Top MLB Analyst Calls Orioles Biggest Disappointment in MLB This Season

It should come as no surprise to Baltimore Orioles fans that the top analysts around the sport have the team pegged as the biggest disappointment in MLB.

May 18, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino (36) makes a pitching change taking Baltimore Orioles pitcher Zach Eflin (24) out of the game during the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The disastrous start to the 2025 season has the Baltimore Orioles in last place in the American League East, and their 18-34 record entering Monday puts them as the third-worst team in MLB.

For a club with an impressive young core of stars that has been to the playoffs two years in a row, it has been quite shocking to see them perform this poorly.

This cost manager Brandon Hyde his job, as a 13-18 start turned worse throughout May and culminated in an eight-game losing streak.

As Memorial Day provides a fairly tidy line of demarcation for the first third of the season, ESPN's team of analysts broke down several key takeaways from the standings so far.

When it came to pick the most disappointing team of the campaign to this point, Baltimore was a clear choice for Buster Olney.

"I jumped in early and got the opportunity to be Captain Obvious with my pick: the Orioles," Olney wrote. "They won 101 games two seasons ago and 91 last season, and now they're on a trajectory to regress back to the good ol' days of their tanking years and lose 100 or so games."

The Orioles had eyes on making the leap toward World Series contention in 2025, but that does not seem to be in the cards.

The team's pitching has been better over the last week, but the unit still ranks 29th in MLB with a 5.52 ERA.

This was a question mark going into the season, but it's been more of an issue than anyone would have predicted.

The team's offense, on the other hand, was not in doubt prior to Opening Day, but it has proven to be rather pedestrian, failing to offset the pitching staff's woes and forming a combination that has doomed the club to the bottom of the standings.

The Orioles rank 22nd in MLB in team OPS at .688.

In 2024's 91-win effort, they ranked fourth at .751. And when the team won 101 games in 2023, the offense placed 14th in the key metric at .742.

The regression of the team's offense was an unforeseen development, but with Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman both performing well below their career norms, there's reason to believe a turnaround could be coming.

If it is, this upcoming homestand would be a great time.

Baltimore welcomes the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals to town before the lowly Chicago White Sox come to Camden Yards.