For the first time since manager Brandon Hyde was fired, Orioles owner David Rubenstein addressed the state of the organization during an interview at the National Press Club this week, which was aired on C-SPAN.

When discussing the disappointing start to the season — ahead of Thursday’s doubleheader with the New York Mets, Baltimore is 40-50 and seven games out of the final wild-card place — Rubenstein pointed to the magnitude of injuries the Orioles have suffered while also expressing confidence in the direction of the club over the second half of the season.

Rubenstein told the audience this season has “not worked out that well.”

“We have a lot of injuries,” Rubenstein said. “We lead the major leagues, I think, in injuries. And what are you supposed to say to a young person who injures his arm? You can’t say, ‘Go out and play when your arm’s injured.’ So, it’s difficult. I’m not able to coach these players very much. I can’t tell them what to do. I’m 75; these guys are 21, 22 years old.”

He did not address Hyde’s firing directly. When general manager Mike Elias spoke to members of the media in the aftermath, he said he consulted “very heavily” with ownership over the decision.

Baltimore has suffered a great deal of injuries this season. The six catchers they have used thus far ties a franchise record for the most catchers used in a single season. The Orioles have four catchers on the injured list currently, including former All-Star Adley Rutschman, who’s recovering from an oblique strain.

Beyond the catchers, the injuries have struck each position unit. Baltimore has placed 24 players on the injured list this season, with a few landing on it multiple times.

Even so, the team has underperformed when many of their players have been healthy. The Orioles are in last place in the American League East after winning a combined 192 regular season games in 2023 and 2024. The next step is winning in the postseason — the Orioles were swept out of the playoffs both those years, and the chances of making it this season are dwindling, if not already done.

That leaves Elias with a decision as the trade deadline approaches July 31. Will the Orioles trade away players on expiring contracts to prepare for 2026?

Rubenstein was not directly asked for his opinion on that topic, although he noted that Baltimore, in his mind, is a strong team while also distancing himself from the baseball decision-making process.

“I leave the baseball to the baseball professionals,” Rubenstein said. “My job is to be the owner. It’s to help ticket sales, commercial things, take the blame when something goes wrong. But in the end, you’ve got professional baseball players, managers, general managers, and they know what they’re doing. Baseball is a game of some injuries and so forth, but we have a very good team. We have good players. We won three games in a row against the Atlanta Braves the other day; we’re going to play the Mets soon, and I think we have a reasonably good chance in the second half of doing much, much better.”

The interview took place before the team suffered a deflating 7-6 loss to the Mets in 10 innings Tuesday.

Before the season began, Rubenstein spoke of World Series aspirations. The outlook for this team has diminished, and Hyde’s firing came after a 15-28 start. Since interim manager Tony Mansolino took charge May 17, Baltimore is 25-22. Since the start of June, an upswing has arrived in the form of a 19-14 record.

Even with better play this last month, Baltimore finds itself in a hole that may be too deep.

During a question and answer session at the National Press Club, Rubenstein was asked about the payroll disparity in MLB and whether there should be a salary cap (or salary floor) to maintain competitiveness.

The question will take center stage when the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and MLBPA expires Dec. 1, 2026.

“I think there’s a general consensus in the country — but I can’t really speak for the whole country — that we need more equilibrium,” Rubenstein said. “We want every team to feel, when they begin the season, they have a chance, no matter whether you’re in a small city or a big city, to win a World Series.

“… Right now, the polling data suggests that many people don’t feel their smaller-town teams have as much of a chance against bigger-town teams,” Rubenstein continued. “So I think more equilibrium is probably what people want. That’s what we see. We’ll see what happens.”