Orioles Will Give Star Prospect More Work at Different Position

Coming up the pipeline, the Baltimore Orioles used Coby Mayo at the hot corner.

Fitting the profile of a slugging third baseman, the thought of him joining Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday in the Major League infield was a tantalizing one based on the projected ceilings of all three players.

However, his time in The Show has yielded some below average results in the field, with his short stints in 2024 producing a minus-2 Outs Above Average value while this year has seen his success rate sit at just 62%.

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Because of that -- and since Jordan Westburg is back after his time on the injured list -- the Orioles are preparing to primarily play Mayo at first base.

"You're probably gonna see him more at first base. Unless there's a specific need, I doubt we see him at third base right now. I think we're gonna try to simplify it for him a little bit and focus mostly on first, and we'll go from there," interim manager Tony Mansolino said, per Roch Kubatko of MASN.

That makes sense.

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With Ryan Mountcastle's contract ending after the 2026 campaign, Baltimore needs to find someone who can take over at first base.

Mayo has performed much better on defense at that position compared to at third base, and since Westburg put together an All-Star performance in 2024 at the hot corner, it seems unlikely that Mayo is going to unseat the incumbent when Westburg is healthy.

Of course, the entire MLB future of Mayo is going to hinge on his ability to hit.

He's been better thus far, but his past performance also wasn't a high bar to clear.

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Hopefully simplifying the defensive side of things will help his offense come along as well, because the Orioles need him to become the star that many projected him to be.

Not just for this year, but for the future, too.

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