One wait is over.

The Orioles are selecting outfielder Dylan Beavers’ contract from Triple-A Norfolk, one day after the date to retain his rookie eligibility for 2026.

Outfielder Greg Allen was designated for assignment to create room. Beavers will wear No. 12 and he could be in tonight’s lineup against Astros right-hander Jason Alexander.

Beavers could have bloodied his knuckles from the hard knocks on the major league door.

The 33^rd-overall draft pick in 2022 is batting .304/.420/.515 with 14 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 51 RBIs, 68 walks, 746strikeouts and 23 stolen bases in 94 games in his fourth professional season. He was the designated hitter last night in Jacksonville.

The first phone call came around 2 p.m. The Tigers informed pitcher Dietrich Enns that he was designated for assignment. The left-hander had lost his major league job.

The second call arrived about 3 ½ hours later with the deadline approaching. The Orioles had traded for Enns, consummating the deal under the wire. He was losing significant ground in the standings, going from first place to last, but he avoided a demotion to the minors.

“I probably took just a couple hours to process all of that stuff, I’m guessing,” he said yesterday morning. “I wasn’t sure if I was gonna stick around with Detroit or not, but it was a blessing to be able to get traded over here and have an opportunity here.”

That was merely the first part. Enns had to take advantage of it.

The first outing was rough, with Enns allowing a run and five hits in 1 2/3 innings against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He was scoreless in his next three appearances covering 3 2/3 innings, with two hits, no walks and nine strikeouts.

The next home series begins tonight with the Mariners coming to town. The team that’s won seven games in a row and nine of 10. The team that holds the first Wild Card spot.

Get used to it.

The schedule isn’t doing the Orioles any favors. They go to Houston and Boston after the homestand, come back to Camden Yards and host the Astros for four games and the Red Sox for four. Who came up with this setup?

The next road trip is a West Coast swing through San Francisco and San Diego, sans any hopes of making the playoffs.

Oh, and there’s the home series against the Dodgers in the first weekend of September.

The Orioles will continue to tweak their outfield as they play out the remainder of the 2025 season.

The latest move came today, with the Orioles claiming Daniel Johnson on waivers from the Giants. He hasn’t reported to the club but could be on the roster for Tuesday night’s series opener against the Mariners at Camden Yards.

Johnson, 30, comes back to the organization. He had one at-bat with the Orioles last summer and appeared in 118 games with Triple-A Norfolk, slashing .259/.320/.448 with 20 doubles, a triple, 21 home runs and 76 RBIs. He can play all three spots in the outfield.

Johnson was 5-for-29 (.172) with two doubles and a home run in 14 games with the Giants this season after signing on May 2.

A corresponding move is needed to make room for Johnson.

Entering the 2023 season, the Orioles’ farm system was at the peak of its powers. 

Baltimore had eight top-100 prospects, according to Baseball America. That included the No. 1 overall prospect, Gunnar Henderson, another top-10 prospect, Grayson Rodriguez, a rising star in Jackson Holliday, a soon-to-be Rookie of the Year candidate in Colton Cowser, and the underrated Jordan Westburg, checking in at No. 76. 

By the time 2024 rolled around, however, that list had taken quite a hit due to graduations. Then it included just three players, with Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo joining Heston Kjerstad. 

With Mayo’s graduation this season, there was some question as to who, if anyone, would join Basallo in the top 100. Baseball America’s most recent rankings gave us an answer, highlighting three Orioles prospects on the rise. 

Nate George 

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.

BOSTON – The Orioles had a game postponed yesterday for the fifth time this season, setting up the third of their four scheduled doubleheaders.

Life keeps getting harder for them.

They give up 13 runs in the eighth inning of Game 1, forced again to use a position player to pitch, and the tarp goes on the field less than two hours before Game 2's start time. It begins to rain, as if on cue. They’re stuck in a cramped clubhouse at “America’s most beloved ballpark,” which is a kind way of saying it’s old.

They never posted a lineup, unlike the Red Sox, who either held more confidence in the rain halting or just did it for practice. A starter wasn’t confirmed until last night, when the club announced Zach Eflin for Game 1 and TBA for Game 2. Trevor Rogers finally could get the ball as the 27^th man, but Charlie Morton also is a possibility.

The season hasn’t gotten past May and the Orioles have allowed 19-plus runs twice this season. Emmanuel Rivera became the 26^th player to pitch for them with his emergency appearance in Game 1, and Rogers could be the 27^th - seven fewer than last year’s total. The group includes two infielders and a backup catcher.

BOSTON - The Red Sox flip-flopped starters for today’s doubleheader, using the rainout to move Brayan Bello ahead of Lucas Giolito. The Orioles are sticking with left-hander Cade Povich for Game 1 but haven’t committed to a starter for the nightcap.

Charlie Morton was listed for tonight before the weather forced a fourth postponement. He could get the ball anyway, or the Orioles could use an opener ahead of him, move Zach Eflin to Game 2 on normal rest rather than wait until Saturday, or choose a pitcher who’s called up as the 27^th man.

It won’t be Chayce McDermott because he was optioned Wednesday.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers, also on the 40-man roster, hasn’t started for Triple-A Norfolk since May 16 and he’s listed as tonight’s starter against the St. Paul Saints. He’s allowed 12 earned runs (13 total) and 16 hits with six walks and 15 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings.

The 40-man isn’t really a consideration because the Orioles have two openings.

SARASOTA, Fla. – He’s listed at 5 feet 8 and his 19^th birthday is three months away. The Orioles promoted him from the Dominican Summer League to the Class A level last season. Height and age didn’t factor into how they treated him.

Results and a 70-grade fastball got Venezuelan right-hander Keeler Morfe moving faster than expected.

Morfe has grown into the No. 9 prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline rankings and the Orioles chose him to start tonight’s Spring Breakout game against the Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium.

The kid announced his presence with seven pitches to leadoff hitter George Lombard Jr. at 98-99 mph. The last, clocked at 99, struck him out.

The bingo card was filled – two runs, two hits, two walks, one strikeout, one wild pitch, one hit batter in two-thirds of an inning. Morfe threw 32 pitches and they kept catcher Samuel Basallo busy. But there’s no denying the stuff. It’s real impressive.

Tyler O'Neill would have been in today's Orioles lineup except he's dealing with an illness, according to manager Brandon Hyde, who met with the media in Sarasota for his daily pregame dugout session.

O'Neill hit a ball Thursday against the Blue Jays that cleared the concourse in left field for a three-run homer. He didn't make the trip to Fort Myers yesterday, but he wasn't going to play anyway. It didn't raise any red flags.

Starter Charlie Morton also was out of camp recently due to an illness and he made a quick return.

Dylan Beavers is starting in left field today as a late addition to the lineup.

Hyde also said that Jordan Westburg is feeling better and has been cleared for light baseball activities. He isn't swinging a bat because of the soreness in his lower back that's kept him out of the lineup since last Saturday's exhibition opener, but he's able to play catch.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Tomoyuki Sugano reported to Orioles camp on Saturday, but today felt like the beginning of spring training. Three different hitters stood at the plate against him in live batting practice at Ed Smith Stadium, rotating until he faced eight during his session. A lengthy mound conference followed with catcher Adley Rutschman, pitching coach Drew French, guest instructor and former pitcher Ben McDonald, and interpreter Yuto Sakurai.

Sugano lingered for a little bit longer as the session broke up, sweeping his foot across the dirt and measuring his stride. The mounds in Japan have a softer composition and the rubber sits further back. Just one more adjustment.

The Orioles scheduled only one live BP today and arranged for Sugano to face prospects Enrique Bradfield Jr., Dylan Beavers and Jud Fabian. Beavers flied out and doubled twice on a pair of hard-hit line drives. Fabian struck out twice and singled or doubled into left field – players don’t run the bases – and Bradfield grounded out and lined to left field.

Here’s what they’re saying about the session:

Sugano (via Sakurai)

Outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., the Orioles’ first-round draft pick in 2023, highlights their list of spring training invites.

Twenty-six non-roster players will report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota – 10 right-handers, two left-handers, four catchers, five infielders and five outfielders. Other players could be added later if the Orioles finalize another minor league contract.

Infielder Terrin Vavra is the most recent example, agreeing to terms yesterday on a minor league deal with a spring invitation.

Bradfield is the No. 6 prospect in the organization, according to Baseball America. MLB Pipeline’s final 2024 ranks placed Bradfield fourth.

The Orioles summoned Bradfield from the Twin Lakes side last spring, and he played in the Spring Breakout game.

DETROIT – As the Orioles offense continues to struggle and the team can’t seem to find a spark or any answers right now to turn it, the Orioles are probably still secure to make the playoffs.

Probably.

But each loss makes it harder to win a second straight American League East title and each loss gives Kansas City the chance to gain ground on the Orioles for the top AL wild card spot. If the season ended today, the Orioles would host the Royals in that best two-of-three series. But a few more losses could send the O’s on the road for that.

The O’s Adley Rutschman believes the Orioles can still do great things and said so after Sunday's game. But it’s getting harder to believe that when the team has now lost three series in a row at such a critical time. They went 1-2 each versus Tampa Bay, Boston and Detroit.

Rutschman, whose two-run homer yesterday accounted for the only O's runs in a 4-2 loss, was asked if it was hard to keep the faith and stay upbeat with the losses mounting?

For 22-year-old outfielder Dylan Beavers of the Double-A Bowie Baysox, the work to get better and take his game to higher levels is ongoing daily at Prince George’s Stadium and other ballparks around the Eastern League.

Beavers is ranked as the Orioles’ No. 6 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 10 via Baseball America.

He added weight and strength over the winter and that helped him drive the ball better and hit more homers, but he also seen his batting average and OPS drop.

But on the O’s farm, the focus is always on process over results and coaches and players alike take a long-term view. A couple days or even a few weeks of struggles are understood if both sides feel that things are taking place for long-term success.

“I think there have been some positives to take away and also definitely some things to improve on, work on,” Beavers told me recently at Bowie in sizing up his 2024 season. “My power is starting to show up – feel like I am driving the ball better this year. And just kind of matching that consistency that I had last year while continuing to drive the ball.”

The media crowd around Jackson Holliday’s locker will have more layers than an onion on his first day of availability in camp. Must be his appeal.

(You see what I did there.)

Holliday was a good story last spring. The first-overall draft pick with the youthful face and famous father. Everyone wanted to see him play, and he stuck around much longer than anticipated.

It turned out to be more than a courtesy look and a chance to soak in the environment. Holliday wasn’t reassigned to the minor league side until March 14, after batting .385 with a .991 OPS.

The Orioles announced 30 non-roster invites on Feb. 2 and expanded the list later that day after outrighting reliever Darwinzon Hernández. The camp roster held 71 players, with an overflow in the auxiliary clubhouse.

With family and friends gathering soon for the Thanksgiving holiday, the baseball business could slow but won’t necessarily halt. The screeching sound isn’t brakes. More likely talk radio.

Mike Elias could turn off his phone or charge it in another room while the turkey’s carved. He might be traveling and temporarily unavailable. But he’s aware of a fast-developing market after his time at the general managers meetings in Arizona. How pitching could fly off the board – unlike turkeys, who can’t fly – with so many teams searching for it.

The expanded playoffs increase the aggressiveness of executives, especially after the second-place, 84-win Diamondbacks reached the World Series. Snoozing brings the risk of losing.

Elias is known to prefer club control beyond one year if listening to trade offers, but the quest for a starter who slots high in the rotation might now allow it. Some of the biggest names assumed to be available are approaching free agency, most notably Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes, Cleveland’s Shane Bieber and Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow. The White Sox’s Dylan Cease has two years left on his contract.

The rentals can command less in return, but higher demand and desperation also can plant the sellers more firmly in the driver’s seat. Bidding wars aren’t confined to free agency.

With the promotion Sunday of infielder Max Wagner from High-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie, the Orioles now have their first four picks from the 2022 MLB Draft all together at the Double-A level with Jackson Holliday, Dylan Beavers, Wagner and Jud Fabian. 

Holliday was the No. 1 overall pick in that draft with Beavers at No. 33, Wagner No. 42 and Fabian No. 67. The last three are all college draft picks but Holliday, who is baseball's No. 1 prospect, is the 19-year-old phenom having a sensational season. 

Beavers has put up some very solid numbers in his own right and just got to Bowie last week, going 8-for-20 in his first five Double-A games. His bat is hot now, but it wasn’t always that way in 2023. He began the year with Aberdeen and after 45 games was batting just .214 with a .664 OPS.  But then in his next 40 games with the IronBirds he had this line - .343/.443/.580/1.023 with 29 walks and 21 extra-base hits.  

Now ranked as the No. 10 O’s prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 22 by Baseball America, his bat was smoking. He is a player that gets some 60 grades from scouts for his power, running and arm.  

Beavers told me over the weekend in Bowie that when his bat was slow to get going this year, he tried not to overly stress about it and instead draw on experience from college ball at the University of California. There he began his career as a two-way player and later as a power-hitting outfielder was good enough to be the No. 33 overall selection. 

In the 20-round MLB Draft last summer, the Orioles selected 10 position players and 10 pitchers. They signed nine of the position players. And in what was clearly a small sample which should be noted, that group of nine showed some outstanding plate discipline which could bode well for their future MLB chances.

As a group of nine players, the Orioles draft class produced a collective .400 OBP to rank second only to Seattle's draft class. The Mariners also had nine players that produced a collective .405 OBP.

But the Orioles did rank No. 1 in MLB with a draft class walk rate of 17.3 with San Diego (also nine players) second at 16.2.

Among O’s minor league players with 50 or more plate appearances last year, no player had a better walk-to-strikeout rate as a hitter than O’s No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday. He also led the organization with a 27.8 walk rate. He is just 18 years old.

Over 20 games between the Florida Complex League and low-A Delmarva, Holliday walked 25 times with just 12 strikeouts. That is a robust 2.08 walk-to-strikeout ratio, the best on the O's farm. Maxwell Costes, a non-drafted free agent from the University of Maryland was next at 1.50 with Adley Rutschman third at 1.38.

ABERDEEN, Md. – In the minor leagues it’s like the equivalent of playing a Game 7 of the World Series. For the O’s high Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds affiliate tonight, it’s the final game of a series and the season.

Aberdeen hosts Bowling Green, a Tampa Bay Rays farm club, in Game 3 of the best-of-three South Atlantic League championship series at 7:05 p.m. Bowling Green won 5-3 Sunday and Aberdeen won at Ripken Stadium 13-6 last night. Tonight’s winner will be the 2022 SAL champions.

The last two O’s farm teams to win championships were the Single-A Frederick Keys in 2011 with Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop in the Carolina League and the Double-A Bowie Baysox in 2015. With a team that included Trey Mancini and Mike Yastrzemski, the Baysox won the Eastern League title.

Aberdeen, an O’s affiliate since 2002, had never even won a single playoff series until this year.

Ahead of tonight’s winner-take-all game, some notes and quotes from Aberdeen.

ABERDEEN, Md. – It was certainly much more than a three-man show. But on a night when high Single-A Aberdeen had to win to save its season, the Orioles' second, third and fourth selections in the 2022 MLB Draft came up big.

Dylan Beavers, taken No. 33 overall from Cal, Max Wager, drafted No. 42 from Clemson and Jud Fabian, taken No. 67 overall from Florida, combined to go 6-for-11 with two doubles, a homer, five runs and seven RBIs as Aberdeen beat Bowling Green 13-6.

The win evens the South Atlantic League best-of-three championship series at one win each. The teams play at 7:05 p.m. tonight at Ripken Stadium in a winner-take-all game. The game 3 winner will be SAL champs.

The last farm team for the Orioles to win a league championship was Double-A Bowie in the Eastern League in 2015. Seven years later, Aberdeen can join them.

The IronBirds offense was cooking early and often.