Mike Elias has stuck by his manager so far, but fans aren’t convinced he will do so all year.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Baltimore Orioles fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Whether any particular Orioles fan entered the season full of optimism about the potential of the lineup, anxiety about the state of the starting rotation, or some combination of these two things, everyone wanted to see good things coming from the O’s this year. The team’s performance has not lived up to those hopes up to this point.
In our survey this week, we asked whether Brandon Hyde will still be the manager when this season concludes. There are multiple different little questions a person could have considered in figuring out this answer. Will the team play poorly enough that firing the manager is reasonable? Would Mike Elias in particular make a midseason change from Hyde, who he’s stuck with since the start of the rebuilding project?
Here’s how you voted on the big question:
Of course, this is a different question entirely than whether Hyde will still be the manager for the 2026 season. I’m guessing that there would have been a much larger percentage of “Hyde will be fired” voters in that case, rather than this relatively narrow majority. The longer this below-.500 muddling continues, the more I’ll be wondering about a change before the start of next season. But I’d be surprised if the team tanks to a degree that Elias pulls the trigger on a midseason firing, at least based on where things are right now.
When we opened up the survey this week, it was easy to feel pessimism about the Orioles, who had yet to win consecutive games this season, or any series that they have played so far. The rotation was a combination of bad and injury-riddled, the bullpen has not yet been seriously tested, and the offense has had its share of problems as well.
None of those concerns are entirely banished just because of one series victory, but I do wonder if people would have voted differently if the survey was starting today instead of on Tuesday morning. We can all hope that the weekend’s series against the Reds provides more to bolster optimism around here, but with the Reds starting two lefty pitchers plus Hunter Greene, that’s a tough sell right now.
This week’s survey was brought to you by FanDuel.