Baltimore Orioles Tease Major Changes Coming to Their Offensive Strategy

Changes seem to be on the horizon for the Baltimore Orioles heading into 2025.

Nov 7, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles were a great story last year when they won 101 games and finished as the top seed in the American League with a core group of young players and some veterans leading the way.

Considering where they were at in their rebuilding process, there finished way ahead of schedule. Their sweep out of the ALDS round by the future World Series champion Texas Rangers was viewed as understandable, especially since the majority of their roster had never experienced playoff baseball.

But the expectations were different this season.

The Orioles were viewed as one of the favorites to win the American League despite it being just one year removed from when they surprised everyone around Major League Baseball with what they had accomplished.

That's how things go in professional sports.

Baltimore became victims of their own success when they were swept out of the postseason for the second straight year.

Understanding turned into frustration, and the organization is now focusing on what they need to do so this group can get over the hump during the playoffs.

There is now real pressure on the front office and coaching staff to make that happen, and with multiple key players set to hit free agency, this winter will be a huge moment that has to go right if the Orioles are truly going to live up to expectations.

Knowing that, it sounds like some major changes could be coming to Baltimore's offensive approach before next season gets underway.

"It was a lot more of a challenge to score runs, and we relied on the homer. When you're facing really good pitching, that's tough to do," manager Brandon Hyde said according to Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner.

The Orioles finished second in the regular season with 235 home runs, trailing only the New York Yankees by two and being just ahead of the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers. Their slugging percentage was third, highlighting how this was one of the most potent offenses in the league.

But for the second straight year, that didn't translate to the playoffs.

Baltimore was brutal getting on base and they failed to capitalize on the rare instance someone was in scoring position.

General manager Mike Elias committed to bringing back Hyde in 2025, but he did not say everyone on the coaching staff would be back next season, signaling there could be some changes coming.

That hint got even louder when the executive said the Orioles are "going to examine everything about our offensive approach, teachings, the mix of personnel," per Kostka.

What tweaks come will be seen.

Maybe it's as simple as moving on from their offensive coaches and bringing in others who have a different mindset. Maybe they look to alter the swings of their young players who are still in the early stages of their careers.

Or maybe Baltimore makes massive changes, bringing in new coaches and adjusting the approaches of their young stars, while also overhauling this roster to add different types of players to fill out this lineup and depth chart.

This is an interesting winter for the Orioles, and one that either set them up for success or failure in 2025.