse is that one of those signing in particular is drawing sharp criticism.

Well, if you haven’t guessed already, it’s Charlie Morton. Many figured he would hang up his cleats after his time in Atlanta. After all, he is not in his 20s or 30s, but actually in his 40s. However, Baltimore took a gamble on the 41-year-old veteran, hoping his postseason experience and steady presence would anchor their pitching rotation. Unfortunately, so far, they have gotten almost nothing out of him.

The loss of Corbin Burnes pushed Morton into the spotlight, and he has struggled to keep up since. He bounced between the rotation and the bullpen, never quite finding his rhythm. His ERA sits at a sad 10.22 high. And he has only managed about four innings per start. So he is far from the inning-eater that the Orioles had hoped for. And now, even insiders are highlighting it.

Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun said, “No deal has been a bigger disappointment than the Orioles’ one-year pact for Morton.”And sadly, there’s truth to it. Once a reliable back-end starter, Morton finds himself pitching out of the bullpen for the first time since his rookie year back in 2008. For a team that’s banking on him to carry them forward, this has been a bitter pill to swallow.

Even the manager of the Orioles, Brandon Hyde, has been clear—the team needs more from their starters. After all, things have gotten so bad that Hyde’s job might be on the line. And it’s not difficult to imagine why, with Baltimore sitting 11 games under .500 and holding the worst run differential in the American League. And the $15 million gamble they took on Morton has not been paying off.

Meanwhile, when Morton was asked whether he still believed he could perform as a starter, he didn’t sugarcoat things. “If you said, ‘We’ll give you 30 starts to get this right,’ I’ll get it right. It’s just, how negatively do I affect the team during that process, right?” At least he is honest. Nonetheless, it also reveals the complicated situation he and the Orioles are in at the moment.

Charlie Morton tries holding fort, but Orioles sink deeper

Morton finally tried to steady the ship. After a turbulent start to his Orioles stint, the 41-year-old stepped in for three innings of relief and gave up just one run against the Minnesota Twins. A small victory in an otherwise very chaotic season. But even this effort by him couldn’t keep Baltimore from sinking any further.

The Orioles were hoping to salvage a split in Wednesday’s doubleheader against the red-hot Twins. But they got another gut punch—this time by Kody Clemens, who launched a game-sealing three-run homer. The final score was 6-8—a sweep, and for the Twins, that makes 10 wins in a row.

As for Clemens, he was simply thrilled.“It feels great. That was a battle today. Obviously, doubleheaders are a grind. But this team keeps just passing the baton to one another. And I thought it was a great team win; this team’s on a roll right now,” he said. Meanwhile, the Orioles were just unraveling, having dropped to 15-26 and a season low of 11 games under .500.

It’s actually the Orioles’ worst standing since June 2022. The Associated Press pointed out that Baltimore didn’t dip so low last season either. Hyde expressed his disappointment rather openly, saying, “Teams are getting hits against us in big spots… And we’re having a tough time doing that.” And well, sure, there were flashes of light like Cedric Mullins’ grand slam and Morton’s innings. But overall, that spark was missing. The Orioles sure are looking for some answers and maybe trying to find some breathing room.

How do you feel about their performance so far?