How Many Players On The Orioles Roster Are Truly Everyday Players? The Reality Is Bleak

Let’s get real about the Orioles roster as they head into whatever MLB’s offseason becomes ahead of a pending labor impasse.

We have taken a scalpel to this carcass of a pretend contender, the latest Frankenstein creation of baseball failure Mike Elias, and dissected it in various ways. It’s clear they need a front-linen starter and a front-line catcher given where Samuel Basallo is at this stage of his career, and a new closer and a new centerfielder and another starting outfielder on top of that. It’s a lot, and the guy charged with fixing is the very architect fully responsible for three straight years of underachieving baseball and a team a collective 39 games out of first in the AL East the last two years.

But let’s simplify things. For an organization that been platoon obsessed while failing to turn top five pics into truly impactful baseball players – in most cases they can’t even turn them into everyday players, I had a bit of a Perry Ferrell moment (“Standing In The Shower Thinking"). Let’s just take this Orioles roster and throw it into two bins – Tweeners And Everyday Dudes.

Is that too simplistic going on nine years into a never-ending rebuild? Should we be able to rattle off something close to a “core” if there actually ever was a core (and we are focused on bats for this exercise)? I kind of think if this anything close to what Elias repeatedly promised – a team that would contend to win the AL East for 10 straight years – then an exercise like this would seem silly. I’d be contemplating whether fishbone will ever reunite for one last proper tour or something like that while getting clean.

But let’s get real. How much of this roster is even real?

Who do you really believe could be someone who you’d want in the lineup 120 times or more in 2027 and manning some position about that often? When you consider that Taylor Ward and Leody Taveras were third and fourth in plate appearances on this roster, it can do funny things to you head (and make silly excuses come out of Elias's mouth).

Play along with me at home, though I have to be honest. This is depressing.

Real Dudes

Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg (maybe), Coby Mayo (maybe)

Um, yeah, that’s it. That’s the list. I mean am I missing anyone? Like you want to try to throw career utility guy Blaze Alexander in there? And, with Henderson now having just two years of control before arbitration, well, he’s gone by the trade deadline and probably way before that.

So what do we make of this?

They never really wanted to lean into Mayo getting as many at bats as he should have merited. But, like, you lead MLB in mashing lefties and rise from the ashes, I’ll put you up here. Westburg is a massive injury risk and he’s missed more games than he’s played the last three years, so banking on this is a stretch. And we’re already fudging. We’ve got a guy on here who didn’t swing a bat all season.

Tweeners

Everybody Else

Seriously. Are you calling Christian Encarnacion-Strand off a power-uber-ales run for a few weeks, with serious holes in his swing and too much swing-and-miss. It was fun, but in 2025 it was fun with Jeremiah Jackson and then he went back to fringy AAAA guy last season and then manager Craig Albernaz tried to make a silly example of him. I wouldn’t get over my skis.

Colton Cowser is a fourth outfielder, at best, who can’t hit lefties or offspeed pitches and is prone to debilitating two month stretches. Dylan Beavers is still a developmental project. Jackson Holliday looked like he belonged back in AAA most of the season, and is probably trade bait, too.

Tyler O’Neill is a ridiculously overpaid bench bat. Taveras is a fourth outfielder who was a minor league free agent for a reason. Christian Franklin ever getting this long a look here was baffling enough. Alexander had a tremendous two-plus month run, but that can be deceiving.

Yeah, it really is that bleak.

Which is why, if Henderson is dealt, and they are getting real about their product, we’re talking about a new spine – catcher, shortstop, second baseman (could be Westburg or Alexander) and centerfielder. They need everyday people, people. Ugh.

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