At first glance, not much seemed different for Tony Mansolino on Saturday.

He broke out his fungo to conduct drills with Ryan O’Hearn, just as he has every pregame all season. And he was still in the infield working with Gunnar Henderson during batting practice, helping the shortstop prepare for that afternoon’s game.

But, come game time, all eyes were on Mansolino. Instead of hanging out on the far end of the dugout, sending directions to the infielders or heading out to third base to decipher when to send runners in, he’ll be tasked with every decision that’ll go into the Orioles’ game against the Nationals on Saturday.

This is his team now.

The Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde just four hours before first pitch and promoted Mansolino, their third-base coach and infield instructor, in the interim. It’s up to Mansolino to save the season and turn a 15-28 squad that has lost eight of its last 10 games back into the playoff-caliber team it should be.

It should help him that the players are familiar with him — he’s been the third-base coach since 2021 — but this will take some adjusting for all parties involved. Mansolino has minor league managerial experience, but this will be his first time leading a team at the major league level.

“He’s a guy that is always trying to talk to everybody,” Cade Povich said. “I think he really likes to communicate and talk to players. I’ve heard of guys talk about him that have played for him in the minors and guys that have just played for him here, too, that like him a lot.”

Mansolino, from Clovis, California, grew up around the game. His father, Doug, served as a coach for the White Sox, Brewers, Tigers and Astros. Tony Mansolino played at Vanderbilt University and was selected by the Pirates in the 26th round of the 2005 draft. He played four seasons in the minors, advancing to Double-A, and another two in independent leagues before retiring.

Mansolino began his coaching career in 2011, when he was 28, as the hitting coach for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, then Cleveland’s Low-A affiliate, where his pupils included a 17-year-old Francisco Lindor. He spent the next five years as a hitting coach in Cleveland’s organization before getting his first managerial experience with Low-A Lake County in 2016. From there, Mansolino climbed the ranks to reach Triple-A, becoming the manager of the Lake County Captains in 2017, then taking the lead of the Lynchburg Hillcats in 2018 and the Columbus Clippers in 2019.

“I think he relates to players really well,” catcher Eric Haase said of Mansolino in 2019. “He didn’t take much time off between playing and coaching, and I think that’s a big deal. He’s still young enough to relate to the guys. He knows how hard this game is, and I think that goes a long way in managing.”

His success in 2019, when the Clippers won the International League championship, earned him his first taste of the majors in 2020. Cleveland manager Terry Francona had to step away due to health issues, and a series of coach shuffling led to Mansolino getting the call. He filled in as the third-base coach that season, catching the eyes of the Orioles, who hired him full time for the position prior to the 2021 season.

With the Orioles, his accomplishments include turning Ryan Mountcastle from a position nomad into a Gold Glove finalist at first base. Like clockwork, Mansolino set up on the first base foul line four hours prior to first pitch to send grounders to Mountcastle. When he found out he was a finalist in 2024, Mansolino was one of the first people Mountcastle called, an ode to the guy who spent hours getting him to that point.

“That’s just from all the work he puts in every day with Tony,” Hyde said in 2024 of Mountcastle’s improvements. “He literally does not take a day off from working on his defense, and it’s paid off.”

Mansolino can also be credited with Holliday’s defensive development. Prior to 2024, Holliday had spent nearly his entire amateur and professional career at shortstop. But with Gunnar Henderson manning that spot, the Orioles needed Holliday to learn second base in order to fit into the major league roster. So during spring training, Holliday and Mansolino set out to the backfields everyday before official workouts began, doing second base drills under the rising sun so Holliday could gain confidence at the new spot.

“I’m bullish on him,” Mansolino said about Holliday at the end of the 2024 season. “I think he’s going to be a heck of a defender at second, I really do, and I think we are starting to see that quite a bit.”

He’s detail-oriented, able to explain a complicated infield play with no hesitation, but also energetic and positive. Earlier this season, after another bad loss in a season full of them, Mansolino walked into the clubhouse and saw his infielders stewing at their lockers instead of completing their pre-game work. So he tapped them on the shoulder, rallying his guys to go outside to learn from the mistakes they had made the night prior.

That attitude will be exactly what the Orioles will need as they try to save their season.

“I think he’s gonna do everything he can to rally the troops and go out there every single day and play hard,” pitcher Zach Eflin said. “I don’t think necessarily anybody in this organization wanted anything to happen and it did, so we have to find a way to go out there and continue to fight and work hard and play hard and find our true identity and win baseball games.”