The Baltimore Orioles entered the 2026 season with a seemingly simple but actually risky decision: giving Colton Cowser the entire center field position. No experimentation. No sharing of the role. And most importantly — no real Plan B behind him.
Cowser’s 2025 season was a series of events no player wants to experience. Injuries, then more injuries, and when he finally recovered, his form never quite caught up. It’s easy to forget that just a year earlier, Cowser was the runner-up in Rookie of the Year, one of the Orioles’ most reliable young players.
In 2024, Cowser played 153 games, hit 24 home runs, pulled 52 walks, and played high-level defense. He struck out a lot, yes — but he compensated with power, patience, and the ability to impact the game in multiple ways. The Orioles entered 2025 with Cowser as lead-off, partly due to Gunnar Henderson’s injury, but it wasn’t an unreasonable choice.
Then things fell apart very quickly.
Just days into the season, Cowser broke his thumb while heading to first base in Toronto. Six months earlier, that same hand had been broken in the Wild Card Series. Before he could regain his rhythm, he crashed into the outfield fence, breaking two ribs—an injury that was kept secret until the end of September. And as if that weren’t enough, Cowser had to take another break in August due to symptoms of a concussion.
The result was a fragmented season, lacking rhythm and continuity. Aside from June—where he had a 10-game run that resembled the 2024 version—everything else was cold. From the end of June through the season, Cowser shot .180, OPS .336, and struck out 100 times in 69 games. That’s a number that would make any fan base question things.
And the Orioles did.
With Tyler O’Neill signed to a big contract, Dylan Beavers emerging, and Taylor Ward traded in, Cowser once looked like a viable option for pitching—something Baltimore had been persistently lacking. But as the offseason drew to a close, that scenario became increasingly illogical.
The center field market was nearly exhausted. Luis Robert had gone to the Mets. Harrison Bader signed with the Giants. The Orioles only added Leody Taveras—a useful player, but not someone to put on the team every day. There was no one else within the team ready to replace him. Beavers was only a temporary solution. Bradfield Jr. had the glove and speed, but not the bat. Reed Trimble was better suited to a fourth-string role than a stand-in.
And so, whether they liked it or not, Cowser became the only solution.
Defensively, this wasn’t a blind gamble. Cowser played nearly 50 center field games last season, and his movement statistics are positive. He has a formidable shooting arm and enough range to hold his own in that position. The problem lies with the bat.
The Orioles don’t need Cowser back to his 119 wRC+ level from 2024. But they do need him to be near the league average. Because if the center field continues to only deliver wRC+ below 90, that’s a real vulnerability in a team that’s currently in win-now mode.
What makes this decision tense is the lack of safety netting. No one behind the scenes is ready to jump in if Cowser struggles again. The Orioles have put most of their eggs in one basket — and hope that 2025 is just another one-off.
After all, it’s not a stupid gamble. Injuries ruined Cowser’s season last year. The lead-off pressure is gone. And this time, he’s been given a clear, unambiguous role.
But once the season begins, all explanations will become meaningless. Only one question remains: will Colton Cowser be fit enough—and consistent enough—to become the true centerpiece of the Orioles’ outfield?
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