The Baltimore Orioles have been busy the past few days, thanks in large part to general manager Mike Elias' decision to move on from Brandon Hyde. While Hyde won the AL Manager of the Year award just a few years ago, the Orioles have greatly underperformed in 2025. Much of that can be blamed on Elias himself, rather than a manager like Hyde, but the O's skipper also signed up to be the fall guy. The front office's next move is to get rid of struggling pitcher Kyle Gibson.
Managers know what they're getting into. When things go south – which can happen quickly over the course of a 162-game season – managers are the first to be blamed. Hyde's lineups and bullpen decisions were dissected like lab experiments. While Hyde certainly made some mistakes, it's unclear exactly how much can be done with the current roster at play. Elias and ownership should've spent more money this winter fortifying the lineup and pitching staff, rather than letting Anthony Santander and Corbin Burnes walk.
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Kyle Gibson has been DFA'd by the Orioles, could Charlie Morton be next?
Gibson was brought in as part of the solution. The former Cardinals starting pitcher signed a one-year rental deal in Baltimore, and has struggled mightily. Gibson pitched in just four games and gave up 23 runs. His ERA was 16.78, thus demanding some sort of action from the Orioles front office. On Sunday, they designated the veteran for assignment.
Many of the Orioles offseason moves haven't worked out. That includes one of their most high-profile free agent signings, Charlie Morton. So far this season, Morton has a 7.68 ERA, and though his last two appearances have been a slight improvement, he is not out of the woods just yet.
Morton was a larger investment than Gibson, so Baltimore will likely give him every opportunity to succeed. In his last two outings, Morton has two earned runs over nearly eight innings pitched. He has lowered his ERA from 8.82 to 7.68, which is over a full run. Assuming ground Chuck can keep up that level of pitching, perhaps there's a spot in the O's bullpen or rotation for him after all.
However, one misstep could lead to a similar fate as Gibson's.