Rays' AL East rival fires former Manager of the Year as stunning downfall continues

The Baltimore Orioles have not only become the surprise last place club in the AL East, but they've completely spiraled out of control. After the baseball world witnessed the firings of Rockies manager Bud Black and Pirates manager Derek Shelton after their horrendous starts, the Orioles front office has decided to make the difficult decision of firing Brandon Hyde after seven seasons at the helm for the Orioles.

Heading into the 2025 season, the Orioles were favorites to contend with the Yankees and Red Sox for first place in the American League East. The young, talented club finished the 2024 season only three games back of the eventual AL champion Yankees with a 91-71 record. The disappointing 15-29 start to this campaign has been nothing short of surprising.

The Orioles have lost five straight contests and eight of their last ten as they continue to fall deeper and deeper into a hole. The glaring concern lies in the inability of their starting rotation to put together quality performances. With flame-throwing youngster, Grayson Rodriguez on the IL, Baltimore was already short high-caliber starters and the new additions have been underperforming for the most part.

Only two of the Orioles current starting pitchers have an ERA below 5.00 which places them at the bottom of the majors in team ERA, ahead of only the Marlins and Rockies. Zach Eflin, who just returned from injury, is having another consistent season on the bump as he's accrued a 3.13 ERA in four starts.

35-year old rookie Tomoyuki Sugano is holding his own as well in his first season in the United States. The Japanese hurler has had tons of success in his career as he's obtained two Sawamura Awards, the Japanese League equivalent to the Cy Young Award.

One of the most miserable seasons from the Orioles roster has come from former Rays starter, Charlie Morton. The 41-year old looks to be wrapping up his 18-year career, as he is a league-worst 0-7 with a 7.68 ERA on the young campaign. The Orioles have decided to move his services to the bullpen to give him another chance to help the struggling team.

Therefore, it's pretty clear that there is a widespread number of issues in the Baltimore clubhouse, but Mike Elias and company felt that Brandon Hyde's managerial methods were falling short. We wish Hyde the best on his next endeavor!