The Orioles just can’t seem to catch a break. Not too long ago, Baltimore looked like one of baseball’s brightest success stories. They stormed to the AL East crown in 2023 and carried that momentum into 2024, sitting an impressive 24 games over .500 by June 20 after hanging 17 runs on the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Then, everything unraveled. 

The Orioles played below-.500 baseball for the remainder of the season. Last year ended with just 75 victories, and if fans were hoping for a fresh start this season, they haven’t exactly gotten one. Now, sending a blunt wake-up call to the team is none other than Pete Alonso.

“We’ve just got to do a better job. That’s what it just boils down to. We’ve got to play better baseball. That’s as simple as that,” Pete Alonso said, as posted by Jake Rill on X.

Alonso was clearly disappointed after Tuesday’s 9-3 loss to the White Sox. Baltimore is indeed struggling, with the team having won just 39 of its 87 games this season. In the last 10 games, they managed to secure only 4 wins and have lost back-to-back series against the struggling Angels and the Nationals. 

The Orioles are currently placed fourth in the AL East and are struggling to secure a playoff berth this year as well. While this was expected to be a comparatively better year for Baltimore, which made several major offseason moves, including signing Pete Alonso, the results are far from expectations. And the frustration was evident from the fans as well. 

For the second consecutive game, fans at Camden Yards were booing the home team. This was after Orioles rookie pitcher Trey Gibson gave up 7 runs in the third inning and was completely clobbered by the visitors. As a result, the game was 8-1 by the end of the third inning, and the fans gradually started losing hope. 

While the Orioles’ offense started coming to life in the 5th inning when Gunnar Henderson and Dylan Beavers hit back-to-back doubles to score a run, the difference was too huge to close. Eventually, the White Sox secured an easy win.

Experts like Nestor Aparicio believe that the Orioles’ defensive issues prevail because the team has failed to have a single good fielder since Manny Machado. As of now, the team lacks substantial situational awareness, something that was visible in a terrible loss on Friday night and a near-blown lead on Saturday night.

However, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was seen defending the young pitcher. 

“He didn’t have his best stuff, didn’t have his best command, but he didn’t give up,” Albernaz said. “Days like this are gonna happen, especially for young pitchers. Sometimes it’s tough to realize that, but the way he went out and still competed, it’s something that he should hang his hat on.”

And probably, it is for this trust in his team by the manager that even GM Mike Elias is not hesitating from an aggressive trade deadline approach.

Orioles GM opens up on trade deadline plans

There is still some time before the trade deadline on August 3, but let’s just say Mike Elias is already in fight mode. From a situation like this, the Orioles either need to rely on some kind of miracle or an aggressive trade deadline approach to turn things around and secure a playoff position, and Mike Elias is all set to make some major moves. 

Speaking about his plans, Elias said on Saturday, per The Baltimore Sun:

“Everybody in this building is in the mindset of going for it in 2026…If the deadline was today, we’re a game and a half out. I know our record’s backwards, but apparently this is infecting a whole bunch of other teams, too. I can’t explain it. I wish we were arriving at that in a much different way, and the context around that’s unusual. But we’re right there. So, as I said, we’re going for it. I’ll let you know if that changes.” 

With the current situation at hand, it doesn’t seem like Elias’ stance is changing much. Where the Orioles go from here remains unclear, but it will be interesting to see if they can turn things around from here. Can they surprise the critics? Well, only time will tell.