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The roster makeover that’s anticipated at the trade deadline could create a stiffer challenge in selecting a Most Valuable Oriole.
Players must be in the organization to remain eligible in voting by media that covers the team, or at least talks about it, with maybe the occasional stops at the ballpark.
(I want transparency in the voting because each season brings at least one ridiculous ballot. But I digress …)
Ryan O’Hearn, the lone All-Star on the team, profiles as the favorite. However, he could be gone by July 31. He’s generating the expected interest and he’s a pending free agent, which makes him a strong candidate.
Ramón Laureano deserves to be on the three-man ballot. He gave the Orioles a 5-3 lead last night with his 12th homer, a two-run shot in the third inning. He certainly qualifies as one of the season’s biggest surprises, ranking second with a 2.2 bWAR, but will he get moved later this month?
The $4 million contract signed in February includes a $6.5 million option, and the Orioles might want to hold onto him in their quest to be a contender. But his value is high and that’s the time to sell.
That would eliminate the possible top two vote-getters for MVO.
What else you got?
Gunnar Henderson is making a gradual climb after beginning the season on the injured list and batting .228/.268/.413 through April. He went into last night with an .884 OPS since June 1, the second highest among qualifying shortstops behind Elly De La Cruz (.963). He was batting .315/.384/.500 in 41 games during that stretch.
Henderson led the Orioles with a 2.9 bWAR and 2.6 fWAR, and he had an RBI single last night in the first inning. He could be the first sole winner of the award three years in a row. Eddie Murray won in 1981 and ’82, shared it with Cal Ripken Jr. in ’83, and won it in ’84 and ’85.
Jackson Holliday was a finalist to start at second base in the All-Star Game but wasn’t chosen as a reserve. Fine. He’s the everyday leadoff hitter and among the team leaders in several offensive categories, including home runs with 13 that ties him with Cedric Mullins for first. He’s second in hits and third in RBIs, average, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS. And like Henderson, he isn’t getting traded.
Mullins leads the team in RBIs but is batting .216/.297/.401.
Trevor Rogers is going to get some votes as a late entrant. He’s made only seven starts but posted a 1.74 ERA and 0.871 WHIP. Félix Bautista has 19 saves in 20 opportunities and is averaging 13 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s also averaging 6.0 walks.
Rodrigo López is the last Orioles pitcher to be named MVO. Before him was closer Randy Myers in 1997.
Dean Kremer is trending toward the ballot. Tomoyuki Sugano lost his momentum.
The teardown in 2018 led to Adam Jones winning MVO. His numbers were fine – .281/.313/.419 with 35 doubles, 15 home runs and 63 RBIs in 145 games – but the field thinned. Manny Machado, for example, was hitting .315/.387/.575 with 21 doubles, 24 homers and 65 RBIs in 96 games before going to the Dodgers.
I’m reminded again of the classic exchange with B.J. Surhoff in 1999. The media approached his locker to get his reaction to being the MVO and he replied, “I know why you picked me. Cal’s hurt and you guys hate Albert.”
* A couple of injury updates yesterday from Cleveland:
Grayson Rodriguez, pulled back due to discomfort in his right elbow, was scheduled to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of his injury.
Reliever Scott Blewett is getting a second opinion on his right elbow, which always makes you wonder about the first opinion.
Catcher Maverick Handley is close to leaving concussion protocol, which might be the longest stint on it that I’ve witnessed since maybe Brian Roberts. His collision with Jazz Chisholm Jr. occurred on June 22.
Handley apparently has sustained concussions in the past – we were told he has a “history” – and the smart move is to be extra cautious. But there’s more going on with Handley than his head. He’s also getting checked by a hand/wrist specialist.
That collision took a lot out of him.
* Baseball America published its top 30 prospects in the Orioles organization and the list changed at least three times over the course of the day.
Within the first 11 were 19th-overall draft pick Ike Irish at No. 4, 31st pick Wehiwa Aloy at No. 7, 30th pick Caden Bodine at No. 10 and 37th pick Slater de Brun at No. 11. Other 2025 draft selections on the list were Joseph Dzierwa at No. 13, JT Quinn at No. 23 and Colin Yeaman at No. 24.
De Brun remains unsigned.
Coby Mayo was second, but he disappeared later and right-hander Esteban Mejia became second.
I checked again in the evening and Mayo was second again behind Samuel Basallo, Mejia was third and Nate George went from nowhere to fourth. Irish dropped to fifth, Aloy to eighth, Bodine to 11th and de Brun to 12th.
Dzierwa was 14th, Quinn was 24th and Yeaman was 25th.
What are the chances that I look this morning and Alex Ochoa is third?
* Irish and Bodine are on the Florida Complex League roster but haven’t reported.
The team is doing just fine as presently constructed.
The FCL Orioles rallied from an 11-5 deficit yesterday to tie the FCL Rays in the eighth before losing 12-11 in 10 innings. They began the day with a 34-20 record under manager Christian Frias and had won seven of their last eight games and 16 of 18 since June 26.
Yesterday’s outcome left them two games behind the FCL Twins for first place in the South Division. They’re one game ahead of the FCL Blue Jays for the Wild Card.
