The Orioles only deserved one All Star roster spot after a disappointing first half, but the roster is filled with All-Star caliber players ready to make a push.
Ryan O’Hearn deserves his flowers for being named a 2025 All Star. The part-time DH easily could have been added to the AL squad last season, but he forced voters’ hands this year.
O’Hearn definitely did not benefit from some type of team-specific bias, as no other Orioles made the team. As Mark Brown noted earlier this week, this will be the first time that Baltimore has only one All Star since Jorge López in 2022.
That year marked the last time that the O’s sold at the trade deadline. Baltimore flipped López and fan favorite Trey Mancini in deals that netted Yennier Cano, Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott.
The Orioles were ahead of schedule that year. Adley Rutschman joined the club in May, but Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg will still in the majors. Some will have you believe All-Star finalist Jackson Holliday was still in the seventh grade.
Baltimore finished 83-79 that season. López and Mancini failed to make a significant impact with their new teams, and few would suggest that the trades prevented a postseason run. It felt like a buzzkill at the time, but selling was likely the right move.
The O’s were a fun, up-and-coming team in 2022. This year, they’re one of the most disappointing teams in baseball. For better or worse, only fielding one All-Star provides the perfect context for the 2025 season.
Henderson missed a majority of spring training and the beginning of the year after making a leaping catch in Sarasota. The injury—and/or the lack of ramp up—led to a slow start. Henderson slashed .228/.268/.413 in the month of April.
The 2024 All Star got things going in May before dominating in June. Henderson slashed .326/.418/.484 over 27 games last month. Those are All-Star numbers for a guy many expected to compete for an AL MVP, but the production came too late to earn a spot in the Summer Classic.
Colton Cowser felt like an All-Star candidate after being named the AL Most Outstanding Rookie last season, but he missed two months with a broken hand. Jordan Westburg, another O’s All Star last season, already holds a 1.1 fWAR despite appearing in only 38 games.
Rutschman has been a league average hitter (98 OPS+), and likely would not have been an All-Star candidate even if he dodged his first IL stint in four years. Gary Sánchez would have been a dark horse if he posted numbers anywhere close to his .354/.415/.646 June line sandwiched between a pair of injuries.
The Orioles failed to replace 2024 All Stars Corbin Burnes or Anthony Santander, but their free agents didn’t really come close. Tyler O’Neill missed a majority of the first half with injuries. Charlie Morton briefly pitched his way out of the rotation with some significant struggles, but the two-time All Star has a 2.97 ERA over his last seven starts.
It’s no coincidence that Baltimore’s fortunes have improved as these guys got going. Cowser, Henderson, and Westburg have helped spark an offense that posted historically bad numbers early in the season. On the other side, Morton and 2021 All Star Trevor Rogers have emerged as the leaders of the rotation over the last month.
Félix Bautista returned after missing a full season, but the Orioles took it slow with the 2023 All Star. Bautista holds a respectable 2.56 ERA and 12.8 K/9, but he did not pitch on consecutive days early in the year. The lack of save opportunities didn’t help the cause, but Bautista didn’t carry an All-Star caliber workload. The training wheels appear to be off now, and the Birds have one of the most dominant relievers back at full force.
O’Hearn did his best, but there was no keeping this ship afloat. The Orioles missed All-Star quality production from too many players. The reinforcements showed up too late to earn a spot in a midseason exhibition game. Whether or not they took too long to save the season remains to be seen.