The Orioles announced this afternoon that they’ve optioned top infield prospect Coby Mayo to minor league camp. He’ll open the season at Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore also reassigned non-roster invitees Samuel Basallo, Daz Cameron, Nick Gordon, Corbin Martin, Levi Stoudt and Thaddeus Ward to minor league camp.
Mayo, 23, has played parts of two seasons in Triple-A. He’s a .279/.376/.543 hitter in 151 career games at that level. He expressed some disappointment with the move. “It obviously sucks because you feel like you’ve proven everything you’ve needed to (in the minors),” he told reporters (including Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner). “Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s quite enough. Obviously, you go back there and if you have success, it’s ’oh he’s supposed to have success because he’s already proven it,’ and if he doesn’t have success, it’s ’well obviously he’s fallen off.’ It’s kind of a lose-lose going to Norfolk.”
Manager Brandon Hyde said the move is a testament to Baltimore’s infield depth. “Good teams option players that they like,” Hyde said (via Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Banner). “More reps at Triple-A, we feel like that’s what he needs right now.”
While it’s understandable that Mayo feels he doesn’t have much more to show against minor league pitching, the Orioles weren’t likely to carry him on the Opening Day roster. He appeared in 17 major league games last season, hitting .098 while striking out 22 times in 46 plate appearances. He had a similarly poor camp, batting .190 with 13 strikeouts and no homers over 46 trips to the dish.
Mayo drilled 22 homers in 89 Triple-A contests last year. He has huge power and draws plenty of walks. There’ll be a lot of strikeouts, but Mayo has a shot to hit in the middle of the lineup at his peak. The O’s aren’t going to want him sitting on the MLB bench. Ramón Urías and (once healthy) Jorge Mateo are better fits for utility roles. Mayo isn’t going to play over Jordan Westburg at third base. The O’s have Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn and backup catcher Gary Sánchez lined up for the majority of reps between first base and designated hitter. Mayo could theoretically push Mountcastle for playing time at first base, but the latter is an established above-average hitter who is having a monster spring.
The infield depth has made Mayo the subject of some trade speculation, but it’s rare for teams to deal away prospects of that caliber. He still has two option years remaining (including this one), so there’s no pressing roster consideration. O’Hearn and Sánchez will be free agents next offseason. Mountcastle has two seasons of arbitration control remaining. There should be a clearer path for Mayo (and Basallo) to break camp in 2026. For now, it’ll probably require injuries to players above him on the depth chart to get everyday reps in the big leagues.
Tough look to say this publicly given what he put up this spring. Gotta read the room.
Yeah, not like he was killing it or even playing average.
Spring training stats are meaningless. He’s proven he’s ready from his minor league record. This is about service time manipulation. Plain and simple.
Not at age 23
This is about service time manipulation. Plain and simple.
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Nonsense. If they wanted to manipulate service time, they wouldn’t have promoted him last year.
Agreed, @JoeBrady.
@bob99, peddle your tin foil conspiracies somewhere else.
What yall are saying is that every one of the players on the 13 man hitting side of the roster are better than him. that’s a lie.
From his numbers in AAA and ST, sounds like he’s a AAAA player right now.
Put the money where your mouth is: which of those 13 players is Mayo clearly “better than”?
Tin foil, how original of you.
It’s partly service time manipulation, and partly the O’s love affair with mediocre players like Urias, Mateo, Mountcastle, and O’Hearn.
No, he’s not ready for MLB. He just strikes out.
“What yall are saying”…By sending him to the minors the team is saying that their alternatives are “better than him”.
What the club is saying is he needs to play every day. He wouldn’t right now. Easy to see. If he had played well when he was brought up last year or had a good spring you might have an argument.
It’s obvious.
Hammerin’ Hank
It’s partly service time manipulation, and partly the O’s love affair with mediocre players like Urias, Mateo, Mountcastle, and O’Hearn.
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1-Urias & Mateo play positions that Mayo doesn’t, so I see no comparison.
2-Mountcastle is obviously better.
3-There is a decent chance that Mayo *might* out-perform Hearn, but is that the development you want for Mayo, to be a backup 1B for 1-2 years?
The only thing Coby has proved to date is that he’s a AAAA phenomenon. Awesome at AAA level, craps the bed at ML level. Os are built to win. He’s not ready to contribute. If in a rebuild, I could see him getting his reps, but that’s not the case.
Bob, but a guy of Mayo’s caliber has to play everyday. If he can, then he probably can develop the rest of the way in the show. You don’t want him coming off the bench though.
bob,where would they play him?
More like gotta read a book amirite?
If he’s tired of being in AAA then he should improve on hitting mlb pitching.
It is hard to improve on hitting MLB pitching from AAA, in his defense.
Honestly, his defense is the bigger issue right now. He has no position that he can play at an acceptable MLB level, so he needs to get steady, everyday reps at 1B at Norfolk so he can potentially be more than a DH.
He should change his name to Colby Jack.
Wouldn’t it be easier to change his first name to Horseradish? Horseradish Mayo has a nice ring to it.
Yeah good point Charles like saying he expects to be astronaut but still keeps hitting cones in driver’s Ed
Definitely sounds like some trade bait for a starter like Dylan Cease.
Padres and everyone else see the same flaws. Basallo or a guy on their roster would have been a headliner demand.
I like his swing, he has a big power, I think he is one of those players who expects a lot because he has that type of talent, hard on himself when the going is rough, or when he feels like he is losing in a way, which can be a bad trait to have but if he gets past it, his swing is sweet. Unsure about his defense, but he profiles at 3B and 1B, I’d trade for him.
but he profiles at 3B and 1B, I’d trade for him.
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I don’t think he profiles at 3B. And if it boils down to 1B, he becomes a very ordinary trade chip. It’s like the RS with Casas. Good player? Sure. Worthy of a strong return? Questionable.
The Os wouldn’t trade Basallo for Tarik Skubal much less a rental like Cease. The Padres aren’t getting more for Cease than the Brewers got for Burnes.
Padres want to win a WC spot with Cease. That’s why the price would be very high to pry him away even as a rental.
That’s good since the Tigers wouldn’t trade him for all the O’s remaining top prospects combined!
Joey Ortiz is there starting SS, and they got a first round pick, they didn’t do too bad on that one, DL Hall is also on the MLB 26 man roster when he’s healthy.
I bet the Orioles would gladly trade him for Skubal.
Of course they wouldn’t this year, though I’m sure they thought about it for awhile last year. He’s the best pitcher in baseball now and under control for multiple years. They wouldn’t trade him for anyone unless they were stupid.
I should have said the O’s wouldn’t trade him for Skubal last year. I bet they had the chance and didn’t do it. But you maybe right they’d do it this season though I’m not so sure. Basallo might be the best hitter in the entire Baltimore organization. But the Tigers aren’t trading Skubal for anyone right now.
But the Tigers absolutely would not. A Cy Young winner for an over-hyped prospect? Hard pass.
More like trade him for a Mitch Keller Marty Peretz Kinda guy. Maybe splains why the Os are stuck hoarding prospects. Like that jukebox hero, got stars in their eyes
Skubal wasn’t yet a Cy Young winner when the O’s were talking to the Tigers about a trade — and Basallo is hardly overhyped. Basallo is the first player every team asks for when sizing up a trade with the O’s.
A team hoards prospects only when they languish on the bench or in the minors. Basallo isn’t in the majors yet because he’s only 20. No hoarding happening there, and they’re not trading him for anyone. If they trade any of their top guys it will likely be Kjerstad or Mayo.
A current catcher who is a future 1B. The Tigers already have two of those players who are top 100 on some lists (Briceno & Liranzo). No need for Bssallo in Detroit.
And the Skubal trade would only have happened if Baltimore overpaid in a big way. In other words it was never happening since Baltimore overvalues their prospects.
Right because Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg are overrated and Spencer Torkelson will maybe crack .700 OPS this season.
Detroit knew what they had with Tarik Skubal before the Cy Young.
They will eventually trade Skubal. There’s no chance to extend him as a Boras client. It’s gonna cost.
if i were to bet, i would say the orioles would not trade bassallo for skubal..bassallo will be a 40 + homerun guy. as good as skubal is,pithers are always injury risks.and from what ive read, ellias said, basallo is not being traded.
No one was talking about Tork and none of those guys are prosspects which IS what we were talking about.
It really doesn’t matter because the Tigers already have two similar prospects and don’t need him. The word was they wanted Holliday and more and I don’t blame them for asking for the moon.
It’s a moot point anyway because they are not trading him this year. Not at a time when they have just made the playoffs last year, won a round and can compete for the playoffs and world series this year.
I don’t blame them for asking for Holliday either — or asking for Holliday and Basallo for that matter. But the point is the Tigers were thinking of trading Skubal last season because the team needs bats, and the Orioles need arms and have bats. And also Skubal is a free agent in after next season.
I get that the Tigers have great prospects. I think MLB ranked Detroit’s farm system best in the majors to begin the season. But it still would make sense for the Tigers to trade for a bat (though can’t see them trading Skubal now) because their top position player prospects look like they are still a year or two away from the majors. Meanwhile, guys like Basallo, Kjerstad and Holliday are big league ready. Detroit’s future looks good, but for this season they may need more than Riley Greene, Colt Keith and Gleyber Torres while they wait for the youngsters to mature on the farm. The fear must be that Skubal will be on his way out by the time the strong hitting prospects are on their way up. Hopefully for Tiger fans they play well enough the Tigers never consider trading Skubal again.
You are right that Detroit was listening but later reports said it was more due diligence than anything. At the time Briceno was ranked lower in Detroit and Liranzo was still a Dodger, so back then i could definitely see how they would be interested in Basallo. Then the crazy deadline happened and Detroit caught fire and Liranzo and Briceno floated to the top end of Detroits rankings. Funny what a difference a year makes. Baltimore is great at developing bats and the results the last few years speak for themselves. Hard to argue with their success on that front. Thanks for the chat. Cheers dude.
99Captain Judge99;
This kid is supposed to supplant Manny Machado, who’s owed over $250m over the next 9 years?
He’d play 1B
Manny Machado hasn’t been with the Orioles in almost 7 years. I guess he’s replacing Melvin Mora and Brooks Robinson too. And it’s not the Orioles fault the Padres made Machado one of the most overpaid players in history.
People say that spring stats don’t matter, but they only matter when they can be used against a player.
Mayo was trash in the majors last year and it carried over into spring. I agree, a little bit of grace and reading the room would’ve served him better here.
Go down to the minors and hit .350 with a half dozen homers in April and the inevitable injury on the big squad will warrant him a call.
Yeah there’s no doubting his talent and ability. Mayo probably won’t be in the minors for long. I can see him tearing it up again at AAA.
99Captain Judge99;
You see that happening?
Have you seen him play?
He’s a top prospect. Small sample sizes of at bats in the majors mean little compared to his prospect pedigree and excellent minor league track record.
It isn’t enough for Mayo to be better than one of the 13 offensive players on the Os. He can only play 1B, 3B (maybe) or DH. He’s got to be better than Mountcastle, O’Hearn or Westburg — each of whom was over 2.0 WAR last season — to get promoted. I guess if Holliday falters again, Os could move Westburg to 2B to open a spot for Mayo, if he’s ready, meaning more valuable than Urias and Mateo, who could also fill that spot.
They say spring training stats don’t matter. Well they don’t matter if you’re Gunnar H. But if you’re trying to make the team, they matter.
And a .501 OPS is just not going to do it.
While being more cautius in his comments would have been wise, nobody, particularly the Os, is going to worry much that a 23 year old, whose had a huge amount of success his entire athletic career, expresses disappointment at being sent down, again.
His performance at the show last season and in spring training this season shows that he hasn’t played himself into the discussion right now. No sense complaining about what is plain to see. He will be back soon, he’s just gotta stay focused and work more on hitting the breaking ball and he will be better positioned to take full advantage of his next opportunity.
Totally agree…he in no way forced their hand. wanna make the show? Play better.
So, the HBP yesterday was nothing? I never heard anything except he was removed from the game.
Would the Orioles fan trade Colby Mayo, Jordan Westburg, and one of your young outfielders for Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara? Lmk
Mayo and a young OF, and a young pitcher maybe, but not Westburg.
Alcantara needs to prove his is that guy. He lost it, even before the injury.
No the Orioles are not giving up that package, and definitely not adding filler for a guy coming back from TJS who was starting to decline back in 2023.
He lost it, even before the injury.
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It’s a fair point to mention 2023, but we also don’t know whether the injury was already bothering him at that point. I don’t think Alcantara is an ace, but he might be a #1, with three years of control left.
The Orioles aren’t trading Jordan Westburg for anybody. I don’t care if Alcantara has won a Cy Young award. If the Marlins wanted Westburg, they would be the ones throwing in more in the deal not the Orioles.
No Westburg trade, he needs to stay. People seem to minimize his importance and impact in these trade scenarios. I would trade Mayo and something for good cost controlled pitching, but Westy is part of the core.
Trading for a guy coming off of TJ is suicidal
Yikes, kid, shut that trap. You did terrible last year and continued it into this spring. How do we know you haven’t “fallen off” already??? So yeah, you do have to prove it again. Everyone does in anything they do. There are no free passes in life.
Honestly I think this has probably made him expendable in the FO’s eyes, which probably makes them happy as they needed to decide on somebody to become a viable trade chip.
His power upside might be too great to give up right now. If he ends up being a perennial 35-40 HR power bat the Orioles will regret trading him. Maybe for Alcantara, but still…
Remember all those comments that the O’s and M’s should make the Mayo-for-Miller and Woo trade, but didn’t understand why the M’s would never make that trade? Hold the Mayo, please.
Throughout MLB history there have been players that could kill it in the minors but never were able to do much of anything at the ML level. They used to be called “AAA players”. Now we call them “AAAA players”.
The problem with most posters here is that they don’t watch the games. The read bs free scouting reports and swallow up narratives.
Mr. Mayo was radically over his head when he came up to the majors late in 2024. He was overmatched against ML pitching, and was absolutely awful trying to play 3B at the ML level. In fact, he was he worst looking player I’ve seen that was called up to the majors since I don’t know when. Had hopes that he’d work hard over the winter and make progress. Maybe. Maybe not.
The O’s are loaded with 3B’s and 1B’s that can hit ML pitching and play the positions, as well as DH’s that can hit. He’s not going to take one of their jobs. His statements above show that he doesn’t understand the situation. Just because you hit well in the minor leagues doesn’t mean a team has to carry a guy that “hit .098 while striking out 22 times in 46 plate appearances” at the ML level in 2024, and then hit a robust “.190 with 13 strikeouts and no homers over 46 trips to the dish” during spring training….when pitchers aren’t even throwing hard and are experiments with new pitches
and grips.
Wasn’t worth proofreading.
This kid believes his own pub. He could use some humility, as well as respect for the game.
His agent needs to have a(nother?) long talk with him.
He’d just fire his agent.
Samuel finally making some sense, although the “you don’t watch the games and i do!!” shtick is still tired. If I remember correctly, you and other Os fans who “watch the games” argued with me last off-season when it was thought that they could get 2 years of Cease for Mayo and one other top prospect, maybe Kjerstad. At that time, it should have been clear that the Os should trade from their surplus infielder, but u all balked because u wanted a stud infield at Norfolk apparently.
Listen, he’s still a top prospect and will most likely still be what you all hope he’ll be, but the luster is a tiny bit less now and had your god and savior Elias used him as a shiny trade piece for Cease last year or Crochet this year, you’d have a better rotation and wouldn’t have to deal with this drama.
Yeah, I think you should trade him for a bucket of balls like all the other AAAA players.
And Mike Schmidt hit. 196 his first year. Calm down, Sammy.
Not the same situation. The Phillies traded their 3B, Don Money in advance of Mike Schmidt. The Phils also traded for Super Sub, Cesar Tovar to help ease Schmidt in. Schmidt stuck out nearly 1/3 his ABs but he had power when he did connect and played a decent 3B.
The Phillies didn’t have a wealth of talent at that time. Still, Schmidt broke out the following year and set a record for 3B assists in the NL. Coby isn’t in the same class.
Hammerin’ Hank
And Mike Schmidt hit. 196 his first year. Calm down, Sammy.
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Schmidt was also a GG 3B. That almost an impossible comparison to someone he will likely be a 1B/DH.
Mayo is evidently upset about sent down. He’s human and was emotional about his choice words which are getting scrutinized. It happens. He’ll undoubtedly get called up again soon.
Mayo says he’s proven “everything he needs to”….
So far it seems he’s proven only that he’s a whiner with an inflated ego.
That ..098 BA sure wowed them, eh Coby?
Go to AAA and grow up.
OJ would have been a multiple time all star but had a problem the league wouldn’t put up with any longer
What was that? I googled and can’t find anything
While it’s understandable that Mayo feels he doesn’t have much more to show against minor league pitching,
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That remains to be seen. His K/600 ABs in AA was 197. His K/600 in AAA was 170. Those are high numbers, close to 200 Ks in the pros. History is filled with guys with good minor league power, but too many Ks.
Wowsa that no good. Holey moley in swing
I only mention that because of the RS recent history with guys with big power and bigger Ks. Chavis, Dalbec, and more recently Jordan, Binelas, Kavadas, and others. Some work out, but I don’t have much faith in those 200-K guys.
If he’s like Dalbec, he may end up with the White Sox after all. Just wait a few months for the KS to rack up. Hello DFA
Fortheloveofgod, Matt Arnold, trade Caleb Durbin…Tyler Black…Aaron Ashby…whoever, for Mayo! Our 3B situation right now us the worst since Wes Helms started in ’04.
Off to the Tigers for you young Mayo. Jung and a young pitcher like Hamm or Melton in return. Unlike the big mean O’s the Tigers will let him play 😉
Yeah ruin him like Torkelson
Tork ruined Tirk by refusing to listen to coaches.
True Dat, plus all the awkward profanity in an otherwise quite stadium. Think of the children
Coby Mayo is Nuke LaLoosh, with a bat.
Colby was a sophomore at Parkland High School when that nut shot up the school. I imagine it changes a guy…..
It’s all about perspective…..
Orioles prefer to hold the Mayo.
He can’t cut the mustard, allowing other prospects to catsup in the rankings
Sounds like he is in a pickle and the fans don’t relish that.
Some organizations in the AL East bring out the sizzle. The seafaring Boston and land-lubber Yankees come to mind, they’re the surf and turf of a premium steak house, your Peter Lugers. The Orioles are just condiments.
Should have traded him when the iron was hot
Well, its a tough spot right now.
It is very tough for his stock to go up very much given what he’s done in AAA to date. Many think highly of him. Yet he clearly has not hit at the MLB level. When BA starts with a “0” you can be disappointed all you want but you aren’t hitting.
If he falters on this trip to AAA however, the stock can very easily go down. Then maybe they can’t get much for him in trade AND he never pans out.
Basically he has to overwhelm at AAA this time and force the issue, or come back up at MLB for an injury and succeed, or be traded before the season starts.
This isn’t just the Orioles’ issue—it’s how baseball works everywhere, and it’s wasteful. Teams hold onto young stars like Mayo too long, waiting for the “perfect” time to bring them up, because they’ve got veterans in the way. But keeping a guy like Mayo in the minors when he’s ready to play in the majors is like leaving money on the table. He could be getting better by facing big-league pitchers now, not dominating minor-league ones who don’t challenge him anymore. Meanwhile, the team’s paying a price by sticking with good-but-not-great veterans instead of betting on a kid who could be a star.
Meh. If he not ready , he not ready. Flip that steak over one more time no cure for bocholism
Glad he believes in himself and that he can help the ball club but the Orioles cannot be happy that he sounded off like this. Would love to see the Mariners trade for him. he would get the opportunity to start for Seattle.
I believe I’ll have more chips
Cinquo de Mayo? More like stanko de Mayo. Amirite?
Prudent to advance one prospect at a time, if Jackson Holliday sucks again then they can turn to Mayo. Too risky to create lineup spots for both on a contending team. Their alleged refusal to offer up Holliday for the likes of Cease or Crochet could really bite them as his value is on the verge of collapsing into the Cheseapeake like a rickety bridge
Too early for that. Mayo had questionable minor league stats, no matter what the HRs look like. Holliday’s minor league stats are flawless, and he only just turned 21. I’d leave him in AAA for a season.
I would not have traded him for either Cease or Crochet, although Crochet would be tempting.
What’s the deal on the kid’s makeup, he kinda looks like a douchnozzle tho pictures can look deceiving
They’re gonna Kjerstad another one lmao I’d be more vocal about wanting to be a major leaguer so I can get traded
The Orioles were so busy gaming the draft to the point where MLB had to institute a draft lottery that they forgot to actually develop some of their picks.
Oops.
Retard3d nonsense.
Gunnar and Westburg were developed very well by Balt. Adley was a layup first pick, although teaching/soldifying the most important element of D for a catcher deserves credit. A lot of top 50 type prospects are overhyped on riding raw skills when playing inferior competition.
Westburg needs a long term deal before anyone else. He’s really the best pure hitter on the team.
As an A’s fan, wish we had daz back in our farm. Just saying