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Baltimore Orioles: Brandon Hyde was hired, until he wasn’t

By Tim Smart

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 23: The Baltimore Orioles mascot sits out on the ledge of the pressbox during the sixth inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 23, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 23: The Baltimore Orioles mascot sits out on the ledge of the pressbox during the sixth inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 23, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Late on Tuesday night, Joel Sherman dropped a bomb on Twitter, stating the Baltimore Orioles were close to hiring Brandon Hyde to be their new manager. When Ken Rosenthal confirmed it, Orioles Twitter exploded. But not so fast

The Baltimore Orioles are still the only team in the major leagues without a manager. New York Post reporter Joel Sherman tweeted out late last night that the Orioles were getting close to hiring Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde to be their next manager.

This alone got Orioles Twitter in a buzz, myself right along with them. But when Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweeted out shortly afterward confirming the hire, Birdland got crazy for a minute, right up until Mike Elias dismissed the rumors as “premature”.

Elias admitted that the team is getting closer to making a hire, and he understands that the sooner the Orioles get a manager in place, the quicker the rest of the coaching staff can be filled out and we can move toward the 2019 season.


Elias had previously stated that the Orioles were unlikely to make an official hire during the winter meetings due to several factors, not least of which being the amount of information that actually needs to process in this type of move. Contract negotiations need to take place and there’s obviously a ton of paperwork that needs to be done in any hiring process.


When we posted this article yesterday, we speculated that it might take another couple weeks for the Orioles to get someone in place, based on the statements Elias made on Monday evening at the meetings concerning the managerial hiring timeline.

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That remains the case at the moment, though Brandon Hyde might end up being the choice after all.

What we know about Hyde is that he’s currently a bench coach for the Cubs, who has served in several roles in the organization since 2012, including as their minor league infield coordinator, their director of player development and as a first base coach.

He also worked with the Marlins as a minor league hitting coach and infield coordinator, as a manager in their minor league system, and as a bench coach with the major league club between 2003 and 2011. He technically has managing experience in the major leagues, though for just one game in 2011.

Brandon Hyde has plenty of good experience, especially with player development which is an area of concern for the Orioles going forward. If the O’s are going to take a step forward in the AL East with the powerhouses in Boston and New York, Elias and his staff will need to develop the talent in Baltimore’s system.

Exploring the Orioles second base options. dark. Next

The O’s are never going to spend at the same level the Sox and Yankees will, but if the Orioles can consistently produce major leaguers from their system, they’ll have a fighting chance. Brandon Hyde can potentially help with that, but we probably wont know if he’s the guy for at least another week.

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