One day after the Baltimore Orioles were swept by the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card Series, Orioles general manager Mike Elias confirmed to reporters that manager Brandon Hyde will return for the 2025 season. The news isn't surprising, but following a second straight early exit from the postseason, Elias has put any speculation to rest.
Even though the Orioles won 91 games during this past regular season, 2024 stands as a disappointment for a team with perhaps the most impressive young core of players in baseball -- a team that also added ace Corbin Burnes via trade last winter. Baltimore in 2023 claimed the American League East title and won 101 games before being swept by the eventual-champion Texas Rangers in the Division Series. This season saw them decline by 10 wins in the regular-season standings, and the O's were below .500 from July 1 onward and 33-33 in the second half. The club has now suffered 10 straight playoff losses, and half of that streak has come under Hyde.
Hyde, who turned 51 years old on Thursday, has just completed his sixth season as Orioles manager. Over that span, he's gone 406-464 (.467) with three straight winning seasons and two straight trips to the playoffs. Dragging down Hyde's overall record is that he was manager for the deep rebuild years under Elias. In Hyde's first season, the Orioles went 54-108. The next year they went 25-35 in the abbreviated 2020 campaign, and then in 2021 the Orioles went 52-110. They vaulted to a winning record in 2022, which laid the foundation for the 2023 and 2024 playoff runs.
No doubt, Hyde in 2025 will be under pressure not only to guide Baltimore back to the playoffs but also to make a deep October run. At the same time, club payroll remains far below levels befitting a contender, and Elias remains hesitant to trade away his top position prospects to address roster needs at the big-league level.
