3 Orioles players who shouldn't make the postseason roster

With the end of the 2024 regular season now just a week away, the Orioles front office is busy trying to put together the best possible group of guys to ride with heading into October. It's true that the Orioles have yet to clinch a postseason berth as of Tuesday morning but their magic number is down to 2, so they should be able to solidify their spot in short order.

Assuming that the O's are able to capture one of the six spots in the AL postseason field, they'll have to commit to a group of 26 players that they feel comfortable going to battle with. Many of the guys on the roster are locks to be in the postseason group, but there are a handful whose spots are in question thanks to various performance issues.

The Orioles can't afford to put Eloy Jimenez in the lineup each night

Arguably the most glaring problem is with Eloy Jimenez, who has had a brutal September. He's collapsed since coming to Baltimore, hitting .232/.270/.316 with just 1 homer and 5 doubles in 100 plate appearances. Since the start of September though, he's posted an .042/.148/.042 line that has some O's fans wishing the front office would take the Craig Kimbrel approach and simply designate him for assignment.

Part of the thought process here is that the Orioles are expected to get first baseman Ryan Mountcastle back from his IL trip before the end of the year. Mountcastle has had his issues as well but he's been a much more consistent hitter than Jimenez has been, and Mountcastle has the added point of providing at least some value in the field.

Jimenez is exclusively a DH at this point, and he simply isn't hitting well enough to warrant keeping his roster spot. If the Orioles do in fact get Mountcastle back before the end of the week, the Orioles will have a tough decision to make regarding Jimenez.

The Gregory Soto experiment has run its course in Baltimore

Fans seem a bit divided on Soto, which is understandable because he does have a fair amount of strikeout potential. The Orioles front office also loves a good strikeout pitcher, so it seems a bit of a long shot that Soto won't be part of the 26 man roster if and when the Orioles do clinch a postseason spot.

However, Soto is a volatile reliever and with Danny Coulombe having recently returned from injury, Soto becomes the 4th lefty in a bullpen. As such, he's more expendable than he was two weeks ago. Since coming to Baltimore at the trade deadline, Soto has pitched to a 5.87 ERA with a still poor 4.08 FIP. He's struck out over 25% of batters faced but he still walks too many hitters and he's currently running a dismal 16.7% HR/FB rate.

While that home run rate should theoretically regress downward, those issues don't always solve themselves in small samples. Batters are seeing Soto well right now, and it's the worst possible time for him to be in that situation. Home runs are game changers in the postseason, and Soto is a liability on the mound. Put those two things together and it feels like the Orioles should be looking to run with 3 left handed relievers in Coulombe, Keegan Akin, and Cionel Perez, and find a way to jettison Soto while they have the chance.

Jackson Holliday has a bright future in Baltimore, but the Orioles need production now

Jackson Holliday is hanging on by a thread, and it could bite the Orioles in October if they keep him on the postseason roster. In total, Holliday has hit .169/.227/.290 in nearly 200 plate appearances. He'll head into the 2025 season as one of the most hyped young players on a roster that should once again challenge for the top spot in the division.

But with All Star Jordan Westburg and utilityman Ramon Urias having returned to Baltimore after their respective injury stints, it might be in the Orioles' best interest if they keep Holliday home for the first round of the playoffs. A .227 OBP is just not going to cut it. There's a reason why Brandon Hyde keeps batting him 9th, and it's not the reason O's fans want to hear.

It would be a fairly unpopular decision to deny Holliday the opportunity to create a name for himself in the October spotlight but he hasn't entirely proven that he's capable of being consistently good enough to warrant the roster spot. With Westburg and Urias, the Orioles now have multiple options to replace Holliday's production, which should theoretically make the decision to keep Holliday off the roster a bit easier.