NEW YORK -- When the Orioles arrived at Yankee Stadium early Friday afternoon, it was the first time the team had convened since being eliminated from postseason contention. Baltimore’s playoff aspirations ended during Thursday’s off-day, when a White Sox win at Kansas City dropped the O’s postseason odds to 0%.
Manager Craig Albernaz addressed his players inside the visitors’ clubhouse prior to the start of the final three-game series vs. the Yankees -- one that doesn’t have any stakes.
“Obviously, we’re eliminated, and it’s not a place where we wanted to be. But we’re here, and it sucks. It’s something for myself, and also the rest of the team, we don’t want to have this feeling again,” Albernaz said. “I just challenged the guys that, first and foremost, I can be better for them. I’ve got to make adjustments and help us in the win column as much as I can, but also challenge them that each player do some self-reflection and figure out the little margins where they can get better as well and attack them this offseason.
“Us as a group, if we all attack those margins and you look up, next year, hopefully, we’ll be in a better spot.”
That was the general consensus among the Orioles. Everybody is disappointed about entering Friday with a 78-81 record and knowing their season won’t extend beyond Sunday. But there’s a belief that it won’t be like this again in 2027.
Pete Alonso has been Baltimore’s leader all season. After signing a five-year, $155 million deal last December, the 31-year-old slugger has not only been the team’s best player on the field, but he has become a strong presence with a loud voice inside the clubhouse.
And Alonso didn’t mince words when asked about Thursday’s elimination.
“That’s not the expectation. As a club, we failed to perform and do what we were supposed to do. We had great moments, great individual performances, but as a whole, that’s not the standard here. And that’s unacceptable for us,” Alonso said. “The standard for us is to not only make the postseason, but make a run and have a legitimate shot to hold up a trophy at the end of the year, and we didn’t even give ourselves an opportunity to enter the dance in October.”
After making consecutive postseason appearances in 2023 and ‘24, the O’s have missed the playoffs in both ‘25 and ‘26. There had been optimism for this season to be a bounce-back year, and instead, Baltimore never quite played up to expectations.
The Orioles never had a record above .500 after falling to 9-9 on April 15. They spent nearly the entire season with a losing record, then returned to .500 when they improved to 69-69 on Aug. 31. However, Baltimore opened September with six straight losses.
With the race for the third American League Wild Card wide open for the final few weeks of the season, the O’s stayed alive for longer than they likely would have in most years.
“I think if you ask anyone in this clubhouse, it didn’t really feel like we played our best baseball over a collective period of time -- pretty much the whole year,” outfielder Colton Cowser said. “It kind of sucks, because it did feel like it was somewhat of a down year in the AL. ... So I think when you reflect upon it like that, it feels like we probably didn’t take advantage of a year where we probably could have made the playoffs.”
So, where do the Orioles go from here?
They still have to wrap up the season in New York. Then, the players will head their separate ways and take some time to unwind and debrief early in the offseason.
There will be transactions made, whether that’s in free agency or via trades. The O’s will surely look at least slightly different when they begin play in the 2027 season.
But Baltimore still has confidence in the potential for a successful long-term future.
“I think this team can be in a really good spot next year,” Cowser said.
“Next year, whatever needs to happen, we need to do a better job. We need to do a better job as players, because that’s what it boils down to,” Alonso added. “The expectation is to be a great team.”