Baltimore Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson Comments on Frustrating 2026 Season

It is no secret that Gunnar Henderson has been a disappointment this year for the Baltimore Orioles. With Baltimore sitting six games below the .500 mark entering Wednesday, time is running out for this current group to prove they can contend.

Otherwise, the front office may shift its approach and sell off pieces at the trade deadline, just as they did in 2025 when the season did not go as planned.

If there is any hope for the Orioles to turn it around, it starts with Henderson looking like himself. The 24-year-old has already shown flashes of superstardom in his five-year career, earning AL Rookie of the Year, an All-Star selection and a Silver Slugger. He also finished fourth in AL MVP voting just two years ago in a stacked race.

However, this year he has looked like a shell of himself. Across 73 games, he has posted a .224 batting average, .293 on-base percentage, .706 OPS, 14 home runs and 34 RBIs.

The power is still there, but he is striking out at an alarming rate, racking up 81 K's through just 334 plate appearances. Last year across 651 plate appearances, he struck out just 137 times.

Henderson addressed his frustrating season after going 0-for-4 in a loss against the Seattle Mariners.

"I feel like I'm putting in the right work to get the results to show, but they haven't really shown up. So it's super frustrating, but it's just something that happens with baseball. It's the hardest sport in the world for a reason," Henderson said (h/t Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner).

Fortunately for Henderson, there is still time to turn it around. The All-Star break is approaching, and if he can pick things up in the second half, his numbers could look respectable and even elite again.

The problem is that his struggles have been a primary reason Baltimore's offense has underperformed. The Orioles have dealt with plenty of injuries to their position player group, and compounding that with Henderson's prolonged slump has made it hard to provide run support.

Baltimore invested heavily around Henderson this past offseason, adding proven bats in All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso in free agency and outfielder Taylor Ward in a trade with the Angels.

The pieces are there for this offense to be dangerous. They just haven't been and Henderson's struggles have been a big reason why. Henderson finding himself again in the second half would go a long way toward proving that the Orioles are still worth watching.