Brandon Hyde couldn’t survive Orioles’ continued freefall
***********Brandon Hyde managed the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. He had previously served as their hitting coach for the second half of the 2003 season and the entire 2004 season.**********
Now Today:
Nearly two months into the 2025 MLB season, the once-promising Baltimore Orioles are shifting gears.
from Seth Carlson, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
The club announced on Saturday that they would be parting ways with longtime manager Brandon Hyde after the team’s disappointing 15-28 start to the year.
Statement From The Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles today announced that Manager BRANDON HYDE has been relieved of his duties.
“As the head of baseball operations, the poor start to our season is ultimately my responsibility,” said Orioles Executive Vice President and General Manager MIKE ELIAS. “Part of that responsibility is pursuing difficult changes in order to set a different course for the future.
I want to thank Brandon for his hard work, dedication, and passion all these years, and for returning the team to the playoffs and winning an AL East Championship. His many positive contributions to this organization and to Baltimore will remain, and we wish him and his family the best.”
“Brandon Hyde is someone I have come to know and deeply admire, not only for his extensive knowledge of baseball, but also for his exceptional leadership as a manager,” said Orioles Control Owner DAVID RUBENSTEIN. “I am sincerely grateful for his significant accomplishments over the past six years, which have greatly benefited both the Orioles and the city of Baltimore.
However, as is sometimes the case in baseball, change becomes necessary, and we believe this is one of those moments. The Orioles organization is truly appreciative of everything Brandon has contributed during his tenure, and we wish him nothing but success in whatever path he chooses next in the world of baseball.
Brandon is a man of great character, and we thank him for his dedication and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
The Orioles have also relieved Major League Field Coordinator/Catching Instructor TIM COSSINS of his duties.
“We thank Tim for his tremendous contributions to the organization over the years,” said Elias.
Third Base Coach TONY MANSOLINO will serve as interim manager. Mansolino has been the third base coach for the Orioles since 2021. He worked in various minor league coaching capacities in Cleveland’s organization from 2011-20, including four seasons as manager with Single-A Lake County (2016), High-A Lynchburg (2017), Double-A Akron (2018), and Triple-A Columbus (2019). The 42-year-old was also the interim third base coach for the Guardians during most of the 2020 season while Terry Francona was away from the club with a medical condition.
Bench Coach ROBINSON CHIRINOS will remain in his same role.
While not totally surprising, this move is indicative of just how poorly Baltimore has played after entering the 2025 season with high expectations.
There aren’t many excuses for the Orioles, who currently have the league’s third-worst staff ERA (and worst in the American League) at 5.31, and a lineup with a collective .682 OPS entering play on Saturday. That’s good for just tenth in the American League and 22nd in MLB.
A roster with some of baseball’s brightest stars and coming off consecutive postseason appearances shouldn’t reside in the AL East basement, but the results speak for themselves.
And with no meaningful signs of improvement, the writing was on the wall for Hyde.
The now-former manager concludes his tenure with a 421-492 record over six-plus seasons with the Orioles, most of those during a rebuild in which Baltimore tanked to draft current cornerstones like catcher Adley Rutschman and infielder Gunnar Henderson.
Ultimately, Baltimore seems to be embracing the blueprint followed by the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, two other clubs who similarly fired their managers recently, but who also chose to address a symptom (on-field performance) of their issues rather than the root cause (incompetency in baseball operations).
Now, a daunting challenge stares interim manager Tony Mansolino dead in the face: Attempting to salvage what’s left of a seemingly lost Orioles season.
++++++++++In 2022, Hyde led the Orioles to a 83–79 (.512) record, a 31-game improvement from the previous year. Hyde finished second in AL Manager of the Year voting, losing to Terry Francona of the Cleveland Guardians.
In 2023, Hyde got his 300th win as an MLB manager in a 6–3 away victory over the Los Angeles Angels on September 4, in which the Orioles established a new American League record by surpassing the 1922–24 New York Yankees with 84 consecutive series of two-plus games of not being swept. The Orioles finished the 2023 season with a 101-61 (.623) record, the first 100-win season since 1980. Hyde led the Orioles to their first AL East title since 2014 and first playoff appearance since 2016. As a result, Hyde was named the AL Manager of the Year.
The Baltimore Orioles, under Brandon Hyde’s leadership finished at (91-71) in 2024, good for second place in the American League East…++++++++++