It seemed like the front office had safeguarded against handedness issues by building in potential platoons all over the field. But it has not worked out in practice.
The 2025 Orioles have a lot of problems: Injuries. Starting pitching. Over-reliance on home runs. You get the idea. But you can at least wrap your head around most of those things. There’s logic to the struggles. Something that makes no sense about this team is how bad they have been against left-handed pitching.
It was on full display Saturday, when the Orioles lost 4-0 to the Royals. The first seven innings of that game were tossed by Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch IV, two left-handers that combined to allow only five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. It was the second time this season that Bubic has stymied the Orioles. Over 11.2 innings this year he has not allowed an earned run to them.
By most major measures, the Orioles are the worst-hitting team against southpaws in all of MLB. They rank last in batting average (.174), slugging percentage (.234), wOBA (.230), and wRC+ (47). It’s been ugly.
What’s most alarming about this is that GM Mike Elias had seemingly safeguarded against this sort of outcome during the offseason. He signed Tyler O’Neill, who crushed lefties (215 wRC+) last year. He hung onto Jorge Mateo and his penchant for hitting lefties (127 wRC+ last year) to be the utility infielder. He added Ramón Laureano’s right-handed bat to balance out the lefty-heavy outfield. And he figured that Gary Sánchez would hold his own as a catching option against southpaws.
The team was constructed so that they could platoon at most positions and put players in a position to succeed. Guys like Ryan O’Hearn or Cedric Mullins wouldn’t need to be exposed by the lefties that have tormented them for most of their careers. It made sense in theory.
Unfortunately, none of those additions have panned out yet. O’Neill, now injured, is 2-for-21 against lefties. Jorge Mateo is 4-for-21. Ramón Laureano is 4-for-26. Sánchez, also injured, is 0-for-16.
But it’s not just the newbies. The holdovers are struggling as well. Gunnar Henderson has an 18 wRC+ against lefties. Adley Rutschman is at 45 wRC+. Ryan Mountcastle is at 17 wRC+.
It is a team wide issue that seems to have been avoided by Mullins (194 wRC+) and Ramón Urías (188 wRC+). They are the only two Orioles with more than five plate appearances against lefties and a wRC+ above 78.
This was not a problem the Orioles had in 2024. As a team they posted a 115 wRC+ against lefties. They finished the year in the top half of the league in batting average (.253), on-base percentage (.317), slugging percentage (.432), and wOBA (.325).
Rutschman led the way with a 159 wRC+, but Henderson (138 wRC+), Mountcastle (134 wRC+), and Jordan Westburg (112 wRC+) were also productive. Meanwhile Mullins, who has traditionally struggled against same-handed pitchers, did so a season ago (43 wRC+).
Elias was asked about these issues over the weekend, and seemed as surprised and annoyed as anyone.
“Very frustrating because it’s been a major factor,” Elias said. “The numbers are significant. I don’t think it’s permanent. We had these issues last year and we brought in some players that, scouting-wise, we believed in against left-handed pitching, but then their track records against left-handed pitching are really, really strong. And it’s a pretty small sample out of the gates for those guys.
“So I’m optimistic, I’m hopeful that they’re going to start producing like they normally do against left-handed pitching. We did some things to address that that I don’t think were too unpredictable and here we are, so it’s been frustrating.”
As is the case with most other things that have gone awry for the Orioles so far this season, it seems that Elias’ only answer is to preach patience. These players were assembled based on their previous performances and projected futures. The team simply has to hope they play up to their potential.
But it’s tough to be hopeful and ignore when so many players are going through similar struggles at the same time. It feels like a deeper issue exists, although that is nearly impossible to diagnose from afar.
In the meantime, it feels like Brandon Hyde needs to shake up his lineups against lefties a little more. Perhaps this past Saturday indicated he was starting to think the same way, at least a little bit.
Ryan O’Hearn started against Bubic. He went 1-for-3 against lefties that day while Ryan Mountcastle went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. At the very least, Mountcastle should not be the automatic starter at first base against lefties right now. And more importantly, O’Hearn should probably be the first name in the lineup every day. He is the team’s best hitter right now. He should be playing regardless of the matchup.
Emmanuel Rivera is on the major league roster right now because both Westburg and Urías are on the IL. But while he is on the roster, it would be wise to use him against lefties where possible. He went 7-for-19 against them with the Orioles last year and has a passable .762 OPS against them in Norfolk this year.
Jackson Holliday stayed on the bench against Bubic, his typical spot against good southpaws. His replacement, Mateo, went 0-for-3 in his spot. At a certain point, the team needs to let Holliday learn on the job when it comes to left-handed pitching. Much like O’Hearn, he has been one of the team’s top hitters. Since April 23, Holliday owns a .407/.484/.630 slash line. For a club that needs all the offense it can get, playing him against a lefty feels like a gamble worth taking.
None of these are fool-proof solutions. They aren’t even strategies, and would be more more accurately described as throwing things at the wall.
Elias is right that the team’s only hope is for the players to figure things out. They cannot overhaul the roster midseason, and even if they could it likely wouldn’t do much good. These same players had nowhere near these sorts of issues with left-handed pitching a season ago. As the small sample size turns into a larger one, let’s hope that all of the positive outcomes are back-loaded and the Orioles start to score in bunches against lefties.