Chris Bassitt Raises Expectations for Orioles With Candid Take

It was clear that the Baltimore Orioles needed to improve their roster after a disappointing 2025 season, where they finished in last place in the ever-competitive AL East.

And the front office accomplished this by signing several standout players in free agency, including Pete Alonso and Ryan Helsley. They also added more thump to their lineup by trading for former Los Angeles Angels slugger Taylor Ward.

However, it wasn't just more talent that the team needed. In fact, there's a case to be made that Baltimore's roster needed leadership more than anything else, as there were rumblings that that club's young core lacked veteran leaders in the locker room last season.

This seemed to be something President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias kept in mind when deciding who to acquire this winter. In addition to all of those aforementioned players (who qualify as veteran leaders), the Orioles also signed Chris Bassitt to a one-year, $18.5 million contract.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Orioles’ Chris Bassitt Sends Clear Message About Winning Standards

While Bassitt's successful 2025 season with the Toronto Blue Jays (where he posted an 11-9 record with a 3.96 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 170.1 innings pitched, then made 7 appearances out of the bullpen and produced a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched during the postseason) was a huge reason for Baltimore wanting him, his leadership was another clear and important reason for the Orioles' interest.

And this was conveyed with a March 24 article by Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner, which included a telling quote from Bassitt about his high standards.

“There’s no excuse for it not to be, because this division is the hardest division in baseball, and for you to actually want to try to win the World Series, you have to do all the little things right. We have to raise expectations around here that we’re not just talented, we also care about all the little things. We care about the drills. We care about all the fundamentals and playing the game the right way. It’s just making sure we’re going in the right direction," Bassitt was quoted as saying in the article.

He also added, “If you’re a really good team, especially talent-wise, odds are the only chance you have a bad year is you get in your own way."

Here is Chris Bassitt explaining why he and Pete Alonso had the Orioles redo a drill in March. Their eyes are on October.

“We have to raise expectations around here.”https://t.co/jaZphTUbGA https://t.co/HL76YmQNHJ pic.twitter.com/i8gv3E5Zyq
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) March 24, 2026

The article told of how Bassitt and Pete Alonso called the team out for "going through the motions" in a spring training drill, which ultimately had the team go through the drill again.

This sort of leadership is what the Orioles were missing last season, and what could be their x-factor in 2026.

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