There’s been an assumption for the 2021 Orioles season up until now that Brandon Hyde was a lame duck manager, playing out the string on the final year of a contract with no job security beyond this year. Turns out that was never correct. The Athletic’s Dan Connolly reported on Wednesday night that Hyde and the Orioles quietly agreed over the past offseason to guarantee what had been a club option for 2022. He will be back for a fourth season as manager of the club.
An optimist might think that this vote of confidence in Hyde is a sign that the team sees some potential improvement coming for 2022 and wants to evaluate how Hyde might to if games matter a little more, with a bit better of a roster and a bit more game decisionmaking that might make a difference to be made on a nightly basis.