The Orioles are within the last levels of negotiations with Craig Albernaz a few deal to grow to be the staff’s subsequent supervisor, in keeping with ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Moments earlier than Passan’s report, Jon Heyman of the New York Submit wrote that Albernaz was the “frontrunner” within the Orioles’ search.
It’s fairly an early birthday current for Albernaz, who turns 43 later this week. Albernaz labored because the Guardians’ affiliate supervisor this 12 months after appearing because the staff’s bench coach in 2024, and 4 seasons on the Giants’ teaching workers as a bullpen and catching coach. Previous to his work on huge league staffs, Albernaz spent 4 years within the Rays’ farm system, together with managerial stints on the high-A and low-A ranges. Albernaz is a former participant, suiting up primarily as a catcher within the Rays’ and Tigers’ farm techniques from 2006-14.
Albernaz’s job with the Guardians developed after Cleveland interviewed him about their final managerial emptiness, and Stephen Vogt then employed Albernaz to his personal teaching workers. Albernaz was a finalist for each the White Sox and Marlins of their managerial searches final offseason, and he was linked to the Giants’ emptiness this 12 months and in addition interviewed with the Nationals. There hadn’t been any public indication that Albernaz was within the operating for Baltimore’s job, however it isn’t stunning that the O’s have been eyeing somebody who has been such a well-liked candidate lately.
Like earlier Orioles supervisor Brandon Hyde, Albernaz is changing into a full-time MLB supervisor for the primary time, and is coming to the job at a comparatively younger age (Hyde was 45 when employed in December 2018.) The circumstances of this hiring for O’s president of baseball operations Mike Elias are a lot completely different this time round — Hyde was employed to supervise an Orioles staff embarking on a rebuild, whereas Albernaz will probably be tasked with getting a contender again on monitor.
It appeared like Baltimore’s rebuild had paid off when the staff had a profitable season in 2022, and when the O’s then reached the playoffs in each 2023 and 2024. Nonetheless, a bunch of pitching accidents and a close to team-wide set of offensive struggles basically sunk this 12 months’s Orioles proper out of the gate, as Hyde was fired in Might when the staff had a 15-28 report.
Tony Mansolino posted a profitable 60-59 report after being promoted from third base coach to interim supervisor, which made Mansolino a candidate for the full-time place this offseason. The Orioles have been additionally linked to former Mariners supervisor Scott Servais, former Mets supervisor Luis Rojas, and celebrity Albert Pujols of their managerial search, plus Cubs bench coach and ex-O’s participant Ryan Flaherty was reportedly into account.
Albernaz doesn’t have the expertise or the title worth as the opposite candidates, but he’ll grow to be the newest in a protracted line of skippers with previous ties to the Guardians and/or Rays organizations. These two groups have made a behavior of staying in rivalry whereas specializing in participant improvement, which is essential for an O’s staff that may want a number of of its younger constructing blocks to rebound from underwhelming 2025 seasons. How the Orioles will increase their younger core with offseason additions is now the following aim for Elias with the managerial search concluded.
This has been a busy offseason for managerial hirings and firings, and we’re nonetheless not even midway by the record of groups searching for new skippers in 2026. The Orioles be a part of the Angels (Kurt Suzuki), Giants (Tony Vitello), and Rangers (Skip Schumaker) as groups who’ve employed new managers, whereas the Nationals, Padres, Twins, Braves, and Rockies stay looking out.
Inset photograph courtesy of Joe Camporeale — Imagn Photographs
