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HOUSTON – The August schedule isn't an easy one for Baltimore.
With inexperience everywhere, the O's have had to face the two crown jewels of the American League West, the Mariners and Astros, in two consecutive series.
Baltimore took two of three against Seattle. And after taking game one in Houston, the Birds fought tooth and nail in Game 2.
In the end, though, it was Houston that came away with a 5-4 victory in 12 innings.
And, of course, it was Ramón Urías. Last night, the former Oriole broke up Brandon Young's perfect game bid. Tonight, he walked it off. Another slow dribbler to third, and another heartbreaker.
Dylan Beavers is making his major league debut tonight, starting in right field and batting sixth in Houston. He’s the 61st player used by the Orioles this season, one short of the franchise record set in 2021.
Daniel Johnson is in center field and Dylan Carlson is in left.
Coby Mayo stays at first base, with Ryan Mountcastle serving as designated hitter. Get used to it.
One night after rookie Brandon Young tossed a perfect game for 7 2/3 innings, the Orioles are using Rico Garcia as an opener.
What a weird season.
Because the Orioles’ roster can’t sit still, much like a fussy toddler except with grown men, changes are coming again to a rotation that posted the second-highest ERA in the American League before today.
Cade Povich is trying to stay in it. He’s pitching to win and also keep his job, and he isn’t alone. The club is allowing for a developmental period after falling out of the playoff race, but there’s a limit to the number of starters and length of the patience displayed.
Povich registered his first quality start since April 24, holding the Athletics to one run over six innings, but Willie MacIver's two-run double off Keegan Akin in the ninth gave them a 3-2 win over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 23,183 at Camden Yards.
Akin was trying for his third save in his new role, but a leadoff walk to Darell Hernaiz and one-out single by Gio Urshela preceded MacIver's double. Pinch-runner Lawrence Butler ran through the stop sign and would have been an easy out if catcher Alex Jackson had held onto the ball. Or maybe if Gunnar Henderson's relay wasn't so far up the line.
"He didn’t mean to throw it there," said interim manager Tony Mansolino. "Things are speeding up right there. He’s got his back to the play. He’s catching the ball and he just kind of threw a sinker to the plate, just kind of getting on top of it, straighten the thing out, making a better throw.”
PHILADELPHIA – The visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park isn’t a good location for trying to identify new players.
Lockers don’t come with names, just uniform numbers that aren’t much use without a program or freakish memory skills. And the Orioles’ roster has undergone a startling makeover.
A player sat on a couch yesterday wearing a thick white headband and looking at his phone. The face was unrecognizable to anyone who missed the introductions in Chicago.
The stranger turned out to be first baseman Ryan Noda, who had a pinch-hit single Sunday. The Orioles claimed him on waivers from the White Sox over the weekend.
A pitcher sat at his locker who also hadn’t been in the organization the last time that the Orioles were home. A reporter on the beat discreetly held up his phone to reveal the player page belonging to left-hander Dietrich Enns, who was acquired from the Tigers at the trade deadline for cash considerations. Enns allowed a run and five hits Sunday in 1 2/3 innings.
PHILADELPHIA – Games over the next two months that can’t get the Orioles back into a playoff chase have the power to elevate a young pitcher in the eyes of his bosses. For as long as he’s allowed to stay on the mound.
Left-hander Cade Povich returned from the injured list today to make his first appearance in almost two months, and he came within an infield hit of his third quality start of the season and first since April 24.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino removed Povich after 5 2/3 innings, choosing to let Corbin Martin face Nick Castellanos with the score tied. The matchup mattered more than determining whether Povich could work out of his own jam.
Martin saw six batters and retired none. Harrison Bader hit a three-run homer, Kyle Schwarber greeted Yaramil Hiraldo with a grand slam and the eight-run inning propelled the Phillies to a 13-3 victory before an announced crowd of 41,099 at Citizens Bank Park.
Elvin Rodríguez worked the eighth, becoming the 56th player used by the Orioles, and Edmundo Sosa and Weston Wilson hit back-to-back home runs. When a game unravels for this team, it leaves a huge mess.
PHILADELPHIA – The Orioles reinstated left-hander Cade Povich from the injured list today and he gets the ball to start a three-game series against the Phillies.
That wasn’t the only move.
Infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján was activated and he’s wearing No. 40. The Orioles claimed him yesterday.
The counter moves were optioning reliever Houston Roth and outfielder Jordyn Adams. Roth didn’t make his major league debut before departing.
Povich has a 5.15 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in 13 games (12 starts). His only relief appearance came on June 15, with 3 2/3 scoreless innings before going on the IL with left hip inflammation.
Attempts to get comfortable with the structure of the Orioles’ roster is time wasted. The changes and debuts are coming at a dizzying pace.
The Orioles set a club record by using 62 players in the 110-loss 2021 season. The total is 55 this year and they have infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján and relievers Elvin Rodríguez and Houston Roth waiting for their first chance. Bruján will meet the team in Philadelphia.
Terrin Vavra received his first at-bat Saturday since 2023, and before the Orioles designated him for assignment the following day. He just made it under the wire.
A corresponding move is pending with Bruján. Vavra seemed to be the most likely player to go but he’s already out the door. Shortstop Luis Vázquez could be vulnerable.
Jeremiah Jackson has started in right field the past two games and he’s hit, moving up to fifth in the order yesterday. The ground beneath his feet might be more solid.
Another reliever walked out the door today when the Orioles traded Gregory Soto to the Mets for minor league pitchers Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster. Seranthony Domínguez knows that he could be the next one.
The bullpen is a hot spot in trade discussions.
Domínguez and Soto came to the Orioles is separate trades with the Phillies last summer, the latter on deadline day. Domínguez texted Soto earlier today after receiving the news.
“It’s part of the business,” Domínguez said. “We do what we have to do. I wish him the best and good luck to him.
“It’s hard when you get traded. You’ve got to move from somewhere to another (place) and get new teammates. But I wish the best for him and wait for what happens.”
Make it 26.
That’s how many different Orioles have gone on the injured list this season, two more than the total in 2021, seven more than in 2012 and 2008, and nine more than in 2024, 2018 and 2015. And we’re not taking into account the repeat visitors like Tyler O’Neill, Zach Eflin and Gary Sánchez.
Félix Bautista became the 26th yesterday, retroactive to Monday, with right shoulder discomfort. The only good news is that his surgically-repaired elbow is fine.
Trying to put a positive spin on 2025 can create shoulder and elbow pain. What else can possibly go wrong?
Don’t answer.
TAMPA – Kyle Bradish will begin his injury rehab assignment Thursday with High-A Aberdeen, staying on track for a second-half return to the Orioles’ rotation.
Bradish had two ups yesterday during live batting practice in Sarasota.
Adley Rutschman (oblique) will start his rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Norfolk. He’s getting at-bats today against Tyler Wells, who’s nearing his own assignment.
First baseman Ryan Mountcastle (hamstring) will join Rutschman later in the week.
Left-hander Cade Povich (hip) starts Thursday or Friday at Norfolk.
Zach Eflin begins his injury rehab assignment Sunday at Double-A Chesapeake, as he works to return from lower back discomfort. Eflin will face hitters in Florida next Friday and “should be ready to go,” according to interim manager Tony Mansolino.
Cade Povich, recovered from left hip inflammation, starts Sunday at High-A Aberdeen and will pitch again next Saturday before the Orioles consider reinstating him.
First baseman Ryan Mountcastle will accompany the team to Tampa after the break and report to Norfolk on July 22, as he recovers from a Grade 2 right hamstring strain. He’s eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list on July 30.
“He’s starting to look pretty good,” Mansolino said. “We’re getting excited about him.”
Adley Rutschman took batting practice today from both sides of the plate to test his left oblique strain and will catch Kyle Bradish for two innings next Saturday in Florida.
Orioles starters Zach Eflin and Cade Povich are going on injury rehab assignments Sunday while their teammates play their final game before the All-Star break.
Eflin, on the 15-day injured list with lower back discomfort, will join Triple-A Norfolk in Jacksonville. Interim manager Tony Mansolino said Povich, on the 15-day IL with left hip inflammation, will report to High-A Aberdeen or Double-A Chesapeake.
Catcher Chadwick Tromp, on the 10-day IL with a lower back strain, is doing full baseball activities. He could begin a rehab assignment after the break.
Catcher Maverick Handley, sidelined with a concussion, is cleared for some activities – he ran and played catch today - but probably won’t swing a bat for at least another week.
“I would expect Trompy to be ahead of Handley at this point,” Mansolino said.
Cade Povich has received a second opinion on his left hip and he threw in the bullpen a few days ago. He’s scheduled for two ups in another session this afternoon.
The resumption of an injury rehab assignment is getting close. The Orioles happily will take positive news.
Povich was pulled from his first assignment at Triple-A Norfolk in late June due to recurring soreness in his hip. He hasn’t pitched for the Orioles since tossing 3 2/3 scoreless relief innings on June 15.
“Everything’s feeling good,” he said today. “I think we kind of had the idea that when I went to Norfolk everything was pretty good. In the first inning, just tried to make a play. It was kind of a freak thing. My foot kind of caught and twisted in a way that I think put a little pressure on the hip. So it could have been the same thing, it could be something a little different, but we’re just trying to work back and everything’s feeling good right now.”
Povich saw a hip specialist in Nashville to get his second opinion.
ATLANTA – Charlie Morton and Dean Kremer are in very different places in their careers.
Morton finds himself on his sixth big league team in his age-41 season, while Kremer has only suited up in an Orioles uniform as a major leaguer in his sixth year. As far as 2025 goes, though, the duo has found their seasons traveling on a similar path, albeit with different stops along the way.
Today, the pair can propel the Orioles to a series win over the Braves.
Let’s start with Morton, who allowed just two earned runs in over five innings of work against his former team last night. The right-hander got off to a disastrous start to the season with a 10.89 ERA in his first five starts.
From there, you know the story. He went to the bullpen, made some mechanical changes, and figured things out in a big way. In his seven starts back in the rotation, Morton has tossed an impressive 2.97 ERA with 44 strikeouts and just 11 walks.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The injury updates for the Orioles create a health spray chart.
The bad news today seemed to override the good.
* Zach Eflin was placed on the 15-day injured list this afternoon, as expected, with tightness in his lower back.
* Brandon Young was recalled, as expected, but he’s starting Tuesday night against the Rangers because Charlie Morton has a mild case of tendinitis in his right elbow. Morton is pushed back to Friday night in Atlanta.
* Jordan Westburg could be available tonight after hitting in the cage earlier today to test his sore left index finger. The club is hoping that Westburg returns to the lineup Tuesday or Wednesday.
The unsettled status of the Orioles’ rotation broadened yesterday with Zach Eflin’s lower back tightness and disappearance after only one inning. The series against the Rays concludes today with Dean Kremer starting, and the current roster has Trevor Rogers, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano lined up for the Rangers series in Arlington.
Eflin’s availability for his next start is up in the air, and likely to land before Jonathan Aranda’s home run ball. His turn arrives on the off-day and he could pitch Friday night in Atlanta if healthy. A trip to the injured list, and it’s premature to speculate, could return Brandon Young to the majors. He must stay down a minimum 15 days unless replacing an injured player.
Off-days Thursday and July 7 could prompt the Orioles to stick with a temporary four-man arrangement.
The next call isn’t going to left-hander Cade Povich.
Povich is eligible to return on Tuesday but the Orioles want to give him more work on his injury rehab assignment. He started for Triple-A Norfolk Thursday and allowed three earned runs and five total with seven hits, one walk and three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. He threw 75 pitches
Ryan O’Hearn isn’t pretending that he’s unaffected by a possible All-Star selection. He's excited about the support and the likelihood that he represents the Orioles in Atlanta on July 15.
O’Hearn received the most votes among American League designated hitters with 1,762,125 and advanced to Phase 2 opposite the Yankees’ Ben Rice, who received 674,120.
“I was blown away by the amount of votes when I saw it yesterday, so very humbling, awesome,” he said today at his locker. “We’ve still got to get through Phase 2, but very cool. I was blown away by seeing by seeing that number, 1.6-something or 1.7, whatever it was. And the fact that that many people voted for me, it blows my mind.”
O’Hearn has gone through too much on his journey to become an established major leaguer to downplay the balloting. The Royals trading him for cash, the Orioles outrighting him, the dip in his career followed by an ascension that should get him introduced at Truist Park.
“It would mean everything,” he said. “I’ve been the last guy on the worst team in baseball, I’ve been hitting in the middle of the lineup on a team that was considered one of the best teams in the American League. Seen a lot of angles in this game, and to be able to be an All-Star, it’s shocking to say. And humbling, amazing. Would be a huge blessing, an honor.
The Orioles probably won’t match last year’s total of five All-Stars, but they have a chance to send two starters to Truist Field in Atlanta.
Ryan O’Hearn and the Yankees’ Ben Rice are the finalists at designated hitter in the American League. O’Hearn received 1,762,125 votes and Rice garnered 674,120.
Jackson Holliday, in his first full major league season, and the Tigers’ Gleyber Torres are finalists at second base. Torres received 1,981,665 votes and Holliday 1,302,186.
Phase 2 of voting begins Monday at noon and concludes Wednesday at noon. The winners will be announced that night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Fans are allowed to vote once per day on MLB platforms, and totals will reset. Phase 1 balloting doesn’t carry over to Phase 2.
Orioles infielder Jorge Mateo is beginning his injury rehab assignment Tuesday night for Triple-A Norfolk. The Tides are hosting Gwinnett.
Mateo is on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation caused by a May 31 collision with Heston Kjerstad in right-center field. He was eligible to return on Tuesday but needs to get some at-bats.
“I feel a lot better right now,” Mateo said today via interpreter Brandon Quinones.
The injury occurred in the same elbow that underwent reconstructive surgery last summer, but Mateo was bothered only by some swelling. He’s able to swing a bat, play defense, slide and do “everything I need to do.”
Infielder Luis Vázquez remains on the roster in Mateo’s absence.
The Orioles are back on the road and my mailbag is adamant about missing the Tampa portion of it. No Trop, no trip.
Let’s do some dumping and count how many questions are related to the trade deadline and whether the Orioles will buy or sell. That’s a popular one these days.
The answer isn’t as clear anymore.
You ask, I answer, and we have the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original. I was gonna edit for clarity, length and style, but decided against it. I edited that idea. Sorry to disappoint again. And that's what I said.
Also, you should know that my mailbag receives the most All-Star votes and your mailbag is confused by the ballot.
