After Brandon Hyde guided the Baltimore Orioles from 2018 until May of this past year, one of the biggest questions has been who might guide the Birds into the future.
With established stars like Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser and newly-locked-up Samuel Basallo and young star Jackson Holliday to lead the way, finding the right manager will be crucial for the Orioles’ blueprint for the next 10 years and beyond.
The Orioles traded away nine players on expiring contracts, getting a return of 16 players, with more than half of them entering the Orioles’ top 30 prospect rankings. Add in a strong draft to retool the farm system, and the O’s are primed to be one of the top teams in baseball with the proper leadership in place next season and beyond.
So, who could be the next manager to lead the way and bring that excitement back to Charm City? Let’s take a dive into five possible names and why they just might be the right fit.
RYAN FLAHERTY
Many in Birdland remember Ryan Flaherty as the Jack-of-all-trades utility man who played for the Orioles from 2012-2017.
He provided many moments good and bad but really knew the game of baseball and was always willing to do what was asked of him to help his team win.
Since stepping away as a player, Flaherty has become a coach, following in the footsteps of his father.
At first, Flaherty took on the role of advanced scout and development coach for the San Diego Padres, using his baseball acumen to help identify and train talent for the organization. He was then named bench coach for the Padres from 2020-2023, even acting as interim manager when then-skipper Bob Melvin was placed in COVID-19 protocols.
Flaherty would move to the bench coach position with the Chicago Cubs in 2024 and has held that role since.
Though Flaherty doesn’t have any long-term managerial experience, his blue collar, gritty playing style and camaraderie with other players that was crucial to the clubhouse made him a fan favorite and could be a reason Birdland would be willing to give its former player the opportunity to prove himself as the man to lead the team.
With ties to a winning culture that was led by Buck Showalter and Adam Jones, he then learned from two other top franchises, while being able to work with managers Bob Melvin and Craig Counsell on teams that navigated the seasons and fought their way into the postseason.
Flaherty might be the safest move of the group, but is he the right move to bring the Orioles to the next level with no previous managerial experience?
JOHN GIBBONS
Anyone who is an Orioles fan remembers John Gibbons as the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, two separate stints to be exact.
Known for being amongst the league leaders in ejections and one of the worst decision makers in challenges, Gibbons did manage to finish third or better in six of his 10 seasons as manager north of the border.
Gibbons led the Blue Jays to the postseason twice, including an AL East Title in 2015, losing in the ALCS both times and finishing with a 5-5 postseason record.
Gibbons, who is 63, finished with a 793-789 record as Blue Jays manager. He brings a bit of a fiery side to his leadership, but he does get his team to perform and to come together.
Though he is coming from a New York Mets club as the bench coach that just had a historic collapse to fall out of the postseason running, Gibbons does have the experience, the tenacity and the leadership ability to guide a team to the postseason.
SCOTT SERVAIS
The former 11-year veteran and Olympic Gold-Medal-winning catcher, Scott Servais was a well-respected player and teammate through his playing career across three teams.
Servais began life after baseball as the senior director of player development for the Texas Rangers, a position he held from 2004-2010.
From there, he joined the Los Angeles Angels as their assistant general manager. The position was awarded to him by his close friend Jerry Dipoto, the general manager at the time. They had developed their friendship when they played together for the Colorado Rockies, where Servais had discussed his dream of managing one day.
That dream became a reality when Dipoto became the GM of the Seattle Mariners and hired Servais to be the skipper in October of 2015.
Servais would remain the Mariners’ manager until 2024, compiling a 668-624 record while finishing third or better in seven seasons and led Seattle to the postseason for the first time since 2001. He compiled a 2-3 playoff record, losing to the Houston Astros in the ALDS in 2022.
When Servais was relieved of his duties on August 22, 2024, the Mariners were 64-64, on their way to finishing second in the AL West and missing the playoffs.
BOB MELVIN
Many baseball fans remember Bob Melvin as the manager who made the Oakland Athletics relevant and a difficult team to face.
The former Baltimore Oriole had a 10-year career, playing for seven teams primarily as a backup catcher. In 1987, he threw out 42.7% of would-be base stealers, which was good for second in the National League. In 1991, he turned five double plays, which was fifth most in the American League, despite playing in only 79 games.
As a skipper, he was one of 16 to win Manager of the Year in both leagues and one of just eight managers to win the award three times.
During his time with Oakland, Melvin totaled 853 wins, which ranked second in A’s history behind Hall of Famer Connie Mack. Melvin would also win his 1,000th career game while with the A’s, becoming the 64th manager to achieve that feat.
Melvin ranks behind only Terry Francona for active career wins as a manager, with a total of 1,678. As a manager, Melvin is one of only 15 to reach the postseason eight times, but the only one to never have won a pennant.
In 22 years as a skipper, Melvin’s teams have finished third or better 15 times, including four first place finishes. He holds a 16-23 postseason record, though he does have a World Series ring as a coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
BRUCE BOCHY
As a player, Bruce Bochy was more known for the history he was involved in or the players he was behind during his career rather than for his play.
He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in January of 1975 and did not sign. He was then drafted in the first round of the supplemental draft in June of 1975 by the Houston Astros, in which he turned pro and backed up Andy Ashby.
He is most notably recognized for being run over by Pete Rose in the top of the 10th inning with the go-ahead run in game four of the 1980 NLCS. Bochy, while playing for the Astros, also hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning off Nolan Ryan on July 1, 1985, the first and only time Ryan allowed a walk-off home run in his career.
Retiring as a player in 1989, Bochy would start his managerial career in the minor leagues as an assistant manager with the Class-A Riverside Red Wave. By 1995, Bochy earned his first major league gig with the San Diego Padres, one he would hold for 12 seasons.
During those 12 seasons, Bochy would finish third or better six times, including a first place finish on four occasions. He appeared in the NLCS four times, making it to the World Series once, losing to the New York Yankees in 1998.
Bochy left the Padres after the 2006 season with the most games managed in Padres history, accumulating the most wins and losses as well.
In 2007, Bochy took over as manager of the San Francisco Giants and began his most successful run as manager. From 2007-2019, Bochy would finish third or better eight times, including first place on three separate occasions.
Bochy’s teams would reach the postseason four times, winning the World Series three of those times, while losing to the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS on the other occasion.
In 2017, Bochy became just the 15th manager to reach 1,800 career wins. In September of the same season, he earned his 900th career win with the Giants, becoming the first manager to win 900 games with two different franchises.
During the 2019 season, on June 4, Bochy won his 1,000th game as manager of the Giants, becoming the 25th manager to win 1,000 games with one club. That same season on August 25, Bochy managed his 4,000th career game, becoming the eighth person to manage that amount of games.
At the end of 2019, Bochy would retire for at least a season, though he did state he would possibly like to return to managing once again. He did take an advisory position in the front office with the Giants after managing.
Bochy would return to manage the Texas Rangers in 2023, leading them to a second place finish in the AL West. A surprising run in the playoffs took the Rangers to their first World Series Championship, bringing Bochy his fourth World Series Title, only the sixth manager to accomplish that.
Bochy was relieved of his duties after the 2025 season after back-to-back third place finishes. He did pick up his 2,195th career win, passing Sparky Anderson for sixth place on the all-time wins lists for managers.
With a career record of 2,252-2,266 in the regular season and a career postseason record of 57-37, Bochy is the most accomplished managerial candidate available, as well as probably the tops on most lists.
All five of these candidates offer a unique and different style and approach to how they would manage but are accomplished (outside of Ryan Flaherty) in their backgrounds as leaders in the dugout.
Which one would be the perfect fit for the Orioles and its young nucleus remains to be seen, but there are differing ideas and opinions across Birdland that would differ on each candidate.
Be sure to stay tuned to The Baltimore Battery for when the news breaks of a new manager being named and if one of these candidates is named the next leader of the squad.
Who do you want to see manage the Baltimore Orioles? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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