Hello, friends.
The All-Star break continues. There’s still not going to be any more Orioles baseball until tomorrow when they start the non-mathematical second half of the season in Houston. We can hope the break is a good mental reset for those players who need one and a good physical reset for those who need one of those. It is a near-certainty that more than one player has been pushing through minor dings. Four days off might actually help with some of that.
Unfortunately, four days off isn’t going to do much to solve the challenge of Blaze Alexander’s broken hand bone. That’s not something that resolves in half of a week. Today is probably the day they’ll make their short-term decision about what to do to replace him on the roster for at least a few days, because they’ll want that player to be able to get to Houston to join the team coming out of the break.
We probably won’t find out until they announce the roster move tomorrow afternoon, or perhaps if the beat writers start putting “So-and-so has a locker here” posts on social media. Tomorrow’s roster move does not necessarily have to be the solution that the team will use from here until when Alexander is back. It also might be. Mike Elias generally does not act with the urgency that Orioles fans would like him to act with.
How much it’s worth paying the urgency premium for this 46-51 team is kind of an ongoing question. The odds for the Orioles are what they are, in the range of about one in eight to about one in five. You don’t want to bet a meaningful piece for the future on a one in eight chance. The odds could change if the Orioles keep playing well. The idea of a long winning streak has always been there for those who want to believe in it. “Well, if they could just win like seven in a row…”
The Orioles finally made it to four. If they were to sweep the Astros coming out of the break, the odds would be much better. They probably won’t sweep the Astros coming out of the break. The more they win over the rest of July, the more the math points more in their favor towards the value of seeking external improvements for this year’s team. Even if they stay on the fringes, finding someone who can help for the rest of this year and next year too might be worth getting. That’s something Elias will have to figure out between now and August 3.
There was some other injury news during yesterday’s off day. The team announced that lefty reliever Keegan Akin underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. Things had been pointing in that direction for a while based on what was known of his elbow injury and they reached the inevitable conclusion yesterday. At this point, Akin may not throw another real MLB pitch until late next season, if not all the way into 2028. Best wishes to Akin as he begins on the long road to recovery here.
The cold reality is this isn’t much of a loss for the 2026 Orioles bullpen. Akin’s 5.68 ERA in 25.1 innings were part of this team’s problems, rather than part of their solutions. Akin being removed as an option is something the Orioles can now definitively plan around, as opposed to pretending Akin will be back in action soon and then pretending that he might pitch to the form he had in either of the past two seasons. He may have thrown his last pitch for the team that drafted him; Akin is a free agent at the end of the season.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Key upcoming stretch could determine Orioles trade deadline strategy (Orioles.com)
Jake Rill notes that these next two series are against teams – the Astros and Red Sox – who are currently between the Orioles and a wild card spot. Finding a way to win each series and gain a game on both would really improve their odds.
Two words of advice for Orioles POBO Mike Elias (Baltimore Baseball)
Peter Schmuck’s advice is also the title of a particularly well-known (in relative terms) episode of Doctor Who.
Teammates again for one out, Rutschman and Baker soak up All-Star experience (The Baltimore Banner)
I really hope the Orioles are asking themselves, “Why couldn’t we turn Bryan Baker into an All-Star reliever?”
The replacement-level killers: First base, second base (FanGraphs)
Ahead of each trade deadline, FanGraphs does a series showing which contending teams are weakest at each position. The Orioles, with a Jackson Holliday-heavy second base, show up here. Out of all of the infield positions, that’s the only one, though without Alexander, the third base picture looks tougher.
Orioles add multiple undrafted free agents (Orioles On The Verge)
With some good fortune, maybe one of these guys will turn into Trey Gibson some day.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
There are two former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2026 one-game outfielder Michael Siani, and 1966-67 pitcher Eddie Fisher. The 15-year MLB veteran Fisher passed away last year at age 88.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: civil rights activist Ida B. Wells (1862), Antarctic explorer Roald Amundsen (1872), popcorn man Orville Redenbacher (1907), football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson (1943), actor Will Ferrell (1967), and US women’s soccer legend Carli Lloyd (1982).
On this day in history…
In 622, Islam’s prophet Muhammad began the journey leading his followers from Mecca to Medina. This event, the Hijrah, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
In 1790, the District of Columbia was officially established as the capital of the United States.
In 1941, Joe DiMaggio recorded a hit for the 56th consecutive game. This turned out to be the last game in his record hitting streak, a record that still holds today. There are four players tied for the currently active hitting streak lead with hits in eight straight games.
In 1951, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was first published. Did you ever read that one in school?
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 16. Have a safe Thursday.
