Orioles overcoming 2024 challenges will make them stronger postseason threat

"“If you’re going through hell, just keep going” "

Winston Churchill

The Baltimore Orioles' 2024 season has been a roller coaster. May and June brought MVP hopes for Gunnar Henderson and Cy Young talk for Corbin Burnes. In contrast, July and August have brought frustration - from Craig Kimbrel’s inability to close a game to Adley Rutschman’s prolonged struggles, the dog days of summer were definitely dogged. 

Last season the Orioles experienced very little in the way of challenges. Everything seemed to go their way. The season was mainly just a fun ride…until October. 

October 2023 was a flash. If you blinked…you missed it. 4 days after the party started, it was over. The Orioles looked young, they looked stunned. The moment seemed to be too big for them. While their youth and lack of playoff experience was a factor in the way things ended did the Orioles' relative lack of adversity in 2023 also hurt them in the pressure cooker that is MLB’s Postseason?  Will the struggles the Orioles have experienced this season leave them in a better place once October begins? From injuries to underperformance let’s take a look at the different hurdles the Orioles have met this year. 

Injuries have been a nightmare for the 2024 Orioles

Last year's Orioles experienced 912 ‘man games lost.’ Man games lost is the amount of games missed by players due to injury. The Orioles were 5th to last in that category last season with only the Guardians, Astros, Blue Jays, and Phillies experiencing fewer games missed.

This season, the Orioles are already at 1,038 MGL. With 20 games left to play that number will grow. While injuries are a part of every season for every team the Orioles' injured list contains 3 of the 5 projected starting pitchers for the season, their closer, three of their top relievers and their starting first baseman, shortstop, and third baseman. The injuries this year have tested the Orioles depth at nearly every position. 

Some Orioles have performed well below expectations

Let’s start with Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel is the 2nd highest-paid Oriole on the 2024 roster, yet he has 6 blown saves this season, his most ever. He has a 1.23 WHIP, his second-worst in any season in which he has pitched over 25 innings. He has a 2.48 K/BB, the second-worst in his career. Kimbrel has been a disappointment in every sense of the word and has put the Orioles in a difficult position in trying to figure out their closer situation. 

Adley Rutschman has been the poster child for the Orioles the past two seasons. His call-up in 2022 was used as the singular turning point in the Orioles rebirth. Rutschman has had a rough 2024 season though, particularly since the beginning of July.

Since July 1, Rutschman is batting .187 with 3 HR and 17 RBI. He's shown signs of waking from his mid-summer slumber recently though. Unlike Kimbrel, Rutschman will be in the lineup no matter what and will need to figure it out if the Orioles want to have success in October. 

While other Orioles have struggled, looking at you Cedric Mullins (.230/.301/.397), Kimbrel and Rutschman have huge impacts on the Orioles' performance. In the 129 games that Rutschman has appeared the Orioles have gone 72-57. In the 72 wins Rutschman is batting a combined .287 with 9 HR and 52 RBI. In the 57 losses Rutschman is batting .217 with 9 HR and only 20 RBI. As far as Kimbrel goes the math is pretty easy. Throw the 5 losses that resulted from his blown saves into the win column and the Orioles would be well on their way to a second straight AL East championship. 

Why focus on the negative? Despite the obstacles the Orioles have faced they still are a near lock for a postseason berth. Several of the players currently on the IL should be coming back before the season ends. Unlike this point of the season last year, the Orioles haven't peaked yet. They have risen above the adversity of the season. What hasn’t ended the Orioles' hopes this season should, hopefully, make them stronger. Here’s to a happier September and a long October.