Former Orioles Players on Playoff Teams this October

These former Baltimore Orioles will be featuring in the MLB Playoffs.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The almighty Dodgers have had another fantastic season in 2022, and they’re doing it with the help of some former Orioles. The biggest name on this list wasn’t a big name in Baltimore. Justin Turner played 12 games for the Orioles in 2009, hitting just .167 with no home runs and three RBI’s. He failed to record a hit in five games in Baltimore in 2010. We all know what happened after that, he became a stalwart of the Dodgers lineup and a two-time All-Star in the City of Angels.

A more recent Oriole with a roster spot for the Dodgers this season is utility infielder Hanser Alberto. He played 139 games for the Orioles in 2019, and 54 in 2020. He combined to hit .299 with 15 home runs and 73 RBI’s to go with a .735 OPS in that time. He has a .239 average with two home runs and 15 RBI’s in 72 games, because he’s not particularly strong with the bat. He’ll serve as a bench player in the playoffs but should still see action at some point this postseason.

Wrapping up with the Dodgers, the last player that has to be mentioned is none other than Evan Phillips. He played for the Orioles for 2019 and 2020, and a small part of the 2018 season, recording a 7.36 ERA in 44 appearances. As what tends to happen when you go to the Dodgers, Phillips is a key member of the bullpen, with a sterling 1.14 ERA and 1.94 FIP in 64 games, totaling 63 innings.

Atlanta Braves

Moving on to the champs of the NL East, the Braves have themselves a pair of Orioles connections, but we won’t be seeing them in the postseason. To start things off, they have none other than Rylan Bannon. I mean, what a wild ride. Four games this season, two hits, .200 on base percentage, truly a legend of our times.

Ok, my bad jokes aside, they also have Darren O’Day. You should be quite familiar with O’Day from his seven-year tenure in Baltimore, including an All-Star game selection in 2015. He had a 2.40 ERA and 19 saves out of the bullpen as a dependable arm for Buck Showalter to deploy. He’s on the 60-Day IL with a toe issue, so he’ll most definitely be off any postseason roster Atlanta has, but it’s fun to talk about O’Day again.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals won the NL Central with a Cinderella story of Pujols, Molina, and Wainwright riding into the sunset together. But who wants to hear about them when we have some former Orioles to talk about? I mean, they have TJ McFarland and Aaron Brooks! Who doesn’t love them?

So we won’t be seeing any of them this postseason for a few different reasons. McFarland pitched to a 6.28 ERA before the Cardinals had enough and DFA’d him, so he’s in Triple-A Memphis and off the 40-man roster. He was a four-year member of the Orioles bullpen, recording a 4.27 ERA and 4.03 FIP in 121 appearances.

Brooks, on the other hand, was DFA’d earlier in the season by the Cardinals, but he’s on the suspended list in Memphis right now, for an unclear reason. Brooks was a member of the Orioles for a stint during the 2019 season, posting a 6.18 ERA over 59 2/3 innings, making 12 starts and two relief outings.

New York Mets

Moving to the NL East and the other side of the Big Apple, what former Orioles are on the New York Mets? First up is Mychal Givens, who spent the first 5 1/2 seasons of his career in the Orioles bullpen, with a 3.32 ERA in 336 innings. He’s spent time with the Mets and Chicago Cubs this year, having made 19 appearances with the Mets since coming over at the trade deadline. Keep an eye out for him when watching Mets playoff games.

Also on the Mets roster is Tommy Hunter. Much like a decent number of other players mentioned, he’s on the 15-Day IL and likely not appearing on a playoff roster. Hunter recorded a 2.42 ERA in 18 appearances in his second season with the Mets this year, throwing 22 1/3 innings. He spent six years with the Orioles, making 31 starts in 224 total appearances, from parts of 2011 until 2015, and then coming back to Baltimore in 2016.

San Diego Padres

The NL West Wild card team has three former Orioles that have played for them this season, two of which are on the active roster. Easily the most notable one is Manny Machado. We know all about him, appearing in four All-Star games over 6 1/2 seasons, hitting 162 home runs and driving in 471 runs in 860 games. Machado is doing his usual be-good-at-baseball thing this season, hitting 32 home runs to go with 102 RBI’s in 150 games for a dominant Padres team.

Another piece of Baltimore is Josh Hader. He never appeared in a Major League game for the Orioles, playing for the rookie level Orioles and Aberdeen in 2012, and Delmarva for part of 2013. He had a 2.66 ERA in rookie ball, 0.00 ERA in Aberdeen, and 2.65 ERA with the Shorebirds. His struggles with the Padres have been well documented, but he’s still a very well-known and good reliever who will get his share of high leverage chances this postseason, so he’s one to keep an eye on.

Wrapping up the Padres connections is Tayler Scott. He’s in the minors in the Phillies organization, but appeared in eight games for the Padres, recording a 6.75 ERA. Scott appeared in eight games for the 2019 Orioles, posting a dismal 18.69 ERA in 8 2/3 innings, allowing a whopping 18 runs.

Philadelphia Phillies

Outside of Scott, who is on their 40-man roster but in the minors, the Phillies somehow don’t have any connections to the Baltimore Orioles who have played for them this season.

So, to wrap things up, the Orioles are not playing any postseason baseball this season. But, out of the 12 teams going to the playoffs, you can find quite a lot of former Orioles on those teams, including franchise legends such as Machado and Mancini. While we can’t root for Baltimore this October, there are some former Orioles to root for. Happy playoff watching, Orioles fans.