BALTIMORE -- It’s too early in the Orioles’ season to read too much into most early developments. After four games, they’re only 2.5% of the way through a 162-game marathon, one that will feature plenty of highs, lows and everything in between.
At the same time, Baltimore would have liked for a better start, especially coming off last year’s disappointing 75-87, last-place finish. The O’s have alternated wins and losses thus far, dropping to 2-2 after taking a 5-2 loss to the Rangers in the series opener at Camden Yards on Monday night.
Here’s a look at some of the troublesome trends starting very early, as well as reasons why there shouldn’t be any panic about them yet.
The lack of offense (mostly)
The Orioles have scored 13 runs, with eight of those coming in Sunday’s win over Minnesota. They’ve plated two or fewer in each of their other three contests.
More concerning has been the strikeout totals and the amount of swing-and-miss. They’ve had 40 K’s and 98 whiffs. Part of the reason for those numbers is because Baltimore ran into a tough starter on Monday, as Texas right-hander Jack Leiter racked up eight strikeouts and 21 whiffs.
Manager Craig Albernaz hasn’t been concerned, though, and he reiterated that after this game.
“The at-bats are still there. It's just we're just a click off right now,” Albernaz said. “And that's something where, when our offense gets going, I think that once everyone kind of starts clicking and stays within himself and passes the baton, I think that's where our offense is really going to take off.”
Players such as Taylor Ward, Gunnar Henderson, Pete Alonso and others haven’t gotten rolling yet, but they’re likely to. Not only does the offense have more potential than in 2025, but it will be interesting to see how new hitting coaches Dustin Lind and Brady North work to get hitters out of early slumps.
“Early in the year, it’s tough. It’s a new season, everyone’s excited and antsy, everyone wants to get on the board,” third baseman Coby Mayo said. “Any given night, this team is capable of putting up 10-plus. Sometimes, the pitcher just has a good night and you’ve got to credit him and you’ve got to just turn the page, can’t dwell on it too much. Tomorrow’s a new day, we have a lot of games left to play.”
Henderson’s early errors
After going 1-for-12 with six strikeouts over the first three games, Henderson’s bat heated up Monday, as the 24-year-old homered as part of a 2-for-4, two-RBI performance. However, he committed an error on a routine play at shortstop for the second day in a row.
Henderson had an American League-high 24 errors in 2024, then cut that total down to eight while playing 145 games in ‘25. He also still possessed the ability to make non-routine plays.
This was Henderson’s mindset entering the year on how he planned to take the next step:
“Continue to make the routine plays routine. Just be smart with the aggressiveness on plays. I feel like that’s what I learned a lot last year, is kind of toning down. Not being passive, but smartly aggressive.”
It would be surprising if Henderson doesn’t shake off this start and return to a high level.
Tyler Wells’ tough start
Baltimore is counting on Wells to be one of its top setup men in a revamped bullpen, especially while Andrew Kittredge (right shoulder inflammation) and Keegan Akin (left groin strain) are on the injured list. A converted starter, Wells produced solid results as a reliever early in his career and has typically excelled doing whatever the O’s ask of him.
But Wells has yet to have a clean outing in 2026. The 31-year-old allowed one run in one inning on Thursday, one run in two-thirds of a frame on Sunday and one run in one inning on Monday. Through those 2 2/3 innings, he’s given up six hits and issued two walks (both on Sunday).
“Just like any reliever, you’ve got to settle into the season,” Albernaz said. “With Tyler, yeah, he was off. But when he needed to make pitches, he made pitches. And that’s a trait that we love to have. I bank on Tyler, when he gets the ball next, he’ll be right back filling up the zone and doing what he does best.”
Wells is a pitcher whose track record suggests he’ll correct these early issues and again become an integral part of the Orioles’ staff down the stretch.