Even as the Orioles fall out of the playoff race, there remains plenty to learn about this team

The Orioles are 5.5 games behind the final wild card spot in the American League. They lost three out of four games to the Blue Jays and two of three to last-place Red Sox in a week. The team has been among the best since May 1 and worked their way into a playoff spot on multiple occasions. Mike Elias has a plan to significantly escalate the payroll over the winter. The Orioles fanbase is going to walk away from this season with positive feelings. It's time for bigger aspirations for the club and bigger expectations from the fans. This campaign serves as the official turning point for Mike Elias and the organization.

The Orioles have too many players in the outfield. They are out of the playoff race. Trading Anthony Santander and Colton Cowser makes sense. Austin Hays is in arbitration and is having a tough second half. He might be a good trade target. The team has other players at or near the big league level.

Odor won't be back with the Orioles in 2023. The team plans to keep Gunnar Henderson as their everyday third baseman and keep Jorge Mateo at shortstop. Jordan Westburg is in the midst of a fine September with Triple-A Norfolk. Ortiz is 19-for-48 with two home runs and four doubles in 12 games with Bowie. He would probably make more sense if the team promoted him.

Grayson Rodriguez is recovering from a lat injury and is expected to make his debut with the Orioles before the season ends. The team is struggling and needs to improve its starting pitching to keep up with expectations. The Orioles are out of the playoff race. They need to take a bigger leap to match the team's heightened aspirations.

The Orioles are in a tough position in their starting pitching. Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer, Austin Voth, D.L. Hall, Kyle Bradish, and Jordan Lyles are possibilities to be added to the starting line-up. John Means could be the odd man out.