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The next homestand has arrived, with three games against the Tigers and three against the Angels before the Orioles fly to Tampa and reenact spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The Yankees are one of the road opponents, but they still play in the Bronx. The Rays relocated from hurricane-ravaged Tropicana Field to Tampa. Don’t let it confuse you.
The Orioles are 26-38 and 8 ½ games out of the last Wild Card. The Tigers have the best record in baseball at 43-24, and a plus-92 run differential that’s second-highest in the American League and third in the majors.
It should be noted that Detroit is 23-9 at home and 20-15 away from Comerica Park. But the Orioles are under .500 home and away.
If hoping and praying for a prolonged winning streak that gets the Orioles into a playoff race isn’t enough to hold your interest, here are a few other options:
The race to a healthier roster
Jordan Westburg should burst through the tape later today after completing his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk. His hamstring is healed, and he went 11-for-28 (.393) with four doubles and two home runs with the Tides.
It’s time.
Emmauel Rivera is vulnerable to a corresponding roster move, but we’ll find out later. In the meantime, Westburg can be the primary third baseman with Jackson Holliday at second and Ramón Urías in reserve.
Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sánchez and Cedric Mullins are next, in whatever order. Mullins hasn’t gone on an assignment, but he took live batting practice over the weekend at High-A Aberdeen.
The injured list is back down to 10 players with Ramón Laureano’s removal. Westburg makes nine. You can do the rest of the math. And don’t leave a candle burning in the window for Ryan Mountcastle, Albert Suárez, Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells or Cody Poteet. The wax will puddle and harden again. It’s science.
Samuel Basallo
Every team has a No. 1 prospect in its system and Basallo is the universal choice for the Orioles. There is no debate.
The question is when the Orioles promote him. Does it happen after the break? Does it happen in 2025?
Basallo, MLB Pipeline’s No. 16 prospect, turns 21 years old in August. His catching in Triple-A this year is limited to 11 games due to injury. He’s appeared in 39 games and is batting .252, which is, eh, but he also has a .365 on-base percentage, .595 slugging percentage and 13 home runs, many of them tape-measure shots. His power is ridiculous.
Basallo also is playing first base, which makes it easier to find at-bats in the majors. The backup catching job will be occupied again by Sánchez, but he could be moved at the deadline, or beyond it. The Orioles could carry a third catcher. They could wait until 2026.
That’s what makes it so exciting.
The draft
The buzz among Orioles fans would be louder if the club had a top five selection. The good ol’ days were born from some really bad baseball.
The Orioles choose 19th, 30th and 31st, the last two compensatory picks for Corbin Burnes signing with the Diamondbacks and Anthony Santander with the Blue Jays. Burns must undergo Tommy John surgery and Santander went on the injured list May 30 with left shoulder inflammation after batting .179/.273/.304 in 50 games.
Baseball America’s latest mock draft has Jackson Holliday’s brother, Ethan, going No. 1 to the Nationals, though Carlos Collazo adds that “no one seems to offer that prediction with confidence.” The publication has the Orioles taking Texas A&M outfielder Jace LaViolette, who batted .258/.427/.576, and offers the following report on him:
“LaViolette is one of the most difficult players to place in the first round. He has tools and upside that fit inside the top 10, but also posted a historically scary pure hitting performance for a first-round college hitter. The Orioles prioritize walks and power—which are not questions with LaViolette—and also have picks 30 and 31. That might make them feel better about taking on more risk here.”
The .258 average would rank among the lowest ever for a first-round pick. Enrique Bradfield Jr. hit .279 before the Orioles chose him with the 17th pick in 2023. BA reports that the average slash line of college hitters taken in the first round since 2005 is .358/.467/.645.
Anyway, LaViolette is the current prediction in one mock. MLB Pipeline has him going to the Giants at No. 13 and the Orioles selecting Mount Vernon (Wash.) High third baseman Xavier Neyens, praised for his power and described as maybe a left-handed hitting Coby Mayo. But there’s also a warning that the Orioles could pivot to prep shortstop Daniel Pearce.
Get used to it. The draft is still a month away and the names will change.
The trade deadline
I’ve lived through every version of it since joining the Orioles beat full-time in 1997. Buyers in search of the final piece to the playoff puzzle. Sellers who hold the white flag in one hand and the door open with the other. A team that looks and acts like it’s stuck in limbo, frozen in the moment, with nothing impactful.
The selling in 2000 was done with gusto. B.J. Surhoff to the Braves, Will Clark and Mike Timlin to the Cardinals, Mike Bordick to the Mets, Charles Johnson and Harold Baines to the White Sox. Melvin Mora was the only piece coming back who made any sort of impact.
The Orioles knew how to tear down but botched the rebuild part.
The 2017 season held promise until a September collapse that bled into 2018, but it’s also remembered by many – certainly anyone on the beat – for the uncertainty at the deadline. The Orioles weren’t clear buyers or sellers. It was a mystery. Assumptions grew that they’d give up on a playoff push, but at the last minute traded for Tim Beckham, giving the Rays 18-year-old minor league pitcher Tobias Myers in return. They also added starter Jeremy Hellickson.
So, yeah, that’s buyer material but nothing that really moved the needle.
The clock is ticking on the 2025 Orioles to figure out where they stand. They’re 12 games below .500 but playing better and getting healthier. Could be too late to matter. The Tigers could bury them deeper and make it more probable that they part with some veterans.
The pending free agents, some with team options, include Sánchez, Mullins, Zach Eflin, Tomoyuki Sugano, Charlie Morton, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Jorge Mateo, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge. O’Neill has an opt-out clause in his contract.
The Orioles won’t tear down again, but they could seek prospects to restock the farm system and controllable players to help in 2026.
The Tony Mansolino audition
That is, if such a thing exists.
We are basing Mansolino’s interim tag through 2025 as more of an assumption. I haven’t seen or heard a definitive statement. But that is how we’ll proceed here, unsure whether the club would consider bringing in a veteran former manager to begin evaluating players early or wait to open a search in the offseason.
The third choice, of course, is to stick with Mansolino.
The Orioles are 11-10 under Mansolino and he has the benefit of injured players making gradual returns. He also could be put at the disadvantage of the team’s seller status at the deadline.
The “what if” game started a while ago. What if the Orioles make an historic run at a playoff spot after being 18 games below .500? The players like and respect Mansolino. They also liked and respected Brandon Hyde. That only gets you so far.
Losing cost Hyde his job. We’ll find out if winning saves Mansolino’s.
