By any measure, the 2018 season has been an abject disaster for the Baltimore Orioles. They are 44-108 and have already set a new franchise record for losses with 10 games remaining. The O's could be only the sixth team in history to lose 115 games.
As you'd expect following a season this bad, the Orioles are facing a momentous offseason, one in which the team has to settle on a leadership group. Both manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette are in the final year of their contracts, and it wouldn't be a surprise -- or hard to blame ownership -- if they make sweeping changes.
According to multiple reports, those sweeping changes will begin with Showalter. Jon Heyman of Fancred reports Showalter is "very likely" to be replaced after the season, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today hears the same thing.
Buck Showalter, the former #Rangers manager, also is expected to be dismissed by the Baltimore #Orioles at the season's conclusion. Orioles GM Dan Duquette, who got rave reviews for his deadline deals, is expected to receive extension
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 21, 2018
The Orioles have not yet confirmed any reports or discussed Showalter's status beyond this season, which is standard operating procedure at this time of the year. Showalter himself has been mum about his future with the team.
At 62, Showalter is the third oldest manager in baseball behind Joe Maddon and Bruce Bochy, but unlike Maddon and Bochy, he is still looking for his first World Series ring. Showalter has managed four teams (Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Orioles) across 20 years and thrice been named Manager of the Year (1994, 2004, 2014).
In his nine seasons with the Orioles, the club has gone 666-677 (.496) under Showalter's watch and three times they've qualified for the postseason, advancing as far as the ALCS in 2014. He's won division titles with the 1994 Yankees, 1999 Diamondbacks, and 2014 Orioles, and also went to the postseason as a wild card team with the 2016 O's.
Teams these days are gravitating toward younger managers like Alex Cora and Gabe Kapler, though Showalter's success -- he is 24th on the all-time managerial wins list -- and pedigree figures to land him some interviews this coming offseason. It's also possible he'll pursue a front office position.
