Baltimore Sun Orioles reporter Jacob Calvin Meyer will answer fan questions every Friday during baseball season. Here are JCM’s thoughts on several questions from readers:
(Editor’s note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity. Email [email protected] with questions for next Friday’s mailbag.)
Why are the Orioles not giving Coby Mayo the runway to see if he’s their future first baseman? — @JonSolomon35 on X
Jon asked this question weeks ago, but it became even more relevant this week.
Wednesday’s lineup — specifically Mayo’s exclusion — was one of the more shocking ones the Orioles have put out over the past few seasons.
Up until the Orioles’ series in Cleveland this week, the club was still fighting to get back into playoff contention. However unlikely that that was, the job of interim manager Tony Mansolino and the players is to try to win games in pursuit of preventing a trade deadline fire sale.
The argument Mansolino made several times as Mayo wasted away on the bench made sense, despite fans’ misgivings about it. To play Mayo, someone who is a proven big leaguer would have to come out of the lineup. Jordan Westburg and Ryan O’Hearn are All-Stars. Ramón Urías is worthy of regular playing time and is an overall more reliable player than Mayo. Tyler O’Neill hit 31 home runs last season and is being paid $16.5 million to do the same for Baltimore, even though he hasn’t yet.
But then the Orioles lost six of seven games, and their general manager all but said that he would operate the trade deadline as a seller. On Tuesday, Mayo had one of his best games as a professional, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances. It could have been a platform performance, allowing the top prospect to leap into establishing himself in the big leagues. Instead, he was sent right back to the bench as the Orioles refused to flip the switch on a lost season.
OK, but looking at the bigger picture, this isn’t a huge deal, right? The trade deadline is next week, and the Orioles will clear space for Mayo to earn everyday at-bats. Right?
Well, it should be assumed that will be the case. However, Ryan Mountcastle will return from the injured list in August, and Samuel Basallo will be ready for a promotion later in the season (if he isn’t already). There isn’t a way to play Adley Rutschman, Basallo, Mountcastle and Mayo every night.
But this isn’t just about Mayo. This is about how the Orioles have treated many of their prospects early in the big league careers. Kyle Stowers never received consistent playing time in Baltimore. Last spring, Heston Kjerstad was promoted after dominating Triple-A and received only 17 plate appearances in 17 days on the roster. And now Mayo has started only five of the Orioles’ 18 games this month.
The Orioles’ young core was supposed to sustain their World Series window for years to come. Instead, Stowers is a Miami Marlin, Kjerstad is in Triple-A and Mayo is on the bench.
Should the Orioles re-sign Ryan O’Hearn? — Jim from Halethorpe
This question is essentially: Should the Orioles pull a Mike Bordick with Ryan O’Hearn?
O’Hearn’s odds to be traded before Thursday’s trade deadline are as high as ever as the Orioles are 12 games under .500. The slugger might be their most attractive trade piece, and it would be surprising if they hold onto him. In 2000, the Orioles traded Bordick to the New York Mets at the deadline and then signed him over the offseason. Should the Orioles do the same with O’Hearn?
The answer of why they shouldn’t is pretty simple. The Orioles are already logjammed on the corners, and Basallo, Mayo and Kjerstad are all expected to be integral parts of the 2026 team and beyond. O’Hearn is almost 32 years old, and a multiyear contract for him presents a risk.
But given O’Hearn’s production isn’t as flashy as others on the market, it’s quite possible that whatever team signs him gets him at a discount. Let’s compare him with Anthony Santander, who signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays this past offseason. That deal had an average annual value of $18.5 million but a total present-day value of only $68.6 million as a result of deferments in his contract.
O’Hearn will almost certainly not get anything close to that contract. Santander, a switch-hitter, blasted 44 home runs with the Orioles in 2024 to earn that contract. O’Hearn has hit 41 over the past three seasons combined.
But O’Hearn’s overall numbers — and his underlying metrics — show that he’s just as good as Santander, if not better. In Santander’s three seasons before reaching free agency (2022-24), his OPS+ — a normalized version of OPS in which 100 is league average — was 124. Since 2023, O’Hearn’s OPS+ is 125. They essentially provide the same level of production, and O’Hearn (who walks more and strikes out less) does so in a more consistent, less volatile way.
Maybe bringing O’Hearn back doesn’t make sense for the Orioles’ roster construction. But he’s a good hitter and a leader, and the Orioles need both.
Should the Orioles keep Zach Eflin instead of trading him? — Greg S.
Eflin helped to boost his trade value Wednesday with his solid start off the injured list. He could have one more opportunity next week ahead of the deadline.
If the Orioles can get significant value for Eflin, then trading him makes plenty of sense. Assuming he remains healthy and looks closer to the excellent pitcher he was from 2023 through April 2025 than the one he was in May and June when he was injured, he will be one of the better starters traded at the deadline, as he was last summer when the Orioles acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays.
But isn’t that inherently a strong argument to keep Eflin? This season showed how important starting pitching is, and the cliche that you can never have too much of it was proved true. It’s likely that Eflin will receive a multiyear contract this offseason, and that makes him a likely candidate to receive the qualifying offer from the Orioles should they not trade him at the deadline. For more about the qualifying offer, read this story.
The Orioles could choose to keep Eflin past the deadline, extend the QO (about $21 million, only $3 million more than Eflin made this season) and let the pitcher decide what to do. If he takes it, then great, the Orioles will have a starting pitcher who (when healthy) is reliable in their 2026 rotation. If he doesn’t take it, the Orioles would receive a compensatory draft pick that could be worth more than what they’d get for Eflin at the deadline.
In the case of Eflin, the competitiveness of the offers from the buyers will likely determine whether he’s traded.
Should the Orioles trade Ramón Laureano even though he has a club option for 2026? — Colby L.
Let’s repeat a line from the O’Hearn answer: He’s a good hitter and a leader, and the Orioles need both.
Again, the argument to keep Laureano is simple. General manager Mike Elias has stated his goal is to win in 2026, and keeping Laureano helps them do that.
The question is how the Orioles and other teams view Laureano, who has a $6.5 million club option for 2026. Do they see the 31-year-old as the .858 OPS hitter he’s been this season? Or as a platoon outfielder who was designated for assignment in both 2023 and 2024?
If the Orioles can sell high on Laureano and use his club option as a way to get a haul in return, then trading him makes plenty of sense. But if opposing teams still view him as a platoon player, then he might be worth keeping for 2026.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.