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Marlins Notes: Infield, Outfield, Mack

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The Marlins didn’t make the playoffs in 2025 but are entering the winter with a bit more optimism compared to a year ago. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald took a look at the Miami position player mix and provided some details on the club’s aspirations for the winter.

Jackson had previously reported that the club was likely going to be targeting a veteran bat this winter. In today’s reporting, he adds that first base is the most likely place for them to make that addition, though third base and the outfield corners are mentioned as other possibilities.

First base is a sensible spot to target, as the Fish don’t really have anyone locked in there. Seven different players spent some time at that spot in 2025, though Eric Wagaman got the bulk of the action. Wagaman hit just .237/.281/.375 for a wRC+ of 79. That indicates he was 21% below league average at the plate. Teams generally hope to get above-average offense out of the first base spot, so that’s a natural spot to look for more production.

The free agent class is headlined by guys like Pete Alonso, Josh Naylor and Ryan O’Hearn. The Marlins have occasionally thrown out notable multi-year deals but president of baseball operations Peter Bendix has largely kept his wallet in his pocket since getting his job. Two offseasons ago, his big signing was one year and $5MM for Tim Anderson. Last winter, it was $3.5MM for Cal Quantrill.

Perhaps he will get more aggressive with the Marlins coming off a respectable 2025 season, though it may be more likely he goes for guys who can be had on short-term deals such as Rhys Hoskins or Paul Goldschmidt. The non-tender deadline will shake loose a few more guys, with Nathaniel Lowe and Ryan Mountcastle some of the possibilities there. Christian Walker and Alec Burleson are speculative trade candidates.

Signing a third baseman is also a possibility but Jackson reports that the most likely scenario is Connor Norby and Graham Pauley battling for the job, or perhaps even forming a platoon. Pauley seems to have a decent floor as a strong defender. In 390 innings at the hot corner this year, he was credited with three Defensive Runs Saved and six Outs Above Average. Offensively, he slashed .224/.311/.366 for a wRC+ of 90. Perhaps there’s more to come with the bat. His 11.4% walk rate and 19.6% strikeout rate were both above average and he may have been held back by an unfortunate .262 batting average on balls in play. But even with offense close to average, he could be a valuable player thanks to the glove.

Norby, on the other hand, received grades of -5 DRS and -4 OAA at third this year. He didn’t make up for that with the bat, as he slashed .251/.300/.389 for a wRC+ of 90. However, he has slashed .293/.369/.493 at the Triple-A level going back to the start of 2023, which translates to a 123 wRC+. Bringing that kind of production to the majors would be great but he’ll be a bit of a question mark until that happens.

As for the platoon possibility Jackson mentions, Norby is right-handed and Pauley left-handed. Both players have reverse splits in their big league careers thus far but the sample size is still pretty small for both. Neither had huge splits in the minors but major league pitching might be a different story in the long run.

In the outfield, Jackson suggests the investment is likely to be small, suggesting it could be similar to the club signing Heriberto Hernández to a minor league deal last winter. They should have Kyle Stowers and Jakob Marsee in two spots, with room for guys like Hernández, Griffin Conine, Dane Myers, Joey Wiemer and others.

Behind the plate, Bendix already gave a public vote of confidence to Agustín Ramírez, despite his poor defensive metrics. If he is going to get another shot behind the plate next year, that could leave Joe Mack in Triple-A. Jackson reports that the club would prefer Mack to start the year in Jacksonville, but he will have a chance to earn a job in spring training.

Mack is one of the top catching prospects in the league. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster but would be eligible for this winter’s Rule 5 draft if not added, so the Fish will surely give him a spot in order to protect him from being selected. He’s considered a strong defender and he slashed .250/.320/.459 for a 108 wRC+ in 99 Triple-A games this year.

Promoting him to the majors seems justified at this point, but if Ramírez is going to get the bulk of the playing time as the Marlins continue to give him a shot to improve defensively, then perhaps Mack would be better served staying in Triple-A to get regular playing time.

It seems like there’s even less chance of a move up the middle, as Jackson reports the club is happy with the Otto López and Xavier Edwards tandem. López has produced subpar offense but the move to shortstop has worked well. He was credited with 7 DRS and 4 OAA at that spot this year. He can also steal 15-20 bases a year, adding to his value. Edwards got poor grades at short but has been great since kicking over to the other side of the bag. He tallied 12 DRS and 9 OAA at the keystone this year, with 27 steals and roughly average offense.

Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline, Imagn Images

Marlins Notes: Stowers, Norby, Pauley, Myers

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It’s been nearly a month since Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers was sidelined by side strain, and he actually began a rehab assignment on September 5 at the Triple-A level. Unfortunately, that September 5 game remains his most recent appearance after he was sidelined by a right oblique strain. According to Kevin Barral of Fish On First, manager Clayton McCullough relayed to reporters yesterday that he isn’t “exactly sure” how long Stowers will be shut down for, and that a clear timetable might not be available until after Stowers has had a few more days of downtime.

With so few days left in the regular season and the Marlins an insurmountable nine games back in the Wild Card race, there appears to be a real chance that Stowers’s 2025 season has come to a close. McCullough acknowledged as much yesterday, telling reporters (including Barral) that “we know where we’re at in the calendar.” If Stowers’s first full season as a Marlin is in fact over, it’s still hard to call it anything other than a massive success. The 27-year-old emerged as a core piece for Miami this year as he slashed .288/.368/.544 with 25 homers, 21 doubles, and 3 triples across 117 games. It was enough to earn Stowers an All-Star nod, and he’s sure to be a fixture of the club’s outfield mix next year as well.

Turning away from Stowers, the Marlins provided plenty of updates (as relayed by MLB.com) about other injured hitters today. Infielder Graham Pauley began a rehab assignment at Triple-A today as he recovers from an oblique strain suffered last month. Tomorrow, meanwhile, will see both infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Dane Myers begin rehab assignments. Norby was sidelined by a quad strain just a few days ago, while Myers has been out of commission since late August due to an oblique strain of his own.

Of that trio, Pauley is having the best season at the plate. That’s not saying very much, as the left-handed utility man is slashing .229/.310/.371 in 159 plate appearances across 54 games for the big league Marlins this year. Norby, meanwhile, has posted only slightly weaker numbers in more of a regular role. He’s slashed .247/.298/.373 in 295 trips to the plate this year while battling injuries, including a hamate fracture that required surgery back in July. He had looked a lot better after returning from that surgery, but his burgeoning hot streak was cut short at just five games by his aforementioned quad ailment. As for Myers, the 29-year-old has hit just .233/.292/.325 in 99 games this year, but he has swiped 17 bases and played strong defense in center field.

Assuming none of them face setbacks like Stowers has, all three should be expected to return before the end of the year. Maximo Acosta, Xavier Edwards, and Javier Sanoja have mixed and matched at second and third base while Pauley and Norby have been out, with Otto Lopez at shortstop. That quartet will likely be forced to get the majority of their playing time up the middle as Pauley and Norby seem poised to reclaim their timeshare at the hot corner. Myers, meanwhile, has been overtaken on the depth chart by Jakob Marsee in center field but could still see some use off the bench or in the outfield corners.

Marlins Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Marlins have designated right-hander Luarbert Arias for assignment and selected the contract of infielder Jack Winkler from Triple-A Jacksonville, per a club announcement. They’ve also placed third baseman Connor Norby and outfielder Derek Hill on the 10-day injured list — the former due to a quad strain and the latter due to a hamstring strain. Lefty Josh Simpson and infielder Maximo Acosta have been recalled from Triple-A to take that pair of roster spots.

Arias, a 24-year-old righty, made his major league debut with Miami this season but was torched for 13 runs in 10 1/3 innings. He’s posted a 3.93 ERA in 18 1/3 innings in Triple-A but walked nearly twice as many batters (13) as he’s punched out (seven). The Marlins selected Arias, a former minor league Rule 5 pickup out of the Padres organization, back in November to protect him from being nabbed in the major league phase of the most recent Rule 5 draft.

At the time, it wasn’t hard to see why. Arias was coming off a strong year in Jacksonville, having totaled 68 innings with a 3.04 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate. He’s taken notable steps back this season and has already been designated for assignment and passed through waivers once this summer. Because of that prior outright, he can reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency if he once again goes unclaimed.

Winkler’s contract is being selected to the roster for the second time this season. The 26-year-old utilityman went 2-for-12 with a pair of singles in a very brief MLB look earlier this year but has since been designated for assignment and outrighted. He’s back in the majors now despite struggling through a 9-for-58 skid in Triple-A between big league stints. He’ll add a righty bat with some defensive versatility to the Marlins’ bench while Norby is out, but Winkler posted a lackluster .220/.291/.328 batting line in 261 plate appearances during his Triple-A debut this year, so fans shouldn’t expect much in the way of offensive contributions.

It’s the third IL stint of the season for both Norby and Hill. Given the minimal time left on the regular-season calendar, either injury could feasibly be season-ending, but there’s been no definitive word from the club on that front just yet.

Norby, acquired alongside Kyle Stowers in last summer’s Trevor Rogers trade with Baltimore, hasn’t hit nearly as well as hoped this year. The former top prospect has been sidelined by oblique and wrist injuries previously, batting .274/.298/.373 when healthy enough to take the field. Hill, 29, has played strong defense but hit just .213/.275/.331 in 141 plate appearances on the year. He’s previously missed time due to wrist and finger injuries.

Connor Norby Undergoes Surgery To Repair Hamate Fracture

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Marlins infielder Connor Norby underwent surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone in his left hand yesterday, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald. He’s expected to be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks.

Norby, 25, came to the Marlins alongside Kyle Stowers just under one year ago in the 2024 deadline trade sending lefty Trevor Rogers to Baltimore. He was placed on the 10-day IL a few days ago due to inflammation in his left wrist. The specific nature of Norby’s injury wasn’t clear at the time, but he’d been out of the lineup for the final two games prior to the All-Star break after experiencing discomfort in his hand/wrist at the plate last Friday.

A 2021 second-round pick and former top prospect, Norby had a solid debut for the Marlins following the trade last summer. He hit .247/.315/.445 with seven homers and three steals in 162 plate appearances down the stretch — albeit with a 32.1% strikeout rate. He’s pared back on the strikeouts a bit this year (26.7%) but had a tough season overall, slashing .241/.289/.364 in 273 trips to the plate. It’s not entirely clear how long Norby was playing through discomfort prior to his IL stint and subsequent surgery, but over his past 47 plate appearances he’s turned in an anemic .186/.234/.326 batting line, dragging his season-long numbers down quite a bit in the process.

Norby opened the 2025 season on the injured list due to an oblique strain but has been Miami’s primary third baseman when healthy. He’s played 68 games and logged 567 innings at the position, albeit with sub-par defensive grades (-7 Defensive Runs Saved, -3 Outs Above Average). He’s also capable of playing second base, but the Fish have been using Xavier Edwards there after installing Otto Lopez as their everyday shortstop.

With Norby out for the foreseeable future, their options at third base include Graham Pauley, Javier Sanoja and Eric Wagaman, though the latter of that trio has been playing first base regularly as of late. Sanoja and Pauley drew starts in Miami’s final two games before the break.

The Fish also have infielders Jack Winkler, Maximo Acosta and Deyvison De Los Santos on the 40-man roster with their Triple-A Jacksonville affiliate. Winkler is a utility player with good speed who made his MLB debut briefly earlier in the season. Acosta has been strictly a middle infielder. De Los Santos has played both corners but spent the vast majority of his recent time at first base. None of the three are hitting well in Jacksonville, however.

Pauley, also a 2024 deadline acquisition (part of the Tanner Scott return), hasn’t produced in 94 big league plate appearances this year but has considerably outperformed Winkler, De Los Santos and Acosta in Triple-A. He’s taken 144 plate appearances with Jacksonville and slashed .260/.340/.496 with a 9.7% walk rate and a tiny 11.1% strikeout rate.

Connor Norby To Begin Season On Marlins’ Injured List

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The Marlins suffered a tough blow today, with the news that promising young infielder Connor Norby will miss approximately four weeks with a Grade 1 left oblique strain. Manager Clayton McCullough broke the news to reporters, including Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, this morning. Norby, 24, suffered the injury while taking a swing on Saturday evening.

The Marlins acquired Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers from the Orioles ahead of the trade deadline last summer, in exchange for left-hander Trevor Rogers. Both Baseball America and Keith Law of The Athletic ranked Norby as one of Baltimore’s top 10 prospects heading into the 2024 season, but with players like Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, and Coby Mayo ahead of him on the infield depth chart, it was never clear if he had a future with the club. Conversely, he has a clear path to playing time in Miami (once healthy). After the Fish called him up last August, he appeared in 36 games over the final six weeks of the season, mostly splitting his time between second and third base. He hit seven home runs, drew 15 walks, and produced a 108 wRC+ across 162 trips to the plate.

Norby was in line for an everyday third base role with the rebuilding Marlins in 2025. That job should still be his to lose upon his return, but the Marlins will have to get by without one of their better projected hitters for the first month of the season. The fact that Norby looks like one of the better offensive players on Miami’s roster says far more about the pitiful state the Marlins are in right now than it does about Norby himself. Still, this is a tough loss for a team that already has so little to look forward to in 2025, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Jesús Sánchez is also set to miss at least the first two weeks with an oblique injury.

Earlier today, De Nicola reported that Graham Pauley would earn the final spot on the Opening Day roster if Norby did indeed start the season on the IL. Pauley, another 24-year-old third baseman, joined the Marlins from the Padres as part of the Tanner Scott trade last summer. He played 13 games with San Diego at the big league level in 2024, going 4-for-32 with 15 strikeouts and no walks. Once a relatively well-regarded prospect, his stock fell last year as he struggled to hit at Triple-A or in the majors. Nonetheless, as one of this team’s few options to play third base, he could see a good amount of playing time while Norby is out.

Another option to cover at third base for the Fish is Eric Wagaman. Like Pauley, Wagaman made his MLB debut last year and struggled to make much of an impact in a handful of games. He is also three years older than Pauley and comes with less of a prospect pedigree. The Marlins clearly saw something they liked in Wagaman when they signed him to a major league contract this offseason, but Pauley seems to be the better upside play. Jonah Bride, 29, is expected to take most of his reps at first base or DH, but he has 61 games of MLB experience at the hot corner and could fill in there temporarily. In addition, utility player Javier Sanoja, 22, has played third base in the minors, though he has not suited up there regularly since 2021.

Marlins To Promote Connor Norby

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The Marlins are calling up infield/outfield prospect Connor Norby to make his team debut, as first reported by Isaac Azout of Fish On First. He’ll presumably receive regular playing time down the stretch.

Norby, 24, came to Miami alongside outfielder Kyle Stowers in the trade sending left-hander Trevor Rogers to Baltimore. While Stowers went right onto the big league roster (and has struggled considerably in his first 16 games), Norby was the more highly regarded young player of the two. He’s a bat-first second base/left field prospect who’s hit well at every minor league stop, including this year in Triple-A, where he’s batting .293/.382/.496 with 17 homers, 24 doubles, a triple, 13 steals (in 16 tries) and a 12% walk rate. His 28% strikeout rate in Triple-A this season is admittedly a red flag, but Norby hasn’t had major strikeout concerns in the past.

It’s worth pointing out that Norby’s production has dropped off sharply since the trade, though he’s generally still holding his own outside of a dip in power, hitting .271/.338/.373 in 67 plate appearances with the Marlins’ affiliate in Jacksonville. Even still, Norby’s aggregate production in Triple-A between the two organizations has been 28% better than league-average, by measure of wRC+, and the Marlins have little incentive not to see what they have in a player who could be a core piece moving forward.

Among the 30 big league teams, Miami ranks 27th in terms of production from its second basemen (again, per wRC+) — and  that’s including the 144 plate appearances Luis Arraez received before being traded to San Diego (during which he batted .293/.343/.368). Otto Lopez has seen the bulk of the playing time at the keystone since that trade, but he’s batting just .236/.270/.316 on the season, making him one of the least-impactful hitters in the entire league.

Lopez has provided huge value with his glove, but he can still impact that game defensively in a utility role while Miami gives a legitimate audition to Norby — a former top-100 prospect who’s looked largely MLB-ready for some time but fell down the Orioles’ depth chart due to the glut of touted young infielders present in Baltimore (e.g. Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo). There’s far less competition in this stripped-down version of the Marlins, which president of baseball operations Peter Bendix is rebuilding from the ground up. MLB.com currently ranks Norby third among Miami farmhands, while Baseball America pegs him sixth.

Norby’s pending promotion gives him nearly six weeks to make his case for a 2025 role. It’s a not a true sink-or-swim test, of course. Norby only turned 24 in June and is in the first of three minor league option years. Even with a poor showing down the stretch, he’d still be in the mix to earn a spot on the roster next spring. He won’t lose his place in the team’s future plans with a so-so team debut, but he can likely go out and cement himself in their ’25 plans with a productive run. Miami currently controls Norby all the way through the 2030 season, and he’s not currently scheduled to be arbitration-eligible until the 2027-28 offseason.

Orioles To Acquire Trevor Rogers

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The Orioles are acquiring southpaw starting pitcher Trevor Rogers from the Marlins, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.  The Marlins will receive second baseman/outfielder Connor Norby in the deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided.  Miami also gets outfielder Kyle Stowers, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

Rogers marks the Orioles’ second recent rotation addition, after they acquired Zach Eflin from the Rays four days ago.  Rogers, 27 in November, owns a 4.53 ERA, 18.0 K%, 9.7 BB%, and 46.9% groundball rate in 105 1/3 innings this year.  Rogers has a 3.17 ERA over his last nine starts, but with no apparent improvement in his skills.

Rogers was at his best three years ago, when he made the All-Star team and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting by posting a 2.64 ERA in 133 innings.  He averaged 94.6 miles per hour on his fastball that year, and looked like one of the game’s best young starters.  The lefty had a strong pedigree, as well, having been drafted 13th overall out of high school in 2017.

Things took a turn in 2022, as Rogers’ strikeout rate plummeted and he missed a month with lower back spasms.  That season also ended a bit early due to a lat strain.  2023 was worse, as Rogers’ season ended in April after four starts due to a left biceps strain and a partial tear in his right lat.

Rogers then entered the arbitration system, and is earning $1.53MM this year.  He remains under team control through 2026.  Rogers has avoided the IL thus far this year, but it’ll be up to Orioles pitching coach Drew French and the rest of the staff to attempt to help him regain his 2021 form.  Rogers’ average fastball velocity is down to 92.2 miles per hour this year, a notable 2.4 mile per hour drop from his one stellar season.

Having lost Kyle Bradish, John Means, and Tyler Wells to Tommy John surgery, the first-place Orioles have a rotation of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Eflin, Dean Kremer, and Rogers.  Burnes and Means are eligible for free agency after the season, leaving Rodriguez, Kremer, and new additions Eflin and Rogers for 2025.

The Orioles had been connected to Garrett Crochet and Blake Snell, and could theoretically add one of them in the next three-plus hours, but are likely done with their rotation at this point.  Aside from Eflin and Rogers, Orioles executive vice president and GM Mike Elias also bolstered his bullpen by acquiring Seranthony Dominguez last week.

Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix did quite well in adding a pair of Major League-ready position players for two-plus years of Rogers.

Norby, 24, ranked 93rd on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects heading into the 2023 season.  Prior to this season, BA gave Norby a 50 grade, calling him a “bat-first second baseman” who can also handle left field.  The former 2021 second-rounder has spent most of the season repeating Triple-A, and has shown quite well with a 134 wRC+ in 80 games.  He’s gotten a few brief looks with the Orioles due to Jorge Mateo’s injuries, but has only played in nine big league games so far.  Norby is under the Marlins’ control through 2030 and will likely receive regular playing time at second base for the rest of the season.

Stowers, 26, was drafted by the Orioles in the second round out of Stanford in 2019.  Known for his big raw power from the left side, Stowers has been unable to secure regular playing time on the stacked Orioles since his 2022 debut.  Stowers, who is best-suited for right field, will get that chance with the Marlins.  Like Norby, Stowers has spent most of the season at Triple-A, posting a decent 115 wRC+.

If the Marlins did indeed come up with a pair of controllable regulars for a back-end starter in Rogers, it’ll be quite the win as Bendix makes his mark on the team.

At the time of this writing, Bendix still has three-plus hours remaining to further remake the Marlins, likely by dismantling his bullpen and possibly trading outfielder Bryan De La Cruz.  The team’s 2024 rotation is particularly bare with the departure of Rogers, leaving Edward Cabrera, Max Meyer, and Kyle Tyler.  Jesus Luzardo is working his way back from a lumbar stress reaction, Ryan Weathers is recovering from an index finger strain, and Braxton Garrett is on the IL for a forearm strain.  Next year, the team will get Sandy Alcantara and eventually Eury Perez back from Tommy John surgery.

Orioles’ Jorge Mateo Suffers Left Elbow Subluxation; Connor Norby To See Regular Time At Second Base

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The Orioles announced Thursday that they’ve placed infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo on the 10-day injured list due to a subluxation (i.e. partial dislocation) of his left elbow. Fellow infielder/outfielder Connor Norby is up from Triple-A Norfolk in his place. Baltimore also optioned righty Chayce McDermott to Norfolk following last night’s MLB debut and recalled righty Bryan Baker, adding a fresh arm to the bullpen.

Mateo suffered the injury on Tuesday in a collision with shortstop Gunnar Henderson when both infielders slid for an up-the-middle grounder (video link). It’s not clear yet how long he’ll be sidelined. Manager Brandon Hyde told the Baltimore beat that Mateo will “miss some time,” but there’s still enough swelling to obfuscate the full recovery picture (link via Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun). While Mateo didn’t require immediate surgery, his arm was placed in a cast on Tuesday. He’ll eventually receive a second opinion, Weyrich tweets, and Hyde added that it’s “too soon” to tell whether Mateo will need surgery at some point.

With Mateo out for an indefinite period, Norby will “get some regular playing time” at second base, Hyde revealed. It’s a notable development both in the sense that Norby has ranked among the system’s best prospects since he was selected in the second round of the 2021 draft and in the sense that Norby has been a oft-speculated trade candidate as the O’s look to upgrade their pitching staff. The Orioles possess enough infield depth that they could still trade Norby — Jordan Westburg and Ramon Urias can both play second base, and top prospects Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo are looming in the upper minors — but that outcome seems less likely now that he’s ticketed for a near-everyday role in the big leagues.

Mateo, 29, has been the Orioles’ primary second baseman this season. He’s batted just .229/.267/.401 on the year. That’s 13% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+, but Mateo has provided modest pop (five homers, .172 ISO) and plenty of value on the basepaths (13-for-15 in steals). Defensive metrics feel he’s been roughly average with the glove — his penchant for highlight-reel plays not withstanding.

With what seems like a notable absence and even a potential for surgery on the table, Mateo’s outlook in Baltimore becomes cloudy. He’s due for one more arbitration raise this offseason and would reach free agency following the 2025 campaign. Given the possibility of a long layoff, the team’s enviable infield depth and the fact that Mateo is owed a raise on a $2.7MM salary, he could again emerge as an offseason trade candidate or non-tender candidate, depending on the ultimate prognosis for his injury.

The 24-year-old Norby isn’t likely to be a defensive upgrade but can be reasonably expected to provide a boost to an already potent lineup. He’s hitting .297/.389/.519 in Norfolk (133 wRC+) with 16 home runs, 21 doubles, a triple, 13 steals (in 16 tries) and a stout 12.5% walk rate. Norby’s 27.7% strikeout rate with the Tides is a red flag, but punchouts haven’t been a long-running problem for the East Carolina University product.

Norby made his big league debut earlier this season, appearing in four games and going 3-for-14 with a home run before being sent back down. He can’t accrue a full year of service in 2024, meaning he’ll still be under club control for another six full seasons. He’s in the first of his three minor league option years and won’t be arbitration-eligible until the 2027-28 offseason at the earliest.

Orioles Designate Thyago Vieira For Assignment

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The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Thyago Vieira for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to top infield prospect Connor Norby, whose previously reported promotion to the big leagues has now been formally announced by the team. Baltimore also placed infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo on the 7-day concussion list and recalled left-hander Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles only recently acquired the 30-year-old Vieira in a trade with the Brewers, who’d also designated him for assignment. Baltimore added Vieira and righty Aneuris Rodriguez, sending minor league right-hander Garrett Stallings back to Milwaukee. Based on the way things played out with Vieira, it seems Rodriguez was the more interesting component of that swap for the O’s.

Vieira made only one appearance as a member of the Orioles, and went about as poorly as a debut could go. The right-hander faced five hitters but didn’t retire any of them, yielding a hit and four walks before being lifted from the game. He wound up being charged with three runs in what could very well end up an extremely brief stay in the organization.

Vieira is one of baseball’s hardest throwers, averaging 98 mph on a fastball that has often touched triple digits. He’s now appeared in 17 big league games this season and yielded runs in ten of them, however. In 22 1/3 frames between the Brewers and O’s, he’s logged an ugly 6.85 ERA. Despite his premium velocity, Vieira’s shaky command has undercut his ability to pile up strikeouts. This year’s 22.5% strikeout rate is effectively league-average (22.3%), but his 15.3% walk rate is one of the highest marks in baseball. He’s also struggled with home runs, yielding an average of 2.42 big flies per nine innings.

Though his MLB experience is limited, Vieira had a mostly solid run with Japan’s Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball from 2020-22. Command was still a problem for him even when pitching overseas, but he notched a 3.61 ERA there and whiffed 26.2% of his opponents. His pre-NPB track record in the majors was nearly as spotty as his results so far in 2024, however. Overall, he’s totaled 51 MLB innings but posted a 6.71 ERA with a 20.7% strikeout rate and 13% walk rate. The Orioles will have a week to trade Vieira, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or release him.

As for Mateo, he’ll head to the concussion list on the heels of a freak injury. He was clipped in the head by teammate Cedric Mullins’ bat when Mateo reached into the on-deck circle to grab a weight for his bat (X link with video). Ramon Urias subsequently pinch-hit for Mateo.

Once the Orioles’ primary shortstop, Mateo has instead seen the bulk of his action at second base this year, in addition to four appearances in center and two at his now-former shortstop slot. He’s hitting .246/.294/.447 with three homers and ten stolen bases in 128 plate appearances on the year.

Orioles To Promote Connor Norby

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The Orioles are calling up infield/outfield prospect Connor Norby, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN on X. Members of the Baltimore beat, including Jake Rill of MLB.com on X, had previously noted that Norby was en route to Toronto with the rest of the team. Norby isn’t yet on the club’s 40-man roster but the O’s have a vacancy there after recently losing Kaleb Ort off waivers to the Astros. They will need to make a move to get Norby onto the active roster. Infielder Jorge Mateo is in concussion protocol, per Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com, and could perhaps wind up on the injured list.

It’s a nice early birthday present for Norby, who turns 24 on Saturday. His call-up is yet another step in the march of exciting prospect that the Orioles have graduated in recent years. The O’s finished last in the American League East in each full season from 2017 to 2021 losing 108 games or more in three of those seasons. In the process, they managed to use high draft picks to stockpile exciting youngsters such as Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg, Kyle Stowers, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez, all of whom were taken with a first- or second-round pick.

Norby can be counted in that group as well, with the O’s grabbing him in the second round of the 2021 draft. He got a brief professional debut in the months after that draft selection and then tore through three levels in 2022. Going from High-A to Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 29 home runs in 547 plate appearances. He also drew walks in 10.1% of those trips to the plate while only getting punched out 20.8% of the time. His combined slash line of .279/.360/.526 led to a 137 wRC+, or 37% above average overall, and he also stole 16 bases.

That performance was enough to get him on the back of some top 100 prospect lists going into 2023. Baseball America gave him the #93 slot while ESPN put him at #92. His results last year were still solid but not quite as overwhelming as the prior season. He spent all of 2023 in Triple-A, getting into 138 games. He still hit 21 home runs and walked in 9% of his trips to the plate, but the offensive environment was quite strong in Triple-A last year, thanks in part to some robo-ump shenanigans. Norby’s .290/.359/.483 batting line produced a 109 wRC+, still above average but not by a massive margin, and his 10 steals were a slight drop-off from the year before.

He didn’t get as much prospect love coming into this year but has been performing quite well for Norfolk. Through 51 contests in 2024, he already has nine home runs and seven steals. His 30.7% strikeout rate is quite high but he’s also drawing walks at an 11.3% clip. His .286/.374/.510 line translates to a 127 wRC+ on the year so far.

Defensively, Norby came up as a second baseman but the O’s have had him spend a bit more time in the outfield corners since the infield is fairly crowded by the presence of Henderson, Westburg, Holliday, Mateo and others. That gives the club a bit of flexibility in how they slot him into the lineup, though the outfield mix is pretty crowded with Cowser, Stowers, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Austin Hays all sharing time there while Ryan O’Hearn is the regular in the designated hitter slot and Ryan Mountcastle at first base.

Mateo has been the regular second baseman for the O’s lately, so that position could be open if he is indeed going to miss some time due to a concussion. Norby could slot in there or the O’s could also move Westburg from third base, as he has plenty of second base experience, with Ramón Urías taking over at the hot corner. That latter scenario would leave Norby in a backup role, which wouldn’t be ideal treatment for a notable prospect, but the O’s have also called up guys like Stowers and Kjerstad without finding significant playing time for them.

However it plays out, it continues to highlight the embarrassment of riches that the Orioles have in terms of young position player talent. They have so many of these exciting youngsters that even finding playing time for all of them is a challenge. In the long run, that is something that could be worked out organically. Santander is an impending free agent while Mullins, Hays and Mateo are all slated to hit the open market after 2025. That will open up plenty of opportunities for the youngsters in the long run while it’s also feasible that the O’s use some of these young players in deadline trades to bolster the pitching staff for a postseason push.

For now, Norby will get the call to the big leagues for the first time and start his service time clock. Even if he stays up for the rest of the year, he won’t be able to get a year of service in 2024, meaning the earliest he could reach free agency is after 2030. He could perhaps reach Super Two status if he stays in the majors from now and through the end of the 2026 campaign, but it’s also possible that he winds up back in Norfolk after Mateo is healthy. Holliday and Kjerstad are also playing well in Triple-A at the moment and could force their way back to the big leagues down the line. There are many moving parts that will impact the long-term plans but it’s undoubtedly a great day for Norby.

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