
Orioles GM takes the heat for starting rotation collapse: Thats my responsibility
BALTIMORE (AP) — If the second half of 2024 was a reality check for the Baltimore Orioles — their first real stretch of mediocrity since they became contenders again — the start of this season is a near-crisis.
This young Baltimore team experienced very little failure while winning 101 games in 2023, but now the Orioles are well aware of what baseball's more humbling side feels like.
'I think we're getting a little more familiar (with adversity) than we wanted to be," general manager Mike Elias said before Friday night's 3-0 win over Kansas City.
Elias met with reporters to address his team's 12-18 record in April. The Orioles aren't just in last place in the AL East, they also had the worst run differential in the American League before Friday's game.
The young core of hitters that was so fearsome early last year has struggled mightily in 2025. Elias has reason to view that as a temporary blip, but the other main culprit this year — the collapse of the starting rotation — might be harder to fix.
Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez and Albert Suarez are on the injured list and Dean Kremer took a 7.04 ERA into Friday's start before breaking through with seven scoreless innings. Tomoyuki Sugano has been fine, but Charlie Morton is 0-6 with a 9.45 ERA and will work out of the bullpen for now. Kyle Gibson allowed homers to four of the first five batters Tuesday in his first big league start of the season.
'It is difficult to contend with that level of injuries, but even that aside, they've had a poor start, and that's my responsibility. I'm in charge of baseball operations," Elias said. "When we have a bad record to start the year, that's my responsibility.'
Elias opened himself up to second-guessing in the offseason when the Orioles lost Corbin Burnes to free agency and he gave one-year contracts to Sugano, Morton and Gibson. One-year deals are usually considered pretty safe — even if they work out badly, they expire quickly. But Baltimore committed over $33 million to that trio, so if they keep performing this poorly as a group it would constitute a real misuse of resources.
In fairness, a rotation of Rodriguez, Eflin, Sugano, Kremer and Cade Povich could have been serviceable — with Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells expected back at some point from elbow surgery — but the injuries to Eflin and Rodriguez have forced Morton and Gibson to produce, and thus far they haven't.
Baltimore's 5.47 ERA entering Friday ranked 29th among the 30 teams, lower than only Miami's 5.89.
The Orioles did manage to take two of three from the first-place New York Yankees earlier this week, but even that required a pair of one-run wins sandwiched around a 15-3 loss. There have simply been too many games in which Baltimore finds itself way behind because of poor pitching.
'Nobody's happy with how we've performed so far. We have higher expectations for ourselves," manager Brandon Hyde said. "I talk with Mike multiple times a day. We're not satisfied in the least bit. We know our team can play better than we have.'
Elias said he remains confident in Hyde.
"When things are going great — and they have at times here, we've had that — and then when we're experiencing failure, it's really important in that job and in my job too to be consistent with your approach," Elias said. "He's doing that.'
Eflin (lat strain) and reliever Andrew Kittredge (knee) are expected to make minor league rehab appearances Sunday, and Elias said Rodriguez (elbow inflammation) might be able to throw by the end of this month.
'We are all working very hard and we have a lot of faith in this very talented group," Elias said. "Piece by piece, step by step, we're going to get guys healthier, we're going to get guys performing more to their norms. If there's something we can fix with a player, we're working on that.'
First Published: 3 May 2025, 07:22 AM IST

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
Red Sox promote Roman Anthony just days after his jaw-dropping 497-foot grand slam in minors
The Boston Red Sox just gave their fanbase a reason to believe again. Roman Anthony, the team's top-rated prospect and a rising star in the minors, made his highly-anticipated major league debut Monday night at Fenway Park against the Tampa Bay Rays. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now At just 21 years old, the former second-round pick has already captured attention across the baseball world—especially after a jaw-dropping 497-foot grand slam in Worcester over the weekend. That moonshot was the longest homer tracked by Statcast this year across MLB and the minor leagues. Red Sox can't wait any longer—Roman Anthony heads to MLB after legendary minor league blast Anthony had been sitting in Worcester's food room waiting for a long bus ride to Allentown, Pennsylvania, when his world changed. WooSox manager Chad Tracy delayed the team's departure with a vague hint that someone might be heading to Boston instead. Moments later, Anthony was stunned: 'All of a sudden he came out and just said, 'Hey, you're going to the big leagues,'' he recalled. 'From there on out it's kind of been a little bit of a blur. But it was amazing. You dream of that every single day.' Batting fifth and playing right field, Anthony earned a standing ovation in his first at-bat, even after popping up to left field. The cheers continued as he returned to the dugout—Fenway already sensing the arrival of something special. Anthony had put up impressive numbers at Triple-A Worcester this season, slashing .288 with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs in just 58 games. His consistent production had fans begging for his promotion, especially with the Red Sox sitting 8.5 games behind the AL East-leading Yankees. Injuries finally opened the door, and with Wilyer Abreu sidelined, Anthony was the clear choice. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now His arrival marks a shift in Boston's approach—one that points toward a youth movement with a serious shot at postseason relevance. Fellow prospect Marcelo Mayer, who debuted just two weeks prior, said, 'It's been a long time coming. It's kind of crazy that today's the day that we're all going to share the field together in the big leagues.' Alongside Mayer and Kristian Campbell, Anthony represents the future of the franchise. But with the Red Sox pushing to stay in the playoff conversation, that future might just start now. Also Read:
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Why Heinrich Klaasen's sudden retirement presents another threat for South African cricket
South African cricket has been dealing with player exodus for decades now, due to the country's 'Apartheid' policy pre-1994 and later because of Cricket South Africa's quota system as well as the lucrative 'Kolpak' contracts in England. Klaasen's sudden retirement, however, puts the spotlight on another issue. read more Wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen had nearly helped South Africa defeat India in the final of the T20 World Cup in Barbados last year. AP After years of heartbreaks at multiple ICC events, South Africa will be hoping to add a second ICC trophy to their collection when they face Australia in the final of the World Test Championship at Lord's starting Wednesday. India and Australia were widely expected to face each other in a rematch of their 2023 showdown at The Oval until the former's WTC 2023-25 campaign derailed in the last two assignments, and the Proteas not only qualified for the final with the help of seven consecutive wins, they ended up finishing on top of the table. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The all-round excellence of the Australian team, however, isn't the only thing that will be worrying the Temba Bavuma-led South African team along with Shukri Conrad, who recently succeeded Rob Walter in the white-ball formats to become the head coach across formats. Why Heinrich Klaasen's sudden retirement should worry the Proteas Explosive wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen had taken South African fans and the rest of the cricketing world by surprise by announcing his retirement from all formats at the age of 33. It was only a year ago that Klaasen had nearly steered the Proteas to a historic victory over India in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados, with his dismissal triggering a slide that eventually cost them a maiden World Cup title. And even though he's not part of the Test setup, where Ryan Rickelton is the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter ahead of him, Klaasen had cemented his place in the white-ball formats, especially in the T20 cricket in which he remains one of the most explosive batters of the current generation. It's Klaasen's revelation on why he brought the curtains down on his international career on the same day Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell decided to retire from ODIs that should worry the South African team, the board and its well-wishers. 'I felt for a long time that I didn't really care about any of my performances and whether the team won or not. That's the wrong place to be,' Klaasen told Rapport. 'I told him I didn't feel good in my heart about what was going on. I wasn't enjoying it that much. So when he finished as coach and the (contract) negotiations (with CSA) didn't go as planned, it made my decision a lot easier,' he added. South African cricket presented with a fresh headache For South African cricketers, losing established names or promising young talent to greener pastures isn't anything new; several former cricketers such as Allan Lamb and Robin Smith had to fulfill their dream of playing Test cricket with England while the likes of Kepler Wessels represented Australia back when South Africa faced a sporting ban due to its 'Aparthied' policies. And for a majority of the 2000s and 2010s, South Africa would deal with another wave of exodus with several players choosing to play cricket in England, Australia and New Zealand and gaining enough experience to eventually play for their national teams. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This time it wasn't due to government policy but Cricket South Africa's quota system, which placed a cap on the number of 'white' cricketers who could be part of a team – whether at the domestic level or international. And County teams handing out Kolpak contracts – which would allow South Africans to play as local players but would terminate their contracts with CSA – further accelerated this outflow of cricketing talent in the 2010s. While the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, a.k.a. 'Brexit' put to an end the 'Kolpak' problem and allowed several cricketers, including Rilee Rossouw, to represent South Africa once again, Klaasen's sudden retirement highlights the fact that it's the emergence of T20 leagues around the globe that is the latest threat. And the threat was fairly evident during a two-match Test series in New Zealand last year in which CSA ended up sending a second-string team across the ocean while all the first-choice players stayed back to represent their respective franchise in SA20, the country's flagship T20 league that has not only boosted the board's coffers but has also quickly gained popularity and has had an impact on the Proteas' T20 fortunes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A new hope for South African cricket? Coach Shukri Conrad's insistence of 'Country First' however, comes as a source of hope for the South African team and its supporters. Shortly after being named all-formats coach, Conrad expressed faith in his players prioritising national duty over T20 leagues, including the Indian Premier League. 'We're going to put out the best Proteas side every time we play. I've had conversations with our players, all-format players and guys that only play the one format that are contracted to us, that at every turn when the Proteas play, there's an expectation that they'll play for South Africa,' Conrad had said last month. 'The Proteas will never be a franchise team, the Proteas will never be a league, nor will it be a convenience. This is part of building a culture and building an environment that players want to be part of. Every single player is committed to that and wanting to be a part of it so I can quite comfortably say that at every turn the best Proteas side will be put out on the field,' he added. And sure enough, CSA managed to get their WTC-bound players back home in time for their trip to London by 26 May, at the end of the league stage of the Indian Premier League, despite BCCI's attempts at getting them to stay back for the playoffs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And that should give you an idea that Conrad, much like Gautam Gambhir with the Indian team, is someone who means business and will leave no stone unturned in ensuring South Africa not only are crowned World Test Champions but are among the world's top teams across formats going ahead.


Economic Times
2 hours ago
- Economic Times
T.J. Oshie retires from NHL after 16 remarkable seasons
AP FILE - Washington Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie hoists the Stanley Cup after the Capitals defeated the Golden Knights 4-3 in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Thursday, June 7, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) T.J. Oshie, one of the NHL's most dynamic and beloved forwards, has officially announced his retirement after a distinguished 16-season career. The 38-year-old leaves the game as a Stanley Cup champion, Olympic hero, and a role model both on and off the ice. Oshie played 1,010 regular-season games, amassing 302 goals and 393 assists for a total of 695 points. He also contributed 69 points (34 goals, 35 assists) in 106 playoff games, highlighted by his instrumental role in the Washington Capitals' 2018 Stanley Cup victory—the franchise's first. Drafted 24th overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2005, Oshie spent seven seasons with the Blues before joining the Capitals in 2015, where he became a cornerstone of the team's leadership. Oshie's international legacy was cemented at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, where he scored four times in six shootout attempts against Russia, including the game-winner, earning him national acclaim. He also represented the United States at three IIHF World Championships and the 2006 World Junior Championship, winning bronze in 2013. Beyond his on-ice achievements, Oshie is recognized for his charitable work, particularly in Alzheimer's awareness, honoring his late father, Tim Oshie. He has supported the Alzheimer's Association's The Longest Day Campaign and donates proceeds from his company, Warroad Hockey Co., to Alzheimer's research and youth hockey programs. Oshie is one of just 404 NHL players to reach the 1,000-game milestone. He ranks third in NHL history for both shootout goals (49) and game-deciding shootout goals (21). In his retirement statement, Oshie thanked his teams, coaches, fans, and family, stating, 'Your energy and passion made every game memorable, and it was an honour to play in front of you.'Oshie will reside in McLean, Virginia, with his wife Lauren and their four children, leaving behind a legacy of excellence, leadership, and heart.