The Orioles gave up on wondering what else could go wrong a long time ago.

Their luck wasn’t going to change for the better. A horseshoe would come from the thoroughbred that trampled them.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson, starter Grayson Rodriguez and reliever Andrew Kittredge didn’t break camp with the team, and that should have provided a hint. The 2025 season was going to destroy everything in its path. It was going to break them.

Only nine players are on the active roster from the 26 who made the club on Opening Day. Seven are on the injured list, including utility player Jorge Mateo, who was questionable throughout camp after undergoing left elbow reconstructive surgery.

Remember when his status in Sarasota was worthy of daily updates?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Had anyone asked Mitchell Parker this afternoon if he would’ve been satisfied with a performance tonight that included only five batters reaching base against him in 5 1/3 innings, the Nationals left-hander probably would’ve embraced that outcome in a heartbeat.

The Royals went just 2-for-17 against Parker in this ballgame. They drew three walks as well, but on paper that shouldn’t have been enough offense.

Alas, it was more than enough. Because on this night, all the home team needed to do was reach base to guarantee runs on the scoreboard, which is how Kansas City emerged with an 8-5 victory over the Nats despite totaling only six hits in the game.

Every single batter who reached against Parker eventually came around to score, making for an odd pitching line, but nevertheless a losing one.

"It still sucks. It's still a loss," he said. "I gave up a couple runs and set them in motion to kind of run away with it."

Dean Kremer went with the high-socks look tonight, though he already stood out as one of the Orioles who’s stayed away from the injured list. Tonight marked his 24^th appearance and 23^rd start, the most of anyone in the rotation.

Durability is becoming a source of pride for Kremer.

He’ll also take the wins if they come to him, but it's much harder when your team doesn't score.

Kremer surrendered a run in the first inning and nothing else through the eighth in a 1-0 loss to the Mariners before an announced crowd of 19,356 at Camden Yards.

The eight innings were a season high for Kremer, who allowed five hits, threw 101 pitches and lowered his ERA to 4.17. He’s completed the seventh in seven of his starts.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Brady House hasn’t been in the Nationals’ lineup every day since making his major league debut two months ago. But he’s never been out of the lineup two days in a row, until now.

The rookie third baseman didn’t start Monday night’s series opener at Kauffman Stadium, and he’s once again sitting tonight as the Nats and Royals meet again. It’s a byproduct both of his own offensive struggles and the recent surge by veteran Paul DeJong.

DeJong has been on a tear during this road trip, going 7-for-14 with two homers and five RBIs the last three days. The 32-year-old got back-to-back starts at second base in place of Luis García Jr. (who was dealing with a tight back) and now he’s getting back-to-back starts at third base in place of House (who is healthy).

“It’s hard to take Pauly out of the lineup right now,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “He’s a true veteran, playing good defense. He’s been getting good at-bats. It’s helping our offense. We’re trying to create something here: Getting good at-bats, playing good defense, making adjustments is going to keep you in the big leagues.”

DeJong was signed this spring to a one-year, $1 million deal with the intention of holding down the third base position until House was ready to make his major league debut. But two weeks in, the veteran was struck in the face by a fastball, suffering multiple fractures, and wound up missing 2 1/2 months.

The severity of injuries to Orioles starter Zach Eflin and closer Félix Bautista is confirmed. They won’t pitch again in 2025.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino announced today that Eflin will undergo surgery on his lower back next week and rehab at home. Bautista has another medical appointment later this week but he’s shut down with a “significant injury” to his right shoulder.

Eflin is having a lumbar microdiscectomy, intended to relieve pressure on a spinal nerve caused by a herniated disc. He’s gone on the injured list twice with lower back pain and was sidelined earlier this season with a mild lat strain.

Any chance to trade Eflin at the deadline vanished with his latest injury, though it didn't involve his arm. He’s made 14 starts this season and posted a 5.93 ERA and 1.416 WHIP in 71 1/3 innings. A pending free agent, Eflin could be finished with the Orioles after 23 starts and a 4.48 ERA and 1.287 WHIP.

Eflin started Game 2 of the 2024 Wild Card series against the Royals and was removed after allowing one run in four innings.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Nationals lost the opener of their series in San Francisco over the weekend before bouncing back to win the next two and leave town in good spirits. Can they do the same now in Kansas City after losing Monday night’s opener?

They’ll be asking Mitchell Parker to put forth a much better start than he did in either of his last two outings. The left-hander was roughed up by the Brewers and Athletics for a whopping 12 runs and 18 hits in only nine combined innings. In the process, the left-hander fell to 7-12 on the season with a 5.43 ERA that doesn’t look so hot right now. It’s fair to say Parker needs a strong finish to the season to make sure he’s still in the running for a rotation spot in 2026. If he keeps heading down this path, his case won’t look so great.

The Nationals lineup once again includes Paul DeJong in a prominent spot: batting cleanup and playing third base. DeJong’s two homers the last three days precipitated that, but it means Brady House is sitting for the second straight day, not ideal for one of the organization’s top prospects.

On the other hand, Robert Hassell III is back in the lineup, starting in center field alongside James Wood and Daylen Lile. That bumps Jacob Young to the bench against Royals right-hander Michael Wacha, though you have to assume Miguel Cairo would insert Young for defensive purposes late if the Nats hold a lead.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Where: Kauffman Stadium
Gametime: 7:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field

The Orioles optioned outfielder Jordyn Adams earlier today to make room for Daniel Johnson, a waiver claim yesterday from the Giants.

Johnson had one at-bat with the Orioles in 2024. He was 5-for-29 with the Giants this season.

Adams is 0-for-5 in 10 games with the Orioles and was used more for defense.

Albert Suárez is making his first injury rehab start tonight with Double-A Chesapeake. He hasn’t pitched for the Orioles since his lone appearance on March 28 in Toronto.

Johnson isn’t in tonight’s lineup against the Mariners at Camden Yards. Ryan Noda is in right field, Dylan Carlson in left and Greg Allen in center. Carlson is trying to snap an 0-for-35 streak.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Activated OF Daniel Johnson. He will wear No. 56.
• Optioned OF Jordyn Adams to Triple-A Norfolk.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Good morning to you all, and thanks for joining us for another Nats Q&A. We did the last one of these two days before the trade deadline, and quite a bit has happened since then. Some of it good, some of it not good at all.

James Wood went into the worst slump of his young career but appears to be hitting his way out of it during this road trip. MacKenzie Gore endured one of the worst four-start stretches of his career but bounced back in a big way Sunday in San Francisco. Cade Cavalli is a big leaguer again at long last and enjoyed a dominant season debut before a so-so start Monday night here in Kansas City. Josh Bell and Paul DeJong are red-hot, and still very much part of the team. Dylan Crews remains on the rehab assignment that won't end.

You've probably got plenty of questions you'd to ask, and I'm here to answer them as best I can. So, submit your questions in the comments section below, and I'll respond over the course of the morning ...

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.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The emotions of his long-awaited return to the majors behind him at last, Cade Cavalli settled into life as a true big league pitcher tonight, taking the mound for his second start, confident he will be back out there for his third and plenty more before season’s end.

This one didn’t have the fairy tale ending last week’s return did.

Missing the precise command of his eye-popping arsenal he displayed against the Athletics, Cavalli was charged with four runs in five-plus innings tonight against the Royals, giving up a killer, game-tying homer to Salvador Perez before departing in the sixth.

Jackson Rutledge then gave up the game-winning homer, a two-run blast by No. 9 hitter Kyle Isbel that propelled Kansas City to an eventual 7-4 victory over the Nationals.

Given an opportunity to appear in a high-leverage spot in a tie game, Rutledge got a key double-play grounder but then allowed a two-out single to Nick Loftin before leaving a 2-1 sinker over the plate to Isbel, who launched it deep to right for the decisive moment of the game. (The Royals added an insurance run in the eighth off Orlando Ribalta.)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Though he has played the full nine innings on back-to-back days for Triple-A Rochester, Dylan Crews will remain on his minor league rehab assignment for now.

Crews is staying with the Red Wings, who are off today, the Nationals announced. He’s then scheduled to play the outfield again Tuesday and Wednesday in Rochester against Syracuse.

Those will be Crews’ 12th and 13th games played on this rehab assignment, a longer stint than most injured major league position players typically serve. The Nats, though, want to see the 23-year-old not only prove he’s healthy but that he’s consistently productive at the plate again before they intend to activate him off the 60-day injured list.

Out since he strained his left oblique muscle on a May 20 check-swing, Crews began his rehab assignment with Rochester on July 29. The plan was to slowly build up his workload until he was able to play nine innings in the field on back-to-back days. He did that for the first time this weekend, playing all nine innings in right field both Saturday and Sunday at Norfolk.

Crews’ offensive production has been decent – he’s 10-for-36 with a double, two homers, seven RBIs, one walk and six strikeouts in 11 games – but the Nats appear to want to see more still before they deem him big league-ready again.

Grayson Rodriguez underwent a procedure earlier today to remove a bone spur in his right elbow. Dr. Keith Meister performed the surgery in Dallas, and the Orioles said it was “successful.”

The club indicated last week that Rodriguez probably would have the surgery today, putting an official end to any hopes that he would pitch this season.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias stated in in a video call after the trade deadline that surgery was “back on the table,” and the timing should make Rodriguez available for spring training.

Rodriguez hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since July 31, 2024 against the Blue Jays. He went on the injured list with another lat strain that kept him off the Wild Card roster, and he didn’t pitch after a March 5 exhibition outing against the Twins in Fort Myers.

The initial complaint from Rodriguez was a feeling of sluggishness that robbed him of the usual velocity. The Orioles put him on the injured list before breaking camp with elbow inflammation.

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.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Claimed OF Daniel Johnson off waivers from the San Francisco Giants. He has not yet reported.
• Selected the contract of RHP Jose Espada from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.
• Designated RHP Houston Roth for assignment.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Hello from Kauffman Stadium, which still looks great 52 years after it first opened. The Nationals are here for the first time since 2023, looking to pick up where they left off Sunday in San Francisco, having won two in a row from the Giants.

First things first: Dylan Crews is not here. He has not been activated off the 60-day injured list yet, even though he played nine innings each of the last two days with Triple-A Rochester. It sure seems like the Nats will wait until they return home Thursday to bring him back, but hopefully we’ll get more information here shortly.

As for who is here tonight, Cade Cavalli is on the mound, making his second big league start of the season, the third of his career. Cavalli’s return last week could not have gone much better: 4 1/3 scoreless innings on 88 pitches. He’ll try to be a little more efficient tonight, but more important is the quality of his stuff and the health of his arm.

Luis García Jr. returns to the Nats lineup after missing the entire weekend series with tightness in his back. He’s batting all the way down in the No. 8 spot against Royals left-hander Bailey Falter, which means Paul DeJong is again batting third, this time playing third base in place of Brady House. DeJong has been hot. Miguel Cairo will try to keep getting him at-bats.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Where: Kauffman Stadium
Gametime: 7:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 77 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

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 

SAN FRANCISCO – There was, understandably, some level of disappointment when the Nationals did not find any suitors for Josh Bell and Paul DeJong at the trade deadline.

The two veterans were signed to one-year deals prior to the season with the hopes they would help complement a roster full of young players and lead them to a surprising run at contention. And if the team didn’t win, at least they’d both be attractive options for actual contenders come July 31.

That, of course, didn’t happen. Bell got off to a terrible start to his season before slowly climbing his way back in recent months. DeJong suffered a terrifying injury in April when he was struck on the face by a fastball and only recently returned to the active roster. Teams seeking help for the stretch run didn’t view either of them as worthy acquisitions, so it’s entirely reasonable to view that conclusion as a failure on the Nationals’ part.

Not that everyone with the organization was disappointed by the lack of trades.

“I’m kind of selfish about that, because you want to have some veterans on the team like that who can guide and lead the young talent that we have,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “I was kind of hoping that they didn’t go anywhere, because the way they go about their business is amazing. They’re like true leaders, the way they work, how they engage the young players to do their work and their job. I’m glad they’re here, and you can see what they can do.”

Coby Mayo walked into the clubhouse yesterday morning with a first baseman’s mitt in his hand and beads of sweat on his forehead.

He wasn’t in the lineup, but there’s always work to be done. 

Mayo got in more reps at his new position, with senior advisor John Mabry handling a bulk load of the tutelage.

“He’s been with me like side-by-side during the ground balls, talking to me, going through just different kind of plays that could pile up during a game,” Mayo said. “He’s been super good even in-game going over plays with me. Maybe somewhere where I could have done something a little better, encouraging me that, ‘That was a good play.’ Just kind of talking me through some of those in-game weird situations.”

Mayo is a third baseman who’s learning to play first, with the switch beginning in the minors. And it’s much more complicated than just moving across the diamond, away from a spot that he hadn’t mastered.

SAN FRANCISCO – Maybe it was the cool air blowing out towards the bay, the clear blue sky welcoming everyone to summer in San Francisco. Maybe it was just time for things to stabilize again for a Nationals team that looked lost, defeated and deflated in its first week following a tumultuous trade deadline.

Whatever the case, back-to-back day games at Oracle Park provided the recipe for a much-needed, get-right weekend for the Nats, especially their biggest stars.

Today’s 8-0 thumping of the Giants saw MacKenzie Gore look like MacKenzie Gore again, the left-hander striking out 10 over six scoreless innings to bounce back from a wretched stretch of four substandard starts.

It saw CJ Abrams look like CJ Abrams again, the shortstop launching a two-run homer off the right field foul pole, then singling and scoring again later.

And along with Saturday’s 4-2 win, James Wood looked like James Wood again, the slumping slugger recording a homer and three doubles to drive in six runs (four of them coming during today’s game).