3 managerial candidates Orioles should have considered instead of keeping Craig Albernaz

In his first season as the manager of the Baltimore Orioles, Craig Albernaz hasn’t really done anything that would have warranted him being fired immediately. He’s proven to be an okay skipper capable of handling most of the ins and outs of the position. The problem is that the Orioles need a manager that can be more than just okay. It’s why the organization should have considered replacing Albernaz with one of the handful of guys more suited to handle the job. 

Although the Orioles weren’t projected to be World Series favorites this season, they were expected to be serious postseason contenders. According to the Zips Projected Standings released back in March, the club was predicted to have better postseason odds than the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Obviously those standings could not have been any more wrong, but is Albernaz really to blame for that? With stars like Gunnar Henderson having down years, the blame could be passed around the entire clubhouse. But usually an underperforming team means that the manager is at the heart of the problem. They are the ones tasked with putting the team in the best position to win. And Albernaz has failed to put the Orioles in the best position to win.

Which manager would be a better fit for the Orioles over Craig Albernaz? 

As of September 20, the Orioles occupy the basement of the AL East all by themselves. For a team with lofty goals of playing baseball in October, that is inexcusable. Again, that falls back on Albernaz. Over the course of the 2026 season, he has made a number of questionable in-game decisions that failed to deliver results.   

With the club likely heading to a finish with a record under the .500 mark, Albernaz has failed to steer the ship back in the right direction following a disappointing 2025 season. As a rookie manager, he was expected to make a few poor choices here and there. That just comes with the territory. But after the Orioles peaked in August, you could argue that Albernaz’s lackluster game management cost the club some much-needed wins. 

There are currently a handful of former MLB managers out there that may be able to better deliver those much-needed wins moving forward. 

Alex Cora 

Although he has been rumored to be on the Philadelphia Phillies radar for most of the 2026 season, Alex Cora is a manager that a lot of teams will be kicking the tires on. When the Red Sox hired Cora back in 2018, he immediately guided the club to a 108-win season and a World Series win over the Dodgers. 

It was one of the most impressive managerial debuts in recent memory. He’s just never been able to duplicate those results again, especially in the aftermath of his temporary exit from baseball following the team’s sign-stealing scandal in 2019. But with a 620-541 career managerial record, Cora knows what it takes to win ball games. 

With a poor roster, Cora can struggle to get his team to overperform. He can also have a hard time getting his guys to snap out of prolonged funks. Just look at what happened in Boston earlier this season. But with a roster as talented as the one the Orioles will have in 2027, Cora would likely excel and help take the team back to the postseason more effectively than Albernaz.  

Rocco Baldelli 

Rocco Baldelli was fired by the Twins following a laughable 70-92 season in 2025. But he wasn’t completely deserving of the blame for that failure. With the organization mainly focused on shedding payroll, Baldelli wasn’t given the best of rosters to compete in the big leagues.  

In his seven seasons as manager of the Twins, Baldelli guided the team to the postseason three times. That includes back-to-back appearances in his first two seasons with the club. And while they were booted in the first round each year, losing to the Astros and Yankees is nothing to be ashamed about.    

As a young manager, Baldelli helped keep the Twins as a competitive ball club for years, even when the roster lacked enough talent to compete with the aforementioned Astros and Yankees. With a 527-505 career managerial record, Baldelli would be an excellent candidate to keep the Orioles north of the .500 mark and in a better position to play in October.    

David Ross 

David Ross has already noted that he would possibly be interested in managing another team in the near future. And while his first managing gig with the Cubs didn’t lead to any postseason appearances, he did the best he could with a young team that was in the midst of a lengthy rebuild. 

In 2022, Ross finished his third year managing with a 74-88 record. But with Wilson Contreras leading the team with an .815 OPS on the season, there wasn’t a lot that Ross could do on the offensive side. A manager can only work with what they have on the roster. But when Ross led the team to an 83-79 record the next year, it appeared he had them heading in the right direction. Instead, the organization fired Ross in favor of hiring Craig Counsell.   

As a team, the Orioles have plenty of chemistry inside the clubhouse. While that chemistry didn’t exactly translate into a playoff run, it lays down a very solid foundation for the future. Ross is the type of manager that could use that team chemistry and build on it. Players have shown the willingness to get behind him as manager. That could lead to special things in Baltimore in 2027 and beyond. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow