Tony Mansolino: Jordan Westburg is ‘the glue’ to Orioles

Tony Mansolino: Jordan Westburg is ‘the glue’ to Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles’ season has spiraled just two months in, resting at 20-36, a 58-win pace. Coming off a 91-win season (preceded by a 101-win season), the Orioles were expected to be in the hunt for a postseason bid in what was deemed a wide-open American League.

Well, they’ve self-combusted as much as any other team (outside of maybe the Rockies) to begin the 2025 MLB Season. They own the second-worst record and run differential in the American League. A huge reason for that has been the pitching–or lack thereof–after letting ace Corbin Burnes walk for nothing.

Though they’ve also dealt with a few injuries, namely to outfielder Colton Cowser and infielder Jordan Westburg.

Both recently started rehab assignments and are on their way to returning. While neither will offset the team’s lack of formidable arms, interim manager Tony Mansolino had high praise for Westburg’s on-field presence.

“Westburg’s the glue to this whole thing,” Mansolino said earlier this week, according to MLB.com’s Jake Rill. “I think we saw last year, right, with kind of how things went in August and September without Westy. We’re excited to get him going here at some point.”

Not Gunnar Henderson, not Adley Rutschman, not Jackson Holliday, but Jordan Westburg! Your glue guy doesn’t have to be the best player on the team, and Westburg is an example of that in Mansolino’s eyes.

Orioles have nobody to blame but themselves

Westburg, 26, slashed .217/.265/.391 with four home runs, two doubles and six RBIs in 23 games. Those are poor marks for him after posting a .792 OPS (128 OPS+) with 18 home runs in 107 games in 2024. A number of the peripherals suggest he’s underperformed the last two seasons, so it will be interesting to see if he can ignite an average Orioles offense.

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