No One Would Have Guessed The Orioles MVP Through 1/3 Of The Season

Leody Taveras was the most valuable Oriole player from the first third of their 2026 season.

And Rico Garcia was the most valuable pitcher. (We’re not going to argue that point; if you’ve watched this team at all you are already nodding along).

That says plenty about the kind of extreme value those low-level additions are providing, and plenty about the highest reaches of this roster and plenty about the overall construction of a roster that looks as disjointed and underachieving as the 2025 version that got Brandon Hyde fired as manager.

But it’s also true.

Taveras brings a unique skillset to a team that lacks anyone else who could regularly man centerfield at even an average MLB level. And for a pitching staff that has, per the metrics, the second worst bullpen and starting rotation in the month of May, and with shortstop Gunnar Henderson looking like he really belongs at third base, having Taveras up the middle chasing down drives and knowing where to throw the ball and having a requisite arm to get it there has been truly imperative.

Here’s why he gets the nod:

Taveras Does What Other Orioles Do Not

As mentioned, he is the only regular MLB centerfielder in the entire org. Former first-round pick Enrique Bradfield Jr. could be an excellent defensive CF, but he’s barely played in the high minors at all due to injury and barely played at AAA at all this season due to injury. And there are major questions about whether the bat will make him more of a supercharged fourth outfielder on a contending team.

Taveras understands the importance of getting on base and being aggressive on the base paths. Manager Craig Albernaz has publicly implored his team to go from first to third and take smart leads and put pressure on the defense. Taveras has done this all season, and created one of the more important runs of the season in Monday’s comeback with a walk and his wheels.

He stays within himself at the plate on a team that chases launch angle with far too much regularity. Despite hitting in the bottom of the lineup he’s scored 19 times in 44 games. Oh, and he’s fifth on the team in RBIs (20, just six fewer than Henderson), despite hitting in the bottom of what’s been a bad lineup most of the season.

He accepts situational baseball and offers a winning profile when he does come off the bench, which is huge with the Orioles’ reserves not offering much to what’s been a bad team this season. And I will say it again, he generally fields a massively important position quite well, something that can really only be said otherwise about this roster at first base (Alonso exceeding expectations) and catcher.

He Gets On Base

Did I mention he has a .370 on base? I mean the fact he’s somehow also slugging nearly .400 as a guy who many had ticketed for Norfolk to open the season (not this guy; he was always the only potential CF they had) is nuts but he does whatever he can to try to turn the lineup over.

The only person on the team getting on base more than him is Taylor Ward, but he is not as athletic and doesn’t offer much on the base paths and, frankly, he was brought in for thump and has as many homers as Taveras (and fewer RBIs). And while he strikes out too much, that’s true of this entire roster and when a guy who wasn’t supposed to make what was allegedly a contender in the American League quickly becomes a sparkplug and glue guy when they do battle for wins, that says a lot.

Process of Elimination

Henderson is unquestionably the best and most talented player on this team, and he’s started to really turn around his season over the last week. But he’s struggled mightily with men on base and been subpar at shortstop and terrible on the base paths. He has not been good for most of the season. Alonso was a massive signing but had a tepid start to the season.

Adley Rutschman had a resurgent start to the season and been much better behind the plate and in the batters box, but this front office is intent on resting him a ton, he was also on the Injured List and has appeared in just 37 of 54 games. Jeremiah Jackson had an awesome April, but he remains largely position-less, he doesn’t walk at all, and grounds into a ton of double plays.

Guess which Oriole regular has yet to hit into one? Yup. Taveras

There should definitely be concern about regression coming as the sample size expands, and if Taveras is the MVP of their next 54 games, this team is going to be in even more trouble than it already is. But credit where it’s due. This is one move Mike Elias has made that’s come up aces.

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