Samuel Basallo's Second Half Raises More Red Flags For Orioles Hitting Staff And Medical Staff

The 22-year-old fledgling slugger has not looked close to himself since going on the IL with a lingering shoulder issue, and this staff tends to make things worse

Jun 26, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo (29) breaks bat after striking out in seventh inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Lexi Thompson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Baltimore Orioles, under failed head of baseball operations Mike Elias, are incapable of cultivating their greatest resources into consistently productive players.

Since running off one of the most respected and accomplished training staffs so Elias could bring in his own people, their Injured List stints have soared and the same recurring injuries have cropped up and their most important young everyday players have regressed, markedly and quickly, and, in some cases, perhaps permanently. So watching 22-year-old catcher Samuel Basallo struggle mightily and not look like himself and appear to be compensating for a lingering shoulder injury deep into a lost season is a major concern for him (especially against the backdrop of what has become of Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday, among others).

Wasn’t that long ago that Basallo was the most prodigious power hitting catcher under the age of 22 in MLB history, as we documented at the time. He also left a game against Toronto briefly back in May wincing and leaving with trainers, only to pop back up in the on deck circle late in the game, only to experience more issues that clownish rookie manager Craig Albernaz tried to minimize,only to end up on the IL in July, after all, with what was deemed “right shoulder inflammation” and struggle mightily ever since.

Carrying three catchers for most of the second half of the season, again, in a lost season, there seemed to be a mounting case for shutting down a young man who ended up catching infinitely more innings for this team than alleged star Adley Rutschman and endured his fair share of adversity in a rookie season at a very young age for someone manning this position. That seemed smart ever before he took a foul tip tot he head Monday that had him getting checked for a concussion.

It seems even more obvious, now.

This kid barely caught 200 games in the minors, and I am thoroughly convinced the shoulder situation has been fairly significant for way longer than they got around to putting him on the IL. Regardless, the second half has been a mess.

Hitting The Wall

Basallo has not seemed comfortable at all since being reactivated and his power stroke is lacking and he’s been getting under the ball a lot and failing to line things up. His strikeout rate has gone from 26% to 30%.                                         

Split         G   GS   PA    HR  RBI     BA  OBP  SLG  OPS

1st Half   83  70  301   16   46      .248 .309 .464 .772

2nd Half  29  24  98      2      8      .140 .235 .221 .456

In May, as Basallo came into his own, he did what he always did in the minors – destroy fastballs. He hit .314 of fastballs that month and slugged .543. Since then, he is 15-for-100 against fastballs with just five extra base hits (all homers). That’s a massive red flag and I tend to think health and wear and tear have much to do with it. And probably some mounting frustration with one of MLB’s worst hitting staffs that has undermined many a fledgling career already.

Any chances of trying to end this season at anything close to the power and ferocity with which he was swinging the bat in midsummer is long gone. How much first base he ends up playing in the future – or even picking up some right field – remains to be seen. And hopefully he will not need any sort of procedures or clean ups this offseason.

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