In the past two seasons, the Baltimore Orioles mostly used September to prepare for the postseason after two dominant regular seasons. For many Orioles fans, that felt like it was going to be the pattern for at least the next few years as the Orioles' young core carried them to playoff contention year after year.
This year is a bit different. Instead of using the final weeks of the season to set the rotation up for postseason and figure out who’s going to fill the final spots on the postseason roster, the Orioles are using this year’s final month to figure out which Orioles will have the upper hand when it comes to deciding the 2026 roster.