SEATTLE - The mailbag is on the West Coast and three hours behind in being awesome.
The last batch didn’t include a handful of questions that will get some play this morning, while we wait for the Orioles to begin their series against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park, which will always be Safeco Field to me. Same as Jacobs Field in Cleveland.
I refuse to bend.
And that’s what …
You ask and I try to answer. Here are a few more after yesterday’s glorious off-day and my painfully long flight to Seattle, with the prerequisite shoulder bumping from the aisle seat every 15-20 seconds.
Is Coby Mayo a hothead?
He seems like the opposite. I don’t hang out with him. I don’t know what he’s like if the waiter gets his order wrong or someone cuts him off in traffic. But I sense that he’d handle these situations calmly and maturely. Mayo didn’t intend to ignite the bench-clearing incident in Saturday’s game, and I’m sure you noticed how he walked away from it, or tried to before receiving a return shove in the back. He didn’t flip out and starting shouting and throwing punches. He expressed some frustration in spring training after the Orioles optioned him, then regretted how his words came across. If he’s a hothead, he’s doing a lousy job at it. The Orioles have a mental skills coach. Maybe they need a meltdown coach, too.
Why does Mike Elias prefer inexperienced coaches all around?
Well, he just hired John Mabry as senior advisor – a 14-year major league player with 12 years of coaching experience. Fredi González was their bench coach. Drew French was bullpen coach in Atlanta. But they also have a track record of outside-the-box hires, particularly in the minors, and the lack of experience on the major league staff led them to Mabry. Elias is drawn to a certain set of skills and way of viewing the game, and they don’t have to come in the body and mind of a major league veteran.
Grayson Rodriguez certainly is entitled to his privacy, but this is a public thing, too, and he's key. He hasn't pitched since the first spring training game or so, it's June, and there's never any news? What is going on?
I’ve talked to the Rodriguez bobblehead more than the pitcher, and I’ve only owned it for a few days. The only update is that he’s throwing on flat ground and the Orioles don’t have any sort of timetable. He hasn’t spoken to the beat crew since Fort Myers, though he’s polite about it. I’ve been subjected to far worse over the years. I’d assume that good news would get him talking to us again. Right now, beyond playing catch – which we’ll assume means that the discomfort is subsiding in his … lemme check … elbow/triceps/lat – there isn’t much to report.
What excites you the most about visiting Sacramento on the upcoming road trip?
Nothing, so I’m not going.
Why didn’t Britton send Ramón?
You must mean third base coach Buck Britton holding Ramón Urías Sunday on Ryan O’Hearn’s fly ball to center field in the first inning. The ball was caught 270 feet from home plate. Too short for Britton’s comfort, I suppose.
Why did Buck bring in Ubaldo instead of Britton in that 2016 game?
Different Buck and different Britton and it was the Wild Card in Toronto and these questions don’t seem like leftovers from the last mailbag.
Does Trevor Rogers have to wait for an injury or a doubleheader for a shot at the rotation?
They’d get him up here faster for sure. The Orioles had another off-day yesterday and don’t need an extra starter. They don’t necessarily need five, but they’re staying in turn. Rogers allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings Saturday with Triple-A Norfolk, scattering seven hits in the process. His fastball was clocked at 95.2 mph to his final batter. The Orioles want to give him more starts but don’t currently have a spot. Could they move Cade Povich to the bullpen, especially after outrighting left-hander Cionel Pérez? Maybe. But he’s starting one of the games in Seattle.
The Orioles have five picks in the first 100 for the major league draft. Out of those five, how many pitchers do you think they take, if any?
They don’t share their board and much depends on the picks made ahead of them, but … maybe one? Yeah, that’s how confident I am in my response. The Orioles have the 19th, 30th and 31st picks before the second round. MLB Pipeline has seven pitchers in the top 31. ESPN’s mock doesn’t have the Orioles selecting a pitcher in that span. If a pitcher is the best player on the board when their turn comes, they’re going to take him. A college arm would make so much sense, and especially with the high cost of pitching in free agency. I’ll predict one with no inside information and I will have to practice my shocked face in the mirror if they stick with position players.
Any feel for who was the driver behind the Mabry hiring? And don’t say “your mom.”
I’d never! Mike Elias hasn’t talked about it, but Tony Mansolino said the staff was in agreement. The Orioles apparently have reached out to Mabry in the past. I’m going to assume that Elias understood the disadvantages to an inexperienced staff after Brandon Hyde’s firing, checked on Mabry and ran it past people. I could go crazy connecting dots and mention how Mabry has worked with Jackson Holliday’s father, Matt, who’s friends with Cal Ripken Jr. But Elias is the assumed driver.
Any word on Adley Rutschman abandoning switch-hitting?
Not a peep. Rutschman’s issues at the plate aren’t confined to one side. His numbers are better as a right-handed hitter but he isn’t tearing the cover off the ball. His offensive decline is one of the big mysteries on this team. He looked good in spring training and at the beginning of the season, but he hit .182 with a .561 OPS in May.
Roch, do you make your own air travel reservations? Does the travel person on the team make them for you? Do you go non-stop, or is this a good place to stop?
Good one, Lou. I make my own air/train and hotel reservations. I prefer non-stop but Southwest is making it harder to find flights. You get maybe one a day and it doesn’t always enable you to arrive at the ballpark in time for open clubhouse. I ditched Southwest and took a non-stop to Seattle, sacrificing my beloved points.
Who are the starters for the Mariners series?
Tomoyuki Sugano, Cade Povich and Zach Eflin for the Orioles. Right-handers George Kirby, Emerson Hancock and Bryan Woo for Seattle.
Update on David Hess, please!!
That isn’t a question and that’s perfectly fine with me. I’m happy to pass along great news. His last Instagram post in March showed him celebrating with family and friends that he beat cancer. A previous post read: “The devil can scrap…BUT THE LORD HAS WON,” and he added that the latest scan results showed no evidence of the disease. Good things actually do happen to good people, and he’s one of the best you’d ever meet.
What the heck happened to this team’s defense? They seem like they should be better than this.
They got off to a really bad start. Poor communication on fly balls and popups, throwing to the wrong base, missing the cutoff man, failing to turn double plays. It got better, but Sunday was another example of the poor play. Fortunately, they were playing the White Sox. They can’t blame all of the mistakes on youth, but it can contribute. I know that it isn’t for a lack of early work. Coby Mayo was taking ground balls and making throws at first base Sunday morning. Jackson Holliday gets lots of reps at second base. Gunnar Henderson gets lots of work at shortstop. Heston Kjerstad has made outfield defense a priority. The drills don’t stop after Sarasota. But they were tied for 21st in defensive runs saved and 25th overall in defense, per Statcast data, after Sunday’s win.
How safe are Cody Asche’s and Drew French’s jobs?
The coaches are staying through the remainder of the 2025 season. All of them. I can’t speak to 2026. For one thing, we don’t know who’s going to manage.
If the O’s decided to let Morton be a player/manager for a day, would Charles indeed be in charge?
This is a good place to stop, and to contemplate why I allow this to happen.