The Orioles announced four roster moves Saturday, including the news that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Top infield prospect Coby Mayo has been called up from Triple-A Norfolk, and outfielder Jordyn Adams is also heading up from Triple-A after his contract was selected to Baltimore’s active roster. To create space on the 40-man roster, catcher Chadwick Tromp was designated for assignment.
Mountcastle stole home for what ended up as the winning run in the Orioles’ 2-1 win over the White Sox yesterday, but the first baseman left the game a couple of innings later due to what was described just as discomfort in his hamstring. The severity of the strain isn’t yet known, as interim manager Tony Mansolino told reporters (including Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun) that Mountcastle would be undergoing an MRI today.
Like much of the Orioles roster, Mountcastle has gotten off to a rough start in 2025, with just a .246/.280/.348 slash line to show for 200 plate appearances. It is a huge dropoff from the generally solid (112 wRC+) production Mountcastle posted over his first five seasons as a regular in the O’s lineup. Mountcastle has traditionally hit with enough power to overcome subpar walk and strikeout totals, but while his barrel and barrel rates are at his career norms, his Isolated Power is only .102 (far below his .185 career number prior to 2025).
This IL stint could be viewed as a potential reset for Mountcastle’s season in this context, and his absence gives Mayo another shot at establishing himself at the MLB level. Mayo has been called up for a few limited stints in the majors over the last two seasons, and has hit only .094/.186/.094 over 59 PA against big league pitching. Even these extreme struggles can be written off as a small sample size, though Mayo’s domination of Triple-A pitching has also fallen off this year, as he has a modest .226/.318/.452 slash over 195 PA in Norfolk.
It is obviously far too soon to write off a player who has gone from being a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft to a fixture on top-100 prospect lists. Mayo hasn’t gotten much playing time with Baltimore due to the team’s crowded infield, yet perhaps in monkey’s paw fashion, some opportunity has now arisen due to the Orioles’ disastrous start and the swath of injuries that have taken out most of the everyday lineup.
Mountcastle joins Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins, Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sanchez, and Ramon Laureano on the long list of Orioles position players on the IL. Between this group and several pitchers also sidelined, the Orioles haven’t been able to make up the depth in stumbling to a 20-36 record.
Westburg and Cowser are both on Triple-A rehab assignments and could be back in relatively short order. With Mullins hitting the IL yesterday, however, the Orioles will shore up their outfield by adding Adams, who inked a minor league contract with the team over the offseason.
Adams has hit only .212/.316/.345 in 136 PA at Triple-A this season, and his big league track record consists of a .176/.205/.216 slash line in 78 PA with the Angels over the 2023-24 seasons. A former first-rounder who received some top-100 attention during his time in the Halos’ farm system, Adams can play all three outfield positions, and is a decent bench option to have on hand until Cowser returns.
Tromp was also a minor league signing in April, and he was selected to the MLB roster earlier this week due to concerns that Adley Rutschman might have required a stint on the seven-day concussion-related IL. Since Rutschman ended up needing just a couple of days off and Maverick Handley is on hand as the backup catcher, Tromp will now head to DFA limbo after making two in-game appearances during his brief time on Baltimore’s roster.
Tromp has seen at least a little action in each of the last six MLB seasons, appearing in 63 total games with the Giants, Braves, and Orioles from 2020-25. Tromp is out of minor league options, and thus the O’s had to designate him and expose him to the waiver wire before trying to send him down to Triple-A. If Tromp clears waivers, he can reject an outright assignment to Triple-A because he has previously been outrighted in his career. It remains to be seen if Tromp may choose to move on from the Orioles given the crowded depth chart of Rutschman, Handley, and Sanchez, as Tromp may prefer to join a team that has more of a clear path to big league playing time.
How bot some everyday at bats for mayo? Enough mixing and matching, seasons essentially over. Let the dude try to establish himself.
He’s definitely seen the shuttle here recently. His minor league numbers have regressed from 2024 to 2025 believe this move is just because mountcastle is hitting the IL
Mayo is blocked at first by mountcastle. Once he’s healthy, mayo will head back to triple A or be traded for pitching help before the trade deadline
He is not blocked by Mountcastle. If he starts hitting like he has throughout the minors he will have an everyday job. It’s not like he’s playing behind Freddie Freeman or Bryce Harper. Mountcastle is just an average hitter at best at first base.
That’s probably what they say about mayo. If that dude was as talented as everybody says he he’d be in the majors by now. Instead he’s an over rated player and fans are drooling over him. Guaranteed he’ll be traded by the deadline
I don’t know that the O’s will trade any prospect at this point in time. Prospect for prospect trades aren’t very common at the deadline. Maybe in the offseason.
“Mayo is blocked”…He’s not “blocked”, but I distinctly heard some fat guy at table #3 say “hold the Mayo”.
He’s a poor man’s version of Joey Gallo
Pitching help? Ha! Nobody is going to offer anything for Mayo at this point. Last winter the Orioles fanbase wanted all kinds of return for Mayo. He was untouchable. Now no one will touch him.
It’s been a surprising year for the Orioles
A s a Yankee fan, a happy surprise!
Not really though LaFleur. Everyone knew they needed pitching last offseason.
They had the pieces to get it, but failed to act, and are now dealing with the consequences of their own ineptitude.
Do you watch their games?
They’re often down 3 or 4 to nothing after 1 inning..which puts extra pressure on the kids to try to come back..which in turn, is getting them away from their games.
Elias should be fired immediately.
They had the pieces to get it, but failed to act,
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So, would you feel better if you had traded Holliday for Crochet?
Fun stat about Tromp: 13 different pitchers have never gotten him out in his career.
@coop
So he says. “I always have big beautiful at bats.”
He probably called them the best at bats ever.
Before or after he sells advertising space on them.
I really wish Tromp would dye his hair orange.
Heat Mizer. We need Heat Mizer HR celebrations.
Well, if we ever hit any HRs, that is.
And, paint his face orange.
Time for Mayo to start hitting the ball and earning his playing time
Time for the O’s to actually PLAY HIM a few games in a row so he can find his rhythm.
It’s ridiculous how they’ve handled him so far.
They won’t play him, but they won’t trade him even while their pitching staff is in shambles..
The ineptitude is stunning.
At some point you just have to stick with the guy until he figures it out or if he doesn’t then you cut bait. Mountcastle has been pretty bad, too many strike outs, not enough walks and 2 homers as a first baseman. Really need some offense in general for this team and definitely from that position.
I can understand that. But there is also something to be said about trading someone before everyone else sees his limitations. He’s on pace for 189 Ks/600 ABs in AAA. That’ll be > 200Ks in the pros.
You can’t tell when prospects are going to figure it out, but I think his ceiling is fairly limited.
I’m right there with you, but I think folks are aware of his particular struggles so you might potentially have to undersell him or just hope he makes the necessary adjustments. Last offseason he probably shouldve been packaged to bring in some good starting pitching. Unfortunately I think its far too late to recoup that level of value at least imo.
Mayo can go bad easily
Night games only. Don’t leave him out in the sun.
Mayo is already spoiled. Nothing to see there.
Compare Jackson’s numbers this year to late last. Our fruit in Ballmore seems to take a few more months to ripen after AAA.
Mayo can also start to melt, see Kid Rock for reference.
The problem with Mayo is that he cannot handle the mustard.
Mayo can’t handle the heat
Bring the Right Hander out of the bullpen to hold the Mayo.
If Mountcastle had a groin injury, there would be another joke in there somewhere.
Unless his name is Phil A. McGroin.
A g-g-g groin injuryyyy.
Now there’s and old and vague reference. Cheers!
Just an unbelievable year of injuries. I don’t think either Mullins or Mounty are long term pieces but this means more AAA guys playing.
Mayo and Kjerstad have taken big steps backwards – Heston most likely because of last year’s beaming. Some guys just don’t recover from that.
Fortunately, Cowser and Wedtburg will get back soon and then O’Neil and Lauresno will be back. The biggest issue for the O’s is how bad Adley has been for nearly a year. They have to drop him down to 7 or 8 in the lineup and accept they he may never be the player they thought he was.
They need ownership to spend on a top of the rotation arm, or trade for one. What good is a stacked farm if they don’t have any good starting pitching?
I’ve been saying they need to drop Adley down for a couple months now. Let him sort it out at the bottom of the order.
“Mayo and Kjerstad have taken big steps backwards…..”
tuck 2;
You’re a great, knowledgeable fan. Have loved your posts over the past few years.
I think those players simply rose to a point where the competition is stiffer and they were exposed. Neither can play close to average ML defense. They aren’t going to hit enough to offset the damage they do on D. The same can be said for Henderson playing SS, as SS is such an important ML position (the Pirates stuck Cruz in CF where he belongs, and word from Cincy is that the Reds are thinking of moving De La Cruz to CF as well…..MLB is not rotisserie league where if your SS has better offensive stats than other SS’s it helps your team…..in MLB a SS needs to be consistent and smart or he’s a drag on his teams winning….Henderson belongs at 3B).
Then we get to the O’s pitching philosophy and approach. It’s not very good. As for “the owner spending more money to bring in a big name pitcher” (I read that here 3 times a week): Fact is that Camden was already a tough enough park to pitch in…..quality FA’ s are going to get multiple offers to pitch on contenders whose coaches can help them be better pitchers, and whose defenses behind them can make plays.
It’s all in the hands of Mr. Rubenstein. He’s a very smart, successful, powerful person. He laid out $1.7 billion for that franchise. He’s learning, and I believe has been in touch with some older, experienced MLB consultants since the collapse began. Things with the O’s will chance after the season. I have no idea how.
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Have happily spent my time watching the small market teams that play smart, fundamental baseball. Most of those teams make changes during the season, although not necessarily with big trades. It’s in the coaching staffs working with the individual players. The Rays and Brewers are now playing great ball and the Royals are showing signs of coming out of a bad spell. The Guardians have problems with their pitching – starters and bullpen. Maybe they can fix that. The Reds will be adjusting to Francona most of the year. It’s fun to watch those teams play. The O’s? Sorry, not so much.
Henderson. Anywhere but SS; please.
Consultants on board. Samuel. You made that observation over a month ago. I did’nt see it then, but i’m pretty sure i am seeing it now. IE. the owner announced the firing of the manager not the POBO. And it looked like the new manager was “the face” that talked about the hiring of coach Mabry not the POBO. Hmm.
C Yards Jeff;
Thanks for the info. Didn’t know about Mabry….although I remember him as a player with the Cardinals in particular.
Figure the FO is gone after the season. Can’t be trusted. How would you feel if you (with some other investors) paid $1.7 billion for a franchise, had to run thorough hoops to close the deal and then watched your pennant contender fall apart? The current FO have probably been defanged for the rest of 2025 from making any notable moves…..i
f the O’s sell at the deadline (which I thought was the FO’s plan going into 2025) someone(s) that we don’t know of will have to explain to the owner why he should approve the deals. They might even keep some veteran players after the season.
Big changes will come shortly after the last game of the season.,,,,and those people will hit the ground running. Figure that back-channel stiff has been going on for at least 6 weeks. That’s how it works.
P.S. Sorry about the typos.
Yes, there’s something very wrong with that coaching staff – particularly the head pitching coach. Have a feeling that the O’s were a tech-driven organization with the coaches following the stat-heads orders. Noticed in an article out of Pittsburgh the other day that the Pirates have dozens too many: “Analytic people that spend more time in the visiting clubhouse than they do in their own”. A good chance the O’s coaching staff was being micro-managed as well as the Pirates. Brendon Hyde is going to take a team to the playoffs within the next 3 years.
I still have hopes for the O’s in the next few years. A solid manager and good people-oriented coaches can get those youngsters going in the right direction.
I’m thinking this owner has got to move on from this POBO. Mr. Rubenstein believed in Mike Elias so much that he gave the okay to spend money on payroll in the off season. And spend Elias did. He grew payroll by 55 +/- mil with the result of being in worse shape this year than last. Oof.
Coach Hyde.
If i were a POBO, Id have him on my mangerial candidate short list for sure. In Baltimore , he got experience working in a system that is heavy on analytics. In Chicago, he has said that Coach Madden was like mentor. And Joe, of course , was an eye candy test observer type guy when it came to player personnel and how to use ’em.
Henderson is their superstar. I believe there is reluctance to move him off of SS because of the prestige that comes with it. (Think leaving Jeter when Arod came aboard, many pundits said Arod was the superior defender) Henderson is their superstar team leader bla bla bla.
The Mariners have Cole Young who just came up & on paper is a superior SS to JP Crawford who would be better for the team at 2nd or 3rd. (According to the baseball pundits) Same situation, he’s the team captain, respect etc. The best positional placement for a very popular player isn’t as simple as the defensive/offensive numbers, ego plays a large role.
sillywabbit;
SS (as C) is as much a mental position as it is physical. On every pitch the SS has to be aware of the game situation, what his manger wants, and how the opposition will play a batted ball (if a ball is put in play almost always the SS has to move somewhere even if it’s not hit to him). Jeter was not left at SS because he was a superstar. He was left at SS because he was the smartest SS in MLB at that point, as well as a team leader. A-Rod may have had great range and statcast figures, but he was short in the other responsibilities a SS has. All defensive positions in professional baseball are much more than fielding a ball hit to the player and throwing it. Ask veteran Pirates fans that were pulling out their hair watching Oneil Cruz think all he needed to do as a SS was catch the ball and throw it.
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I don’t know the Seattle situation. Have a very low regard for Jerry Dipoto and the teams he puts together (going all the way back to his time with the Angels) so I seldom watch their games. They have all played sloppy baseball. Have been a big fan of Cal Raleigh for years. Happy he’s finally getting the recognition he’s deserved.
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Want to watch a complete young SS? Tune into an Athletics broadcast and watch 23 year-old Jacob Wilson. His father was a major league player and became a coach. Trained his son. Jacob is consistently doing things fundamentally that I haven’t seen in years. He doesn’t shortcut anything. The fact that he’s hitting .345 with a .883 is icing on the cake. A lot of Derek Jeter in him.
I agree on Jacob Wilson, he’s amazing. While I’m no fan of Arod, and never was because he’s always been arrogant; the predominance of baseball pundits all said his talent should have bumped Jeter off of SS. In particular, I recall Harold Reynolds on ESPN making the case for Arod pointing out that the decision was political leaving Jeter in place. Having said that, I totally agree it was the correct decision as Jeters baseball IQ was FAR superior to Arod’s I’m just saying leaving Henderson at SS isn’t necessarily all about talent. On paper, the team would likely improve to move him to say 3rd & put a better SS in his place. The optics would be bad however because he’s such a fan favorite in the most high profile position.
Just gonna say this..
If the O’s had any sense, they would’ve realized that with a young, 90+ win team last year, they could’ve easily rebuilt their rotation simply by spending about 20m on a free agent or two, and trading Mayo and Kjerstad + minor league depth last offseason.
They failed to do so though, and frankly deserve the season they’re having because of it.
they could’ve easily rebuilt their rotation simply by spending about 20m on a free agent or two,
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They did. In fact, they spent $33M.
He means on quality starting pitching.
What a clown this Mayo kid is so far – first stomping around like a petulant kid at Toys R US after getting sent down and then orchestrating a fight on the field by running out of the basepaths and then blatantly flopping to draw an interference call. At least achieve something first in the show before going all Christiana Ronaldo. Wonder what Carlton Fisk would have done if he saw this on his watch: give him the whole Neon Deion assmunch whooping