Orioles fans will love Bleacher Report's surprising prediction after a wasted season

The Baltimore Orioles took a step backward in 2025. Was this merely a weird off-year in an otherwise steady rise for Baltimore’s young and talented core, or is this the beginning of an underwhelming era in Baltimore?

The Orioles aren’t lacking star power to build a successful team around. Gunnar Henderson has already proven he’s a cornerstone. Jackson Holliday looks like a star-in-the-making. Trevor Rogers was one of the best starting pitchers in baseball this season, even though he didn’t pitch the entire year.

There are other intriguing performers on Baltimore’s roster beyond those three. The pieces are there for this to be a winning club again, but the front office also has to hold its weight and take care of some important business this offseason. First and foremost, president of baseball operations Mike Elias and the rest of Baltimore's brass must sort through the Orioles’ manager situation that is already getting a bit messy. Extending Rogers should be priority No. 2 for Elias, and it should happen ASAP.

If Elias proves capable this winter, there’s no reason the Orioles shouldn’t enter the 2026 season with playoffs on the mind.

Bleacher Report puts out a promising prediction for the Orioles in 2026

Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer is among the believers in Baltimore’s 2026 chances. Rymer recently asserted that the Orioles’ talent will help to overcome the woes of 2025 and get things back on track at Camden Yards.

“To go from 101 wins and an AL East title in 2023 to last place just two years later is not what any of us had in mind,” Rymer wrote.

The O's have Rymer believing in a quick turnaround. With Henderson, Holliday, Adley Rutschman, Samuel Basallo on the roster, there's reason for optimism. Rymer thinks Holliday, especially, will be a huge breakout candidate next season

If the 2026 Orioles clinch a wild-card berth, who knows how far they can advance in the postseason? The current postseason serves as a reminder that the wild-card round doesn’t provide any advantages to higher seeds outside of home field.

That’s why the Detroit Tigers — who forked over the AL Central to the Cleveland Guardians at the end of the regular season — turned around and beat Cleveland in the ALWC. The Boston Red Sox also had a great chance to defy their seeding, going up 1-0 in the ALWC on a New York Yankees club that finished ahead of them in the regular season.

Once you’re in, anything can happen, and the Orioles have the roster to make that happen next season. If Baltimore’s front office can attend to its checklist in the coming months, there’s no reason why this team shouldn’t return to the status of rising contender that was there in 2023 and 2024.