Inside the Orioles' Defense Crisis: Is a Remarkable Turnaround Possible?

We all knew coming into the 2026 season that defense was not going to be these Orioles’ calling card. After all, this was a team that finished Bottom 5 in Baseball Reference’s defensive efficiency rankings last season and was 24th in Defensive Runs Saved on both BR and Fangraphs.

Instead of making additions to help their defense in the offseason, they doubled down on offense with the likes of Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward while positioning non-plus defenders Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo for bigger roles. The Orioles once won multiple World Series with defensive wizards like Brooks Robinson, Mark Belanger and Paul Blair; the present-day O’s were never going to be confused for those teams defensively.

However, the reality so far has been even worse than expected. The O’s are once again a bottom-of-the-barrel defensive team, ranking 24th in Defensive Runs Saved per Fangraphs, 24th in Defensive Efficiency per BR and 26th in Fielding Run Value per Baseball Savant.

What those rankings don’t account for, too, is the back-breaking nature of some of Baltimore’s defensive blunders. Dylan Beavers’ inability to track down a couple of fly balls ended in a walk-off loss in Pittsburgh. Blaze Alexander getting turned around in CF on Sunday turned the potential final out into a three-run rally, which only compounded the unearned run caused by Trevor Rogers’ failure to cover first base. Weston Wilson’s inability to track down a fly ball in left resulted in a two-run triple for the Diamondbacks in a game the Orioles ultimately lost in extra innings.

The poor defense isn’t just losing the Orioles games, but contributing to the rotation’s struggles to begin the season. Per MLB.com/ESPN contributor Alex Fast, all of the Orioles top four starters are in the Top 20 of pitchers most impacted by poor defense this year.

Among the Orioles regulars, the only ones who consistently grade out as plus defenders so far are 1B Pete Alonso, 2B Jeremiah Jackson and OF Colton Cowser—all of whom have at least one DRS. Both BR and Fangraphs credit OF Taylor Ward with three DRS, though Baseball Savant credits Ward with zero Outs Above Average.

The advanced analytics are also split on Coby Mayo’s chops at the hot corner; Baseball Savant credits him with one OAA, though both BR and Fangraphs have him with negative DRS. None of the advanced stats have anything nice to say for Leody Taveras, Dylan Beavers or Gunnar Henderson, who all grade out as below-average defenders so far this season.

Many of the concerns about the Orioles’ offensive struggles can be placated by the idea that the plethora of injured Orioles will boost the batting order once healthy. The same can’t be said about the defense. Jordan Westburg has been a plus defender at second and third throughout most of his major league career. However, the 2024 All-Star isn’t eligible to come off the IL until the end of May, and it’s still uncertain whether the PRP injection he received will be enough to stabilize his UCL injury.

The blazing hot start of Jeremiah Jackson has many questioning what role Jackson Holliday will play once healthy, and that’s doubly true defensively. Holliday was a well below-average defender last year at second, and he doesn’t have the arm strength to be a contributor at SS or 3B. So while the former No. 1 overall pick will likely get chances back in the lineup because of his offensive upside, he’s not helping the Orioles out defensively.

In the outfield, the only notable current absence is Tyler O’Neill as he recovers from his concussion. And while O’Neill was once a two-time Gold Glove OF, that was five years and 11 injuries ago. TON still has elite arm strength for a corner OF, but the injuries have robbed him of the range he’d need to be a meaningful defensive contributor in 2026.

Getting back to being at least an average defensive team may come down to the O’s getting their star players to lead by example—namely, Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman. Gunnar was once an above-average defensive SS. During his Rookie of the Year 2023 season, he registered nine DRS while proving to the Orioles that short would be his long-term home. Since then, we’ve seen the Orioles star infielder go through a steady decline in his defensive output. After posting five DRS in 2024, Gunnar has been a below-average defender over the last 185 games of Orioles baseball.

While the entire Orioles lineup is trying to find its rhythm at the plate, Gunnar can lead by example by locking in defensively to help boost this struggling unit—as he did in turning an unorthodox double play last night in Kansas City. Rutschman’s return from his ankle injury could have a similar steadying effect. The two-time All-Star was back to playing his best baseball before landing on the IL 10 days ago with an ankle injury.

That strong start included looking like an elite defensive backstop once again. Baltimore’s ability to keep runs off the board hasn’t drastically changed since Rutschman’s injury (4.2 opponents run/game before, 4.5 runs/game since); however, Adley could undoubtedly provide a calming presence for the rotation and the greater Orioles defensive effort. The former No.1 overall pick in the 2019 draft has often acted like a “quarterback of the defense” in football; his exact difference isn’t always quantifiable, but when he’s playing well, everyone else plays better.

The Orioles have a “break glass in case of emergency” option in the outfield, too. Enrique Bradfield Jr. would immediately be the O’s best CF upon his arrival in Baltimore. However, EBJ’s career .208 average and .621 OPS at Triple-A make it hard to justify bringing him to the majors just for defense.

The O’s don’t need to become a good defensive team to be competitive in 2026. The Yankees made a World Series run two seasons ago despite being just a slightly above-average defensive team. The Orioles just can’t be a bad defensive team if they want to be relevant deep into this season. The improvement we’ll need to see will largely have to come from within, as Baltimore searches for a measure of consistency across all aspects of baseball.