After missing out on the postseason in 2015, the Baltimore Orioles made strides and snuck into the playoffs as a wild card this year. However, some questionable managing and an inconsistent offense forced them into an early exit.
2016 Record: 89-73, 4.0 GB in the AL East, Finished as the Second Wild Card
Not many expected the Baltimore Orioles to make the postseason at the start of the 2016 regular season, mostly due to their unreliable starting rotation. In the offseason, the O’s did manage to add a starter in Yovani Gallardo, but some of his peripheral stats dictated that he was due for some regression this season. Baltimore also penciled in the likes of Chris Tillman, Kevin Gausman, Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson and the ever inconsistent Ubaldo Jimenez. While there was some upside there with Gausman having another year of experience under this belt in combination with his ace caliber stuff. Still, baseball pundits were skeptical that this rotation would stay afloat through a long 162 game season at the very least.
Another big transgression that happened over the winter was that the team signed power hitting first baseman Chris Davis to the most expensive deal in franchise history. It was a negotiation that took longer than Davis expected, but eventually he signed for an expensive seven year, $161 million contract with no opt outs. This type of long-term commitment to a player that strikes out as much as the 30 year-old first baseman does was a head scratcher to some, but it did show that the Orioles believed that they could compete for a postseason spot in 2016.
Other notable offseason moves included the re-signing of Darren O’Day and the buy low deal to acquire another capable power hitter in Mark Trumbo, even though it wasn’t necessarily clear at the start of the season where he would play, especially with the team’s decision to sign designated hitter Pedro Alvarez as spring training was just getting going.
Overall, what started out as a questionable roster with notable holes became a team that jumped out to the AL East lead at the All Star break. However, the second half wasn’t so kind to the birds from Baltimore. Buck Showalter‘s squad was still able to sneak into the postseason over a couple of other capable teams in the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, which came was a surprise to the many people who doubted the club coming into the season.
Here are some of the major takeaways from what was a surprisingly successful 2016 season in Baltimore.