Bryce Wolaver

It has been a very busy offseason for the Baltimore Orioles, and that continued today. The O’s started the offseason with a bang by signing first basemen Pete Alonso to a five-year deal. They then followed up with trading for pitcher Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays. Last week they continued their busy free agency by trading for infielder Blaze Alexander as well. Their latest free agency signing was earlier this evening by signing Chris Bassitt to a one-year, $18 million contract.

The Baltimore Orioles front office has been very adamant about adding arms this free agency. They have since done that with their first big purchase of the offseason: former Cardinals and Mets closer Ryan Helsley. Since coming into the league in 2019, Helsley has been one of the premier relievers in all of baseball. The first few years of his big-league career were very rocky, but Helsley turned it on quickly in 2022.

With the 2025 postseason winding down, the O’s have secured their next manager for the 2026 season. 42-year-old Craig Albernaz spent previous time with the Cleveland Guardians as their associate manager. Albernaz takes on a young O’s squad fresh off a 75-87 finish in 2025. Albernaz takes over after interim manager Tony Mansolino led the team to a 60-59 record during his time. The Orioles began their search after firing 2023 AL Manager of the Year winner Brandon Hyde after a 15-28 start in mid-April.