The Baltimore Orioles know that they cannot rest on their laurels with the New York Yankees breathing down their necks for the AL East division lead. After their 10-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday night, the Orioles wasted no time in bringing in a major reinforcement for their big-league roster, calling up top prospect Coby Mayo, according to Jake Rill of MLB.com.
Mayo is currently the third-ranked prospect in a stacked Orioles farm system, according to MLB Pipeline, and he's ranked 15th in the entire league. He will be joining the team in Cleveland, with the Orioles having three more games against the Guardians over the weekend. The Guardians currently own the best record in the AL, so it's no surprise to see Baltimore approach this blockbuster series with a sort of all hands on deck mindset.
Coby Mayo rose through the Orioles' minor-league ranks as a third baseman, so it figures that he'll be picking up at-bats for the team at that same position. Mayo, prior to his call-up, was slashing .294/.370/.581 in Triple-A to go along with his 20 home runs and 59 runs batted in.
The Orioles acknowledge that the future is now
The Orioles are in that enviable position where they can afford to bring their top prospects along more slowly, not pressing them into big-league action before it's necessary. They even recently sent down top prospect Heston Kjerstad to Triple-A to make room for trade deadline acquisition Eloy Jimenez in the outfield.
Coby Mayo, however, was playing so well at Triple-A that the Orioles could no longer reasonably keep him down in the minors. The injury to Jordan Westburg, the Orioles' everyday third baseman for much of 2024, opened up an opportunity for Mayo, and now, the hot corner job should be Mayo's to lose.
The Orioles have such a stacked infield picture that it's not quite clear how they'll be divvying up playing time once Westburg returns from the injured list. They have Jackson Holliday, the top-ranked prospect in the entire league, at second base, and they have superstar Gunnar Henderson at shortstop. Perhaps Mayo could grab the first base job from Ryan Mountcastle if he plays well in the immediate aftermath of his call-up?
Whatever the case may be, Mayo should assume a starting role as soon as the Orioles' Friday night contest against the Guardians. The 22-year-old infielder should provide more pop than Ramon Urias, who went 0-3 on Thursday.
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