Even with his own status uncertain, Mansolino tries to prep O's to win in 2026

"I feel like I owe it to the place to do it right”

BALTIMORE – As interim manager of the Orioles, Tony Mansolino has used the term “empathy” several times.

Empathy for a struggling player, empathy for a player that might have come up after years in the minors, only to be DFA days later. Empathy for a kid like 21-year-old Jackson Holliday, who deals with such high expectations. Empathy for his clubhouse, which has underperformed this year and heard the wrath from fans around Birdland more than a few times.

Here is who I have empathy for today – Mansolino.

Put in a very difficult situation back in May, in his first week on the job both media and fans were picking apart every word he said as if the Orioles had hired a 30-year big league managing vet. And not promoted someone who didn’t seek the job he seems to have come to like quite well.

From 2016-2019, Mansolino managed in the Cleveland organization at four different minor league levels, one per year, moving from Low-A to High-A to Double-A and on to Triple-A. He had winning records each year, winning two league championships.

Through yesterday, his record is 60-56 as O’s skipper.

On the day he unexpectedly got this job, Saturday May 17, Mansolino, after a 10-6 loss to the Nationals said this: “Not excited. This isn’t a good thing for us. We’re going to miss Brandon in a lot of ways. To me, he did a great job here. So, to get to this point where a change is made is not something any of us wanted by any means.”

Honest. Empathetic. He was himself that day and every day since then. He’s handled this role well in my book.

But what an awkward spot he is in. No doubt he’d love to be manager here in 2026, but he has done zero campaigning for the job. Recently when sort of given the chance by a question to pat himself on the back, he instead lauded the coaches.

And every day in his new role, he has sought to help this team be better for next year, even though there is a chance he won’t be here to see it.

That’s a pro.

“People that are very close to me have given me the advice, don’t give the information until you know you have the job, and I’m not gonna operate that way. I’ve made the decision, I’m not going to do that. I’m gonna try to do this the right way,” he told reporters before the game Wednesday night.

“I’m very thankful to this organization for pulling me out of Cleveland and giving me a big league job. I’m very thankful now at this point to have been put in this position and to be seen as a guy who can do this. So I’m gonna do the right thing, I’m gonna tell them what I think. I hope they appreciate that. It might not always be what they want to hear, but I really do think if you’re a major league person, player, coach, staff member, front office member, if you’re a true big leaguer in what you do, the truth is kind of what sets you forward. It really is.

“It is my responsibility to tell the truth and I will. There’s a right way to do it. You don’t need to beat people over the head with it. Maybe a little empathy goes a long way with it. But I think you do it and I will do that to the best of my ability, regardless of whether I’m going to be in this uniform or at home or a different uniform.”

He has said often he wants to leave the job in good hands for the next guy. If he’s not still that guy.

“I think when you get into this situation, you try to leave the seat better for the next guy. And I know I’ve done that, and I’ll continue to do that regardless of what my situation is or what the coaches situation is. I think it’s the right thing to do.

“I also think that when you leave a place, your reputation is what matters, so I’m gonna do it the right way to the best of my ability, and how that plays out in terms of my career, I have no idea. I don’t really care. I feel like I owe it to the place to do it right.”

About the only time Mansolino has not been ready to be open and honest with local media was when he was asked if the front office has told him the timeline for making a decision on his status for next year?

“Yeah. I’m not going to share it with you though,” he said with a smile.

If we have learned one thing about Mansolino in his role as manager it’s that, like Brandon Hyde and others before him, there is a real quality individual in that Baltimore dugout. He cares about the players, the organization, the fans. He even has worked to have a good relationship with the local media, which he does.

None of this means he will be the skipper moving forward. It takes more than being a quality guy to secure such a job. But he hopes the hits this team has taken this year will pay off then.

“I think you grow through adversity. This group of players, in a lot of ways, a lot of these guys just showed up and went to the playoffs for a couple of years. Not that it’s been easy.

“I wouldn’t use the word entitled, but maybe there is a little bit of entitlement that we’re going to be good because we have all these young players and we’re the Baltimore Orioles. That is certainly not the case as you can see.

“I hope these guys are pissed off and I hope they’re hungry, and I know that they are. I hope this has been very eye-opening for them and what it takes to win at this level and how slim the margins are, and their preparation that needs to go into it. Not that the preparation has been bad, but I think kind of taking stock in where we’re at and how we got here, we can certainly improve whatever we’ve done to this point.”