Baltimore Orioles 2017 review, offseason preview

The Baltimore Orioles limped to a last place finish in the AL East, finishing with a 75-87 record. Now they’ll have some questions to answer about the direction of their club entering the offseason.

The Baltimore Orioles were flying right around the .500 mark heading into June, and even won their first two games of the month to go five games above even. Then they proceeded to go 7-14 over their next 21, leaving them a couple games below .500 as the calendar neared July. Their next 78 games saw them go another four games below .500, but sticking around that marker is all the playoff-bound Minnesota Twins did before a hot stretch carried them to the postseason.

The O’s finished out 2017 by going 2-8, ultimately dooming their season.

The optimistic way to look at their year is that their All Star closer, Zach Britton, missed much of the season, and Manny Machado wasn’t right all year at the dish, despite turning things around a bit in the second half. With some luck and improvements to their roster, they could definitely be back to contending in what should shape up to be a wide open American League wild-card race.

Or they could begin the rebuild process.

And therein lies the $100,000 question for the Orioles and their fans this offseason: Which direction should the team head in? On the one hand, this winter could be their one opportunity to restock the farm system and set their sights on a brighter tomorrow. On the other hand, Manny Machado, who is set to hit the free agent market after the 2018 season, isn’t out the door yet and he is a special talent. Would punting the final year of his control be something that the front office folks could live with if their return for the coveted third baseman doesn’t pan out?

We’ll talk about all of this in a little more detail, but first, let’s discuss a breakout star and which players could be playing elsewhere in 2018.