Orioles see Mayo in their future, and it could be at first

As the Orioles shuttled Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk, fans clamored for Coby Mayo.

Mayo missed nearly a month of action after he broke a rib when he ran into a dugout at Lehigh Valley on May 16^th and had been playing both first base and third for Norfolk.

The Orioles didn’t have a place for the 22-year-old, who’d been a fourth-round draft pick in 2020, but after Norby was traded to Miami on July 30^th and Jordan Westburg fractured his right hand a day later, Mayo got the call two days later and made his major league debut in Cleveland on August 2^nd.

Mayo was hitless in his first 16 at-bats before his first hit on August 14^th. After that 1-for-17 start, Mayo was returned to Norfolk but was ticketed for a return when the Orioles’ roster expanded from 26 to 28 on September 1^st. Coincidentally, Ramón Urías sprained his right ankle the day before, and suddenly there was more playing time for Mayo.

His second stint with the Orioles wasn’t much better, going 3-for-24, and Mayo finished his season back with Norfolk.

Mayo’s Triple-A numbers were outstanding. He hit .287 with 22 home runs and 67 RBIs with a .926 OPS with Norfolk. With the Orioles, he was just 4-for-41 (.098), perhaps illustrating one of the oldest clichés in baseball, that the greatest distance in the sport is between Triple-A and the majors.

At last Thursday’s end-of-season press conference, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said that he hasn’t decided which position is right for the 6-foot 5 Mayo, who started 10 games at third and two at first for the Orioles.

“It’s remained a little bit longer of an answer than I would have liked because you know when you are his size and body type, first base is going to be the easiest position for you to play,” Elias said. “He’s probably the furthest along at first base despite most of his minor league repetitions coming at third. But as we saw even in the big leagues, he can play third base.

“Now, there is a whole lot of competition to play third base when you are a major league player and where you ultimately are going to fall in and play is based on who your teammates are. So we faced a kind of tricky question with him with how quickly his bat moved up through Triple-A, how much time to invest in first base? How much time do you invest in third baes? Do we explore other stuff?

“It hasn’t been easy to do, but to his credit he has moved along so quickly it’s made it, that’s the big reason it’s been kind of an unclear question and I don’t have a new plan at this moment in time that’s different from what we’ve seen last year, but it’s very possible when we’re talking this winter, or later towards spring training, that we do have a different plan to articulate. But, I think it’s going to depend a lot on the context of what we do with other players on the roster.”

It looks as if Westburg will play third base in 2025 if Holliday becomes the everyday second baseman. If the Orioles keep both Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn, then first base is spoken for, but a lot could happen between now and spring training.

When James McCann started behind the plate, Adley Rutschman was often the designated hitter, and if McCann is re-signed then Rutschman could be used as DH often in 2025.

In 2024, O’Hearn was the designated hitter in 51 games, Rutschman in 42, Anthony Santander in 25 and Eloy Jiménez in 24.

Santander could depart, as a free agent and it’s likely Jiménez won’t be back, so some at-bats could open for Mayo.

But the Orioles don’t want him to be exclusively a designated hitter. Elias was asked about the possibility of Mayo playing the outfield.

“It’s come up in discussions, I think that would be a pretty long-term investment project with him because he’s a shortstop in high school and he’s played infield his whole life,” Elias said. “That’s a big adjustment and then you talk about his body type, my expectation is that would be a pretty significant move. It has come up and I wouldn’t pull it off the table.”

The Orioles need right-handed bats in the outfield, and Mayo’s bat is the reason he’s MLB Pipeline’s eighth-rated prospect in baseball.

Notes:  Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson are in the group of 10 American League finalists for the Hank Aaron award. … The Orioles released Ronald Guzmán, the onetime major league first baseman, who attempted to return to the big leagues as a pitcher. Guzmán, who was briefly in major league spring training, had a 13.50 ERA in eight games with the Florida Complex League Orioles and High-A Aberdeen.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering Orioles questions. Please email them to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.