The Orioles fired Brandon Hyde early into the 2025 MLB season after limping to a 15–28 start. Now, Baltimore is closing in on a deal for his replacement.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Orioles are set to name Craig Albernaz as their new manager. The 42-year-old is the associate manager for the Guardians, having been in that role since 2024. Previously, he was the bench coach for Cleveland. Before that, he'd served as a bullpen coach for the Giants and spent time managing in the Rays' minor-league system.
Albernaz was reportedly a sought-after managerial candidate for a number of MLB teams this offseason, but he'll ultimately head to Baltimore to take the reins of a team that is just two years removed from winning 101 games in the regular season.
Before starting his coaching career, Albernaz was a catcher in Tampa Bay's farm system from 2006 to 2013 and joined the Tigers' system in 2014. He never played in an MLB game.
Hyde had been the Orioles' manager since 2019. The team made the postseason twice in his tenure, but never won a single playoff game. He was ousted in May following the team's poor start and was replaced by interim manager Tony Mansolino. Mansolino was a candidate to be named the full-time manager, but it seems Baltimore's front office was more impressed by Albernaz.
Albernaz inherits an Orioles roster with plenty of young, exciting talent including former top prospects in Jackson Holliday, Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Samuel Basallo.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Orioles to Hire Craig Albernaz As New Manager .