What we know about the layoffs hitting the Orioles’ business operations

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The Oriole Bird will be there next season. One of the employees who played the part won’t be, however.

The layoffs that hit the Orioles on Tuesday, which The Banner first reported, include an employee who plays the part of the Mr. Splash and sometimes dons the Oriole Bird costume, sources said. The tally of layoffs is 16 team employees, sources said, and there were a handful more of off-air employees from Mid-Atlantic Sports Network let go.

The layoffs were across departments on the business side of the organization, and it included the longtime team photographer, a senior graphic designer and multiple individuals in ticket sales, corporate partnerships and hospitality roles, sources said.

The Athletic first reported the departure of the employee who acts as Mr. Splash, and a source confirmed the Bird Bath Splash Zone is expected to return.

A spokesperson for owner David Rubenstein declined to comment further.

It isn’t unusual for a team to undergo offseason changes, and a team source said this isn’t an indication that the Orioles are preparing for the expected lockout in December, when the collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players is set to expire. The source said that the Orioles are still hiring, and this won’t mark an overall reduction in the workforce.

In a memo from president of business operations Catie Griggs, sent internally to staffers, Griggs wrote that the Orioles made “difficult changes to our business, reshaping some roles and reporting lines and saying goodbye to colleagues.”

Some of those employees had been with the team for over a decade.

“I know the past two years have brought a lot of change, and many of you have wondered when it would settle. The changes we made today are complete,” wrote Griggs, who joined the organization from the Seattle Mariners in 2024. “We are not planning additional organizational changes as part of this effort, and our focus moving forward is on supporting each of you in the work you do, with clear feedback and the help to keep growing.”

Griggs added in the memo: “These decisions were about making sure our teams are built and staffed for the work ahead, not about reducing headcount. We’re continuing to recruit for critical roles and will add talent in areas where we have clear needs.”

The Orioles are at a challenging juncture on and off the field. The team that erupted in 2023 to win 101 games is largely gone. Since 2024, when Baltimore won 91 games yet went winless in the postseason for a second straight trip, the Orioles have produced two losing seasons.

MASN has dealt with turnover before, particularly when the Nationals broke off from the network ahead of this season. The future of regional sports broadcasters is murky, too. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred would like the league to take over all local broadcasting.

As the team struggles, Orioles ticket reps deal with the reality that fewer fans are spending their money to see a losing product. Baltimore’s total attendance of 1,829,252 this season ranked 24th out of 30 major league teams (the Nationals barely edged ahead of the Orioles to finish 23rd).

The Orioles have drawn more than 2 million fans only once in the last nine seasons, and they haven’t won a playoff game since 2014.