Orioles Notes: Baz, Mayo, Rotation Additions

After spending four prospects and a draft pick to acquire him, the Orioles have high hopes for right-hander Shane Baz. “He hasn’t fully tapped into his ceiling yet, so we see him as a front end of the rotation starter,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias told reporters this week, including Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore landed Baz with a package headlined by recent first-round picks Slater de Brun and Caden Bodine. He’ll likely slot in behind Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers as the club’s No. 3 starter. Baz posted an ERA up near 5.00 in his final season with the Rays. Elias cited Tampa Bay’s home venue as the potential culprit. “We see a lot of underlying information in his statistics and his performance this year suggests that he had bad luck. A lot of it was driven by the ballpark that the Rays were playing in.” Tampa Bay played its home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field this past season due to hurricane damage at Tropicana Field.

Baz did have significant home/road splits in 2025. He posted a 5.90 ERA in 16 home starts, compared to a 3.86 mark in 15 appearances on the road. Baz allowed 10 more home runs at George M. Steinbrenner Field than he did away from the venue. Interestingly, Camden Yards graded out as a slightly better hitter’s park than George M. Steinbrenner Field this past season, per Statcast’s Park Factors.

The big key for Baz could be righty/lefty splits at his new home. George M. Steinbrenner Field ranked third in Park Factor for right-handed hitters this past season, while Camden Yards was 19th. The Orioles recently moved the left field fences in after having pushed them back, and they also lowered the enormous “Walltimore,” though that side of the field has still been tough on righty bats. Baz has reverse splits, allowing much more damage to same-handed hitters this past season. Righties slugged 55 points higher against Baz than lefties, while striking out far less often and walking slightly more frequently. Baz struck out lefties at a solid 28.2% rate, but punched out righties at a middling 21.7% clip.

The swing for Baz helps solidify Baltimore’s rotation, though that doesn’t mean he’ll be the last addition. Elias said the front office will “stay hard at work” to continue improving the unit. Dean Kremer is locked into a starting spot, but the depth chart gets murky from there. Tyler Wells made it back after an extended injury absence to make four starts in September. Injuries have limited him to 37 innings over the past two seasons. Young arms Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott, and Brandon Young had opportunities in 2025, but none of them delivered notable results. Swingman Albert Suarez is back with the club on a minor league deal.

Baltimore’s busy offseason has mostly focused on the hitting side, but the club was linked to Michael King before he returned to San Diego, along with current free agents Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, and Tatsuya Imai. The Orioles have also been connected to Freddy Peralta, Edward Cabrera, and MacKenzie Gore in the trade market. Free agents like Valdez and Suarez are now a bit more intriguing for the Orioles following the Baz trade. Both pitchers rejected qualifying offers, so teams will have to forfeit their third-highest draft pick to sign them. As Jake Rill of MLB.com points out, Baltimore would’ve ceded the No. 46 overall selection prior to the Baz deal. Now that the team has sent their Competitive Balance Round A pick (33rd overall) to Tampa Bay, the penalty for signing a Valdez or a Suarez would be the 83rd pick, softening the blow of losing draft compensation.

The Orioles made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason when they brought in Pete Alonso on a massive five-year deal. The move could potentially block Coby Mayo, though Elias expressed optimism about finding at-bats for the former top prospect. “There is still a lot of playing time available for [Mayo] on a team that has Pete Alonso now,” Elias said. “We have first base reps, we have designated hitter reps, and the exploration of other positions — whether it’s third or something in the corner outfield.”

Mayo was originally drafted as a third baseman. He spent ample time at both corner infield spots in the minors, though the majority of his big-league experience has come at first base. Mayo appeared in 70 games at first base this past season, compared to just three games at the hot corner. The 24-year-old hasn’t played the outfield as a professional.

After being overmatched in his brief 2024 debut, Mayo continued to struggle for the first few months of this past season. He turned it on in September, slashing .301/.393/.548 across 24 games to close the season. Nearly half of Mayo’s 11 home runs came over the final month of the campaign. The young slugger continued to strike out at a near-30% rate, but showed flashes of the power potential that helped move him up Baltimore’s system. The Orioles have Jordan Westburg penciled in at third base and several young options in the outfield. The club could find part-time work for Mayo if they’re determined to get him at-bats, but it would likely need to come at multiple positions.

Photo courtesy of Sergio Estrada, Imagn Images