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BOSTON – Adley Rutschman was scratched from tonight’s Orioles lineup with right abdominal discomfort.
Rutschman didn’t play last night, with Samuel Basallo making his first start behind the plate. Alex Jackson is catching tonight.
The lineup shuffling has Jackson batting ninth and third baseman Luis Vázquez moving up from eighth to second.
Jordan Westburg was limping in the clubhouse earlier today and had a walking boot at his locker. He exited last night’s game in the first inning after twisting his right ankle.
So far, he's avoided the injured list. Interim manager Tony Mansolino will provide an update later.
BOSTON – One day after the Orioles scored a dozen runs in a shutout in Houston and celebrated the infusion of young prospect talent and energy on the roster, Jordan Westburg limped off the field and reminded everyone that the 2025 season is a cruel mistress.
Take the good, and there’s much more of it lately, but prepare to get hurt again. It’s a package deal.
Westburg came out of the game with right ankle discomfort, but the Orioles didn’t let it spoil their evening. Trevor Rogers produced another gem with one run in seven innings and the Orioles prevailed 6-3 over the Red Sox at Fenway Park for their fifth win in six games.
Rogers lowered his ERA to 1.41 and WHIP to 0.80 with his 10th quality start in 12 appearances. Gunnar Henderson hit his 15th home run in the third inning to create a three-way tie with Westburg and Jackson Holliday for the team lead, and he added a run-scoring triple in the seventh. Samuel Basallo collected his first major league extra-base hit and added a two-run single in the ninth. Dylan Beavers had his first RBI and reached base four times.
Ryan Mountcastle returned to first base, singled three times and flied to the center field wall at 404 feet and 107.2 mph.
Anyone else want to play the outfield?
The Orioles aren’t holding tryouts but there’s a little experimenting with Jeremiah Jackson, who started in right again yesterday. Dylan Beavers will get plenty of starts in the corners – right Saturday and left yesterday. Interim manager Tony Mansolino said the organization’s No. 3 prospect isn’t here to sit.
Colton Cowser moves back to center field after being planted in left prior to his concussion. Greg Allen, Jordyn Adams, Daniel Johnson and Ryan Noda are gone. Tyler O’Neill is coming back, perhaps in early September.
(Adams had a triple and home run Friday night with Triple-A Norfolk and was ejected by the plate umpire after striking out. But we digress …)
Noda was listed as an infielder on the active roster, but he made three of his five career starts in right field with the Orioles.
HOUSTON – All eyes are on the future of the Orioles. Calling up one of the best prospects in baseball only fuels that fire.
On Friday, Brandon Young came within four outs of a perfect game. Yesterday, Dylan Beavers made his long-anticipated debut.
And today, for the grand finale, Samuel Basallo, the No. 8 prospect in the game, according to MLB Pipeline, puts on an Orioles jersey for the very first time in the big leagues.
His dad was the one to call and tell him that he had made the Show.
“There’s no better feeling than getting that phone call from your family,” Basallo said this morning, via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “My dad is very special to me, he means a lot to me. To get that phone call from him and from my family, it means everything.”
The infusion of top prospects in the Orioles’ roster is reflected in today’s lineup for the series finale in Houston.
Samuel Basallo is making his debut at designated hitter. He’s batting sixth.
Basallo is the 62nd player to appear in a game, tying the franchise record set in 2021.
Dylan Beavers is in left field after collecting his first major league hit last night.
Colton Cowser returned from the concussion injured list this morning and he’s in center field, one spot ahead of Basallo.
Tim Federowicz is more than halfway through his first season replacing Buck Britton as manager of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. He inherited a team and a specific responsibility.
Telling a player that he’s going to the majors.
And Friday night, informing one of the top prospects in the organization that he’s flying to Houston to join the Orioles. That it’s finally happening.
“Um, real quick,” Federowicz said in the visiting clubhouse at VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville. “Got a lot of questions about this the last couple weeks, so I’m just gonna answer in front of everybody. Dylan Beavers, you’re going to The Show.”
The Orioles posted the video on social media, which showed Beavers stand up, tip his cap, walk through the celebratory gantlet of back slaps and embrace Federowicz.
HOUSTON – The second half of the Orioles’ 2025 season won’t go the way that many had expected.
Baltimore won’t be competing for an American League East crown, nor will O’s fans be keeping an eye on wild card playoff spots. Instead, the excitement will come from memorable moments, encouraging signs for the future, and individual accomplishments.
Last night, Brandon Young provided the excitement. The rookie tossed 7 ⅔ innings of perfect baseball before surrendering his first hit with one out to go in the eighth. He did so in front of family and friends, who made the short trip from Lumberton, TX to watch Young deliver the best start of his young career.
Today, it’s Dylan Beavers who provides the excitement, making his MLB debut as one of the O’s most anticipated prospect promotions.
“It’s super exciting,” Beavers said this afternoon. “It’s what I’ve kind of been working for my entire life. But there’s nerves, too, kind of uncertainty in not knowing when it’s going to happen. A little bit of a mixed bag of emotions, but yeah, exciting.”
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.
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 33rd-overall draft pick in 2022 is batting .304/.420/.515 with 14 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 51 RBIs, 68 walks, 74 strikeouts 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 27th 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 26th player to pitch for them with his emergency appearance in Game 1, and Rogers could be the 27th - 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 27th 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 19th 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.
