Everyone knows how dire the Orioles’ injury situation was this past season. Every regular position player but second baseman Jackson Holliday spent time on the injured list. Each of their other core homegrown players was on the IL.
Shortstop Gunnar Henderson’s time was the shortest. He missed the first seven games with a strained intercostal (ribcage) muscle, then played 154 of the final 155 games, missing only September 3rd.
Holliday played 149 and missed three games late in the season with a knee injury.
Outfielder Colton Cowser, catcher Adley Rutschman and third baseman Jordan Westburg each had multiple stints on the injured list. Cowser played 92 games, Rutschman 90 and Westburg 85.
The core five played just 17 games together, none before June 10th and only three after August 6th. The Orioles were 7-10 in those games, a small sample size.
Those five were all high draft picks by president of baseball operations Mike Elias.
Rutschman and Holliday were chosen first overall in 2019 and 2022, Cowser fourth in 2021, Westburg was a 30th overall pick in 2020, and Henderson the 42nd in 2019.
Another high pick, Heston Kjerstad, the overall No. 2 pick in 2020, faces an uncertain future, and the Orioles can’t count on him.
“Heston has been working with our doctors and other doctors on a medical condition,” Elias said on September 29th. “He’s responded favorably to some treatment and some different treatments that they’ve done recently and he’s in a good spot right now and pointed in the right direction. We’re going to see him in spring training and I’m really looking forward to that, because we missed the real Heston Kjerstad this year. I don’t want to go into any more detail.”
The Orioles will make additions this offseason, but the five core players — Henderson, Rutschman, Westburg, Holliday and Cowser — must produce.
Henderson’s stats were down from 2024, but a .274 average, .787 OPS, 17 home runs, 68 RBIs and 30 steals in 35 attempts weren’t bad, just not as good as his first two full seasons and below expectations.
Holliday played his first full year, and after a forgettable debut in 2024 at 20, had a much better season in 2025. Now, much more is expected than a .242 average and .690 OPS, 17 homers and 55 RBIs.
Far more is expected from Cowser, Rutschman and Westburg.
Cowser missed more than two months after he fractured his left thumb in the fourth game of the season. In August, he was on the concussion injured list.
Rutschman missed nine weeks with oblique strains (left from June 20th-July 27th, right from August 18th-Septembe1 21st).
Westburg missed time from April 27th-June 9th with a strained left hamstring and from August 19th-September 16th with a sprained right ankle.
Cowser and Rutschman had poor statistical years (.196 with .655 OPS, 16 home runs, 40 RBIs for Cowser, .220 average with .673 OPS, nine home runs, 29 RBIs for Rutschman).
Interim manager Tony Mansolino complimented Rutschman’s defense. His defensive WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 1.3 was higher than in 2023 and 2024, though below the 1.5 he recorded in his rookie season, 2022. Rutschman isn’t there to be merely a defensive catcher. He needs to drive the ball as he did from his 2022 debut until the 2024 All-Star break.
Cowser continues to strike out at an alarming rate. In his big league career, he’s struck out in 36.3 percent of his at-bats. This year, he struck out in 39 percent of his AB’s.
His defensive metrics are good, but the Orioles are expecting excellent offense and defense from Cowser.
Westburg’s stats were fine for a player who played in just over half his team’s games (.265, .770 OPS, 17 home runs, 41 RBIs). If you project those stats over a full season instead of 85 games, that’s a productive year.
The injuries to Cowser, Rutschman and Westburg were far from the only ones the Orioles suffered. There were the three trips to the injured list that limited outfielder Tyler O’Neill to 54 games plus myriad pitching injuries.
Next year, the Orioles will need big years from the homegrown five, and a full year of production from the latest products of the farm system — catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo and outfielder Dylan Beavers.
But for the Orioles to return to contention, they’ll need big years from Henderson, Holliday, Cowser, Rutschman and Westburg.
Note: The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that the Orioles have interest in former Seattle manager Scott Servais for their managing position.
Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.