One of the MLB teams that was very active this offseason was the Baltimore Orioles. Mike Elias and the front office made significant upgrades to a roster that needed them. However, early spring training injuries to Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg are not what they want to be dealing with in February.
Holliday broke his hamate bone to begin the season, and Westburg has a partially torn UCL. Holliday recently got some good news in that his stitches were removed and he can start working out, fielding ground balls, and swinging a bat with one hand. As for Westburg, that is a more concerning injury, which leaves the door open for a potential trade before Opening Day.
Despite those injuries, moves made by the Orioles in Craig Albernaz’s first campaign as the manager still have high hopes for Baltimore. Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report listed seven teams that will have a better record in 2026. One of those teams was the Orioles.
Baltimore Orioles Predicted To Win More Games in 2026
Baltimore made some key additions over the winter. They traded for Taylor Ward from the Los Angeles Angels. The Orioles won the Pete Alonso free agent sweepstakes, beating out the Boston Red Sox for the former New York Mets first baseman.
As far as their pitching goes, Baltimore didn’t make a huge splash in free agency. At least with their starting rotation. They signed Ryan Helsley for the backend of the bullpen. However, they signed Zach Eflin and Chris Bassitt in free agency while acquiring Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays. They were linked to the Houston Astros Framber Valdez, but he signed with the Detroit Tigers.
“The Orioles perhaps didn’t add an ace this offseason, but Elias signed veterans Chris Bassitt and Zach Eflin and traded for Shane Baz. Health will be a major key for this rotation, but a rotation headlined by Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish has a high ceiling,” Kelly wrote.
Nobody is going to mistake the Orioles for having the top rotation in the American League East. They do have some veteran arms along with some that do have a high ceiling, but they are not as deep as the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Red Sox. Helsley could be the x-factor in 2026 in closing out games.
Baltimore Orioles Expected To Improve in 2026
It was easy for Kelly to put the Orioles on the list of improved teams that will win more in 2026. However, the moves were necessary after they saw Toronto make a run to the World Series and know they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. Could Baltimore be this year’s Blue Jays, come October, sitting at the top of the AL East standings?
“The AL East is baseball’s most competitive division, but in Craig Albernaz’s first season as manager, the Orioles have a chance to do what the Blue Jays did last year—go from worst to first,” Kelly wrote.
If they are, the Orioles are going to have to get healthy quickly and stay that way. They’ll also need their pitching to stay healthy and overperform in some instances. If that happens, Baltimore is certainly a team that can shake up the AL East this summer.
Orioles Get an Extremely Promising Prediction Ahead of 2026 Season