The Orioles lost pieces at the deadline and didn’t quit. Why? ‘The fate’s in our hands.’

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Forget the record for a second. Forget the fact they are closer to the bottom of the American League East than the top. When looking at the Orioles in this way — with blinders on, admittedly, to ignore what has largely been a frustrating season — they are right there.

It says more about the mediocrity of the American League, but it says something about the Orioles, too.

“That’s the craziest part about this whole thing, is we can be mad about the trade deadline and how the year’s gone and everything else, but we’re right here.”

Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt

After Sunday’s win against the league-leading Tampa Bay Rays and losses elsewhere in the league, Baltimore found itself alone in the final wild-card place with more than a month to play in the regular season. That comes despite the maddening quality of play over the first several months. That comes despite a trade deadline that led to subtraction rather than addition.

After all of that, these Orioles still have a chance.

That’s all it is — a chance. To this point, the Orioles haven’t played consistently enough to be considered a playoff-caliber team, even if the third wild-card spot may go to a subpar squad.

But, inside Baltimore’s clubhouse, to this point doesn’t matter so much as what comes next, and there’s a renewed fervor after three straight wins against the Rays. And when it’s boiled down, when the record is ignored, there’s one overarching mentality: Why not?

“I think there’s a fire under us,” infielder Coby Mayo said. “Like, ‘Well, we’re not supposed to win. We’re not supposed to get in.’ Then you look at the standings and you’re like, ‘Holy s--t, we’re one game out.’ The fate’s in our hands. It really is.”

It would not have been excusable, but perhaps understandable, had the Orioles floundered after the trade deadline. Two weeks ago, president of baseball operations Mike Elias traded away four contributors: catcher Adley Rutschman, right-handers Tyler Wells and Dean Kremer, and outfielder Taylor Ward.

That was an admission that it wasn’t prudent for the front office to put all its eggs in the 2026 basket. Elias prepared for next season and beyond by loading up the farm system. Even then, however, he insisted Baltimore had a chance to make the postseason.

And, although there was shock within this group of players that some mainstays had departed, the two weeks since the deadline give credence to the platitudes said in those first few days.

After the first post-deadline game, for instance, first baseman Pete Alonso spoke on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. He issued a rallying call to the fans in Baltimore, saying he knew “it’s been emotional for this city and the organization, but we’re going to keep going and we’re going to do the best we can to win games.”

That has been the prevailing message throughout the clubhouse since the trade deadline.

To that point, the Orioles hadn’t played solid baseball consistently enough to prove to the front office it should supplement the major league roster. The players couldn’t control that. But they could control — to whatever extent baseball is controllable — the next day’s game.

“Whatever’s happened in the past is over. We can’t really dwell on it,” infielder Jackson Holliday said. “I think we’ve done a really good job the past few nights of doing that and going out there just to win. Whatever it takes to win is what we’ve got to do.”

In Minneapolis last week, right-hander Chris Bassitt gave a blunt account of where the Orioles stood after the trade deadline. He said Elias “did what’s best for the team — I think, obviously, you can argue not now but for the future, for sure.”

The fact that selling was necessary made Bassitt angry at himself and his teammates, not Elias.

“We haven’t played a clean brand of baseball,” Bassitt said. Then he flipped the page forward.

“We’re still in it. That’s the craziest part about this whole thing, is we can be mad about the trade deadline and how the year’s gone and everything else, but we’re right here,” Bassitt said. “So it’s just more so trying to accept what has happened and then just move forward and go together and try to hold each other to the highest standards, win a bunch of games and get into the playoffs.”

Left-hander Trevor Rogers was one key player not traded at the deadline. Elias pointed to that as proof he didn’t gut the roster, and Rogers’ starts the rest of the way may be critical in stacking wins every fifth day.

“The deadline, you never know what’s going to happen. We got through that. We lost some pieces, but we got some pieces,” Rogers said, such as catcher Carlos Narváez and right-hander Alex Hoppe. “Relatively speaking, we were the same team, and we knew that. Not going to say there’s an excuse, like we blew the team up or something like that. That wasn’t the case. We knew that we believe in what we have here.”

That’s not to say the Orioles are oblivious to the fact they need to play better.

On Saturday, right-hander Kyle Bradish said as much. He correctly noted the Orioles have been streaky, “winning three games here, lose a couple, get three games back, lose a couple.”

“Right now, it’s time to push forward and keep playing good baseball,” Bradish said.

Mayo knows it, too.

“I know we haven’t played great baseball for a lot of the year,” Mayo said. “We haven’t done the fundamentals, and I’m guilty of it. I haven’t played my best. I’m sure guys will say they haven’t played their best. And then we look up and … after tonight, we could be in a playoff spot. You never know. There’s still six weeks left in the season. There’s so much time. You go on one win streak, and you put yourself in a good spot.”

Based on what the Orioles have done for much of the season, it’s as conceivable for them to hit a rut and slide for a few games as it is for them to enjoy a breakout.

At 61-63, Baltimore is close to .500. But the Orioles have been this close before, as recently as Aug. 5. Then they lost three straight games, and five of seven, to sink again. They got within two games of .500 with a win over the Philadelphia Phillies on July 31; then they were shut out twice in a row.

There has been a pattern to this season. But there can be no denying the state of the standings. Regardless of how Baltimore has gotten here, the team still has a chance.

That’s all the Orioles could ask for.

“We get to play for a chance for the playoffs, and I think everyone in here can feel that,” Holliday said. “We go out there and beat a good team three nights in a row, I don’t think it’s much of a fluke. We have a really good team, and we’re going out there and showing it.”