The Orioles have gotten off to a 15-24 start, leading to speculation about the future of manager Brandon Hyde — particularly given that the Pirates and Rockies let go of their skippers following rough starts.
General manager Mike Elias and Orioles players have been consistent in their support of Hyde in recent weeks. Yes, the club has played an uninspiring brand of baseball, but there are mitigating factors. The team has been hit by an unusually high number of key injuries. Several regulars have underperformed. Only one offseason move has borne much fruit.
Count former Orioles left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe as a supporter of Hyde.
“I think Brandon Hyde’s a great manager,” Coulombe said on a Glenn Clark Radio interview airing May 14. “I really enjoyed my time with him. We had some great conversations. We’d talk every day. That’s not how it is, generally. Relievers, we stick more to the pitching coaches. We don’t really talk to the managers because the managers are more dealing with position players and stuff like that, but he would take time out of his day to ask how things are going. I always really appreciated playing for him. He’s a great manager. I know that the guys there really do enjoy playing for him.”
Coulombe, 35, was one of the most effective relievers in baseball for the Orioles from 2023-2024, posting a 2.56 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 81 innings during that time. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound lefty threw several pitches for strikes and was effective against both left- and right-handed hitters, making him a valuable weapon for Hyde.
Coulombe wasn’t sure how the Orioles would use him after they claimed him just before the start of the 2023 season, but he quickly learned he’d be an important piece of the bullpen. In the club’s second game of the year, he was asked to navigate the middle of the Red Sox order in a tight game. That included a matchup against lefty slugger Rafael Devers.
“For me that was like, ‘Whoa, they’re going to throw me in the fire and see how it goes,'” Coulombe said. “You really don’t know how well you can pitch in leverage until you actually do it. The Orioles gave me the opportunity to do that. I’ll forever be thankful for that, but that was really the first time in my career I really had that opportunity.”
However, Coulombe missed three months of the 2024 season after having bone chips removed from his left elbow and the Orioles did not pick up his $4 million club option for 2025. The lefty later signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Twins, which looks like one of the best signings any team made this past offseason. Entering the Twins’ series in Baltimore from May 14-15, Coulombe hadn’t allowed a run all year.
Was Coulombe surprised the Orioles declined his option?
“You always know there’s a chance of that,” Coulombe said. “We were a little surprised. I thought maybe it would be a pick-up-an-option-and-trade-you kind of thing. But honestly, I’m just really thankful for the way it has worked out because I’ve ended up with the Twins here and I’ve just really enjoyed my time here.”
Félix Bautista, however, is back in the Orioles’ bullpen. Coulombe spent a lot of time with Bautista in 2023 and 2024, particularly when the two were rehabbing injuries in Sarasota last year. He’s thrilled to see the Orioles’ big right-hander back closing games again.
“It’s pretty amazing to have a guy at the back end who just shortens the game,” Coulombe said. “You get through eight, you know the game’s essentially over. I would say there are really only two guys that I’ve seen throw up close in the bullpen where you’re like, ‘Wow.’ That was Bautista and actually Jhoan Duran. It’s a different level of fastball. I’m so happy for Félix. He’s such a great guy.”
For more from Coulombe, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox