What’s behind the struggling Orioles offense?

If there was one aspect of this Orioles team that you could have been excited about coming into the 2022 season, it was the offense. The returning core of Cedric Mullins, Ryan Mountcastle, Trey Mancini, Anthony Santander, and Austin Hays was solid. Mullins was coming off of a career year, and many expected breakouts from Mountcastle and Hays. Plus, it seemed that the role players around them—namely those at second base and catcher—had improved slightly. At the very least, this unit was going to be competitive and keep the woeful pitching staff in games.

As we know, it has not played out that way through the season’s first month. The 71 runs they have scored ranks 26th in MLB, a rating that…