The Orioles announced that they had picked outfielder Daniel Johnson from Triple-A Norfolk. Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner (X link) reported earlier today that infielder Coby Mayo had been optioned to Triple-A.
Johnson signed a minor league contract with the Orioles in the summer and has hit.259/.320/.448 with 21 home runs in 500 plate appearances with Norfolk. This performance nearly matched his career averages (.255/.324/.446) across 1542 Triple-A PA and his entire minor league career, which spanned eight seasons in five different clubs. Johnson’s lone previous Major League experience consists of over 35 games with Cleveland over the 2020-21 seasons, and he had a.582 OPS over 94 PA in the bigs.
The Orioles acquire Johnson to their outfield depth as Cedric Mullins’ availability remains unknown. Mullins collided with teammate Austin Slater in Thursday’s game and did not participate yesterday owing to neck discomfort. Johnson has spent nearly equally time in the minors as a center fielder and right fielder, so he might be called up to the Orioles bench to assist fill in if Mullins is unable to play any more.
Mayo has batted only.098/.196/.098 in his first 46 major league plate appearances, with four singles and four walks. Almost half (22) of those plate appearances have resulted in strikeouts, and Mayo has appeared overmatched by MLB pitching thus far. In the field, Mayo has largely played third base to cover the vacuum left by the injured Jordan Westburg and Ramon Urias, but he has also seen some action at first base because Ryan Mountcastle is also on the IL.
Mayo, one of baseball’s best prospects, has been optioned back to Triple-A twice since his contract was first added to the major league roster on August 2. Baltimore initially sent Mayo to the minors on August 15 before recalling him on September 1 as rosters increased from 26 to 28 players. Mayo’s second trip to the Show yielded no better results, so he’ll return to Norfolk at the end of the minor league season.
As always, 46 plate appearances is far too tiny a sample size to make a prediction about Mayo’s future, and several MLB stars have suffered in their first taste of major league action. While the Orioles would have preferred an earlier breakout, Mayo is still on the team’s radar for a larger role in 2025. In the meanwhile, with Baltimore heading for the playoffs and still vying for the AL East title, optioning an infielder in Mayo may indicate that Urias or Westburg are close to returning off the injured list.
