Dec. 1: The Rays announced Monday that Hyde has joined the organization as a senior advisor to the baseball operations department.
Nov. 26: Former Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde is in talks with the Rays about taking a position within the organization, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. The two parties have been discussing a senior advisor role that would see Hyde work with both the major league club and various minor league affiliates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times adds. Murray indicates that while an agreement has not yet been finalized, Hyde is expected to end up working for the Rays for the upcoming season.
Hyde, 52, managed the Orioles from 2019-25. In his seven seasons with Baltimore, his clubs produced a 421-491 record. Judging any manager based on wins and losses alone is a frivolous endeavor, though, and that’s especially true of Hyde, whose first season in Baltimore coincided with a complete teardown and rebuild of the organization. Following the 2018 season, the Orioles dismissed general manager Dan Duquette, hiring current president of baseball operations Mike Elias in his place. Elias installed Hyde as his new skipper but also gutted the roster and spent several seasons tanking while working to rebuild the farm system and modernize the infrastructure of the organization.
Hyde oversaw winning teams each season from 2022-24 and was named 2023 AL Manager of the Year after the O’s won the American League East and piled up 101 victories. The Orioles went to the postseason in both 2023 and 2024 but were swept out of the playoffs both times — first in the ALDS by the eventual World Series champion Rangers and next by the Royals in the 2024 Wild Card round of play.
The Orioles entered 2025 with big expectations but floundered out of the gates thanks to a clear lack of starting pitching and a lineup that wasn’t performing as expected. By mid-May, the 15-28 Orioles had seen their season already slip away. Hyde was dismissed from his managerial post and replaced by third base coach Tony Mansolino on an interim basis.
Prior to his time at the helm in Baltimore, Hyde was a bench coach and first base coach with the Cubs. Before that, he spent two seasons as the Marlins’ bench coach plus several years as a manager, hitting coach and field coordinator in Miami’s minor league ranks. A catcher and first baseman in his playing days, Hyde also spent four years playing in the White Sox’ system before moving onto the coaching and managerial phase of his career.
He made questionable decisions and mishandled his pitchers often. Got out managed in the Texas playoff series in ‘23 and didn’t do much better in the royals series in “24.
He’s a good baseball guy and seemed to be able to handle the clubhouse until the last part of “24 and definitely seemed to lose it completely this past season. A change was more than necessary but it doesn’t mean that he cannot evolve, make better decisions and be a valued contributor with the Rays. I hope they work well together and he’s able to get back to managing again soon if that’s his goal.
Red Forman and especially Kitty would agree. Also appreciated Hyde around the clubhouse. Moreso than that goof Kelso
Agreed. He doesn’t seem incapable of improving and learning from his experience. In regards to this last year in my opinion he was the last person to blame for the O’s absolutely underachieving. He just happened to be the patsy, which is what managers end up being most of the time. He seems like a solid baseball guy though as you say, he’ll hone his craft I imagine.
It was a mixed bag here in regard to Hyde. Some fans absolutely despised him and were calling for a replacement all the way back to the ‘23 season. Then, there was another group who absolutely loved him. You can’t make everyone happy all of the time but the group that was critical of him was certainly much louder than the way displeasure towards a manager typically works around the league. Some felt as though an experienced manager should have been brought in after the ‘22 season because of the second half play and breakout of the team. I tend to think that maybe an experienced manager would have gotten us some more wins in the two playoff appearances but I don’t believe that it likely would have ended much differently or with a World Series win – a deeper playoff run, yes but not all the way.
He was a decent guy, very friendly and personable with the media and did all of the required pre and post game stuff. He was generally a fairly level headed manager but he had his moments of fire. Specifically, when playing the Yankees at home, in the bottom of a late inning, a Yankee pitcher hit Heston Kjerstad in the head. Hyde went out to check on him and somehow ended up with his helmet. There was some chirping from the Yankee dugout and suddenly Hyde was walking very briskly toward the Yankees dugout, alone, after throwing the helmet in that direction. Obviously the dugouts and bullpens emptied but that was probably the best example of him getting fired up. Personally, I liked it in that situation.
Yeah, I think he’s definitely in the process of putting things together for another opportunity, so it would not surprise me to see him changing because of improvement and kinda reinvent himself as a different type of manager.
He didn’t really get outmanaged in the Texas series. In game 1, the offense choked and squandered a perfectly good start from Bradish. Game 2, Grayson got shelled. Game 3, Dean got shelled and the offense crapped their pants. The O’s hitters just sucked and the pitchers withered under the big lights, except Bradish.
Tell me you didn’t watch that series without saying you didn’t watch the series.
Bochy got O’Hearn out of the lineup without so much as looking at a pitch because Hyde was so preprogrammed to follow L v R protocol.
Single handedly lost game 2
Nah. See run differential. The end.
If he makes questionable decisions then he’ll fot right in with Kevin Cash and the Rays
I wouldn’t trust Hyde to be more than a bench coach. He has no idea how to manage a pitching staff and players were never held accountable for the failures to make adjustments at the plate or for what became routine stretches of poor defensive effort in his last two seasons. He was often dealt a raw hand by the front office in the lack of talent on the roster but he also failed routinely to utilize the talent he did have properly.
The lack of accountability is by far the largest concern regarding Hyde. Those guys regressed under him. And the dismal, long adjustment periods were and are unacceptable.
Just don’t hire Dr. Jekyll as the team physician.
What about Fez? Not a doc but took chemistry. Hilarity ensued.
Also DMV Certified.
He did a good job developing the players in the rebuild. In game decisons won’t be a factor in this job. Seems like a good fit.
If the Rays are planning to tank, Hyde would be a perfect advisor.
@Kyle Grantham
Slightly better chances to get the #1 pick. Load up again and go for another cheap run at the playoffs before selling them off again.
It’s the Florida way of doing baseball
He wasn’t the problem in Baltimore. That would be Elias, who is still making questionable or downright stupid moves this off-season.
Don’t like the Grayson move but 3 starting pitchers on innings limits would have been tough for team to manage with few with options. Could have gotten more for Grayson, even if a high a lottery throwin… other moves solid and at least ward is durable and mashes lefties
I mean it’s also possible Grayson is just irreparably broken now, and Baltimore figured they should get as much value as possible while they could. Whether he’s on a pitch count or not might be irrelevant if he has to get surgery.
How many personnel does an MLB team need?
If it keeps trending toward more, maybe my lifelong dream of being an On Deck Circle Donut Picker Outer Coach can come true…
Too bad the GM last name isn’t Jeckell
Hyde seemed to be extremely formulaic. Kept making the same bullpen decisions when obviously things had changed. Too obsessed with lefty/righty. Looked like he was following a script.
It worked somewhat until it didn’t. Up through 2021 there were no expectations but he seemed to have player support. Had some overperforming players in 2022 and 2023, and in 2023 a lot of favorable lack of injury and way above the mean situational hitting. The good luck dried up in the 2nd half of 2024 and he appeared to become lost. Once lost, he got really lost.
I get that players have to perform, and I don’t think anyone goes .500 in the first 50 games of 2025 with Morton, Gibson, and also Kremer with a ~7 ERA his first few starts, but Hyde appeared absolutely overwhelmed and he lost the players. Mansolino, following nearly the same script and with a bullpen that was fried, went .500.
It seemed he reached a point in mid 2024 where in his mind decided to no longer evolve with the changing scope and trajectory of the team. The halt to the young core’s progress and even the regression – he seemed to be ineffective addressing it.