Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles prospect Grayson Rodriguez could miss the rest of the 2022 season because of a Grade 2 right lat strain.

General manager Mike Elias announced Sunday that the pitcher will be shut down with the forecast of returning by September, although he might be out until 2023.

"I mean, the timing of this really stinks, is all I can say," Elias said. "He was basically at the point of checking every box you could think of in terms of his minor league work. I think that he's shown that if he's healthy and himself, we want him to be in a position to help this team next year out of spring training."

Rodriguez is rated the top pitching prospect in baseball and No. 3 player overall by MLB.com.

The 22-year-old was a first-round pick in the 2018 draft and has excelled at every stage of the minor leagues.

Through 11 starts in Triple-A this season, Rodriguez has a 5-1 record with a 2.09 ERA, 0.839 WHIP and 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings. He allowed just three total earned runs in his last six starts.

The right-hander pitched 5.2 scoreless innings Wednesday before leaving with lat discomfort. He underwent multiple MRIs, which revealed the extent of the injury.

"There's probably a lot of variability to the exact amount of weeks that this takes for him to get back out to competition," Elias said. "It just kind of depends how it goes."

The Orioles likely won't rush Rodriguez back to the mound considering his long-term potential. Elias said the organization will be "as careful as possible" to avoid re-injury.

Baltimore entered Sunday in last place in the American League East with a 23-32 record.

At long last, the Baltimore Orioles have called up prized catching prospect Adley Rutschman to the big leagues.

The O's announced the move Saturday ahead of a home game against the American League East rival Tampa Bay Rays:

It's time. pic.twitter.com/jtmNRWuEJH

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) May 21, 2022

MLB.com ranks Rutschman as the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball, and he is now set to make his major league debut three years after the Orioles selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft.

The 24-year-old Rutschman starred collegiately at Oregon State before getting drafted by the Orioles, and he has continued to perform at a high level during his minor league career.

In 19 games this season across three different levels, he is slashing .309/.427/.515 with three home runs, nine RBI and 12 runs scored.

Rutschman's 2022 season got off to a late start since he suffered a strained right triceps during a minor league intrasquad game in March, per ESPN.

The slugging backstop has since demonstrated that he is healthy, however, paving the way for his big league debut.

Rutschman's development was perhaps delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, but he showed what he could do over the course of a full season in 2021.

Splitting 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A, Rutschman slashed .285/.397/.502 with 23 homers, 75 RBI and 86 runs.

His arrival comes at an ideal time for an Orioles team that has struggled mightily at the plate this season, especially at the catcher position.

Through 40 games, the Orioles rank 23rd in team batting average (.228), 25th in runs scored (139) and 22nd in home runs (31), leaving them last in the AL East with a 16-24 record.

Robinson Chirinos and Anthony Bemboom have been Baltimore's catchers this season, and it hasn't been pretty from an offensive perspective.

Chirinos is hitting .139 with one home run and six RBI, while Bemboom is hitting .115 with one homer and one RBI. To make room for Rutschman, the O's designated Bemboom for assignment.

Rutschman should instantly be a fixture in the middle of the Orioles' lineup. He will also give Orioles fans a reason to come to the ballpark in the midst of a long and painful rebuild.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge isn't the only player that dislikes Camden Yards' new pitcher-friendly left-field wall.

Even Baltimore Orioles slugger Trey Mancini dislikes the new dimensions of the wall, which has been pushed back about 30 feet and raised to 12 feet high, making it more difficult for batters to hit a left-field home run.

"Nobody likes it," Mancini told Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun. "No hitters like it, myself included."

Judge's initial comments came after he was robbed of a home run in the first inning of Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. He sent a blast out to left field that traveled 399 feet and instead of sailing into the stands, it bounced off the new left-field wall.

The hit would have been a home run in all of the other 29 MLB parks, Ruiz noted. It even would have been a homer at Camden Yards last season. After the game, Judge said the changes to Camden Yards are a "travesty" and that it now looks like a "create-a-park."

That said, Mancini added that there's not much hitters can do at this point. 

"There's nothing we can do to change it," Mancini told Ruiz. "It's nothing you can be thinking about when you're up at the plate. But it doesn't make it any less tough when you hit a ball that you think should definitely be a homer."

Nearly every batter has had difficulty hitting a home run at Camden Yards this season, with just 1.8 percent of plate appearances resulting in a round-tripper, per ESPN Stats and Information.

Last year, Camden Yards saw 4.5 percent of plate appearances result in a homer, which was the highest percentage in the league, per ESPN Stats and Information. The Orioles gave up 155 home runs at home in 2021.

Both Judge and Mancini have hit their fair share of home runs over the years, too. However, Mancini entered Thursday's game against the Yankees without a home run at Camden Yards this season. 

In 16 home games, Mancini is hitting .307/.343/.339 with 19 hits, two of which are doubles, and four RBI. For comparison, he hit 14 home runs in 75 games in Baltimore last season.

Judge, meanwhile, leads the league in home runs this season with 14 and is hitting .306/.373/.672. He hit six homers at Camden Yards last season and has two so far at the ballpark this year. 

Defense attorneys for Eric Kay—the former Los Angeles Angels communications director who has been charged with giving former Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs the counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl that killed him in 2019—said Tuesday at trial that MLB pitcher Matt Harvey will be named as a potential drug source for Skaggs.

During government’s opening, prosecutors said only Eric Kay could have given Skaggs the drugs he took when he died. Did NOT name Harvey, but said an unnamed player will testify he had given Skaggs pink pills, but not on the fatal road trip. https://t.co/7hswwkoy6M

— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) February 8, 2022

The prosecution is arguing that Kay provided Skaggs with the drugs that he took on the day of his death.

ESPN's T.J. Quinn reported that a source within the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office said in 2019 that Skaggs didn't have Percocet in his system when he died. Skaggs died from choking on his own vomit stemming from "mixed ethanol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication," per the Tarrant County medical examiner's toxicology report in 2019.

Kay is also being charged with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute after he allegedly sold fentanyl and oxycodone.

Per Quinn, the prosecution said in trial Tuesday that Kay "was providing opioids to multiple players, who are expected to be named, and even got them from the umpire's clubhouse attendant at the ballpark."

Skaggs' former teammate and current Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Andrew Heaney, testified at trial Tuesday. Other former Angels players between 2017 and 2019—when Kay is accused of distributing oxycodone to players on the team—are on the government's witness list, including Cam Bedrosian, Blake Parker and Garrett Richards.

Richards plans to testify that Kay once asked him for unused oxycodone pills, according to the prosecution's filings, while Bedrosian, Harvey and Parker will testify that Kay distributed drugs to both Skaggs and other players.

Former Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles general manager Roland Hemond died Sunday at the age of 92.

Hemond also spent 19 years in the Arizona Diamondbacks' front office, and per Noah Trister of the Associated Press, the organization released the following statement from Hemond's family: "He passed peacefully in his son Jay's arms. The Hemond family shared many laughs with him until the end, and we appreciate the love and support of all his baseball family."

Hemond was GM of the White Sox from 1970-85 and of the Orioles from 1988-95. His time in Chicago saw him win the Sporting News Executive of the Year award in 1972 and the United Press International Executive of the Year award in 1983. He won the Sporting News Executive of the Year award for a second time in 1989 with the Orioles.

While neither the White Sox nor Orioles won a World Series during his tenure, Chicago made it to the American League Championship Series in 1983, and a Baltimore team he largely constructed reached the ALCS in each of the two seasons after he departed in 1996 and 1997.

The Rhode Island native's Major League Baseball career began with the Boston Braves in 1952, and he won his first World Series in 1957 while serving as the assistant scouting director for the relocated Milwaukee Braves.

Hemond also had a stint in the California Angels front office from 1961-70 before his run as a GM with the White Sox and Orioles.

The Diamondbacks didn't officially enter the league until 1998, but Hemond was part of their front office beginning in 1996 until 2000, and he later returned for another stint from 2007-17.

In between, Hemond returned to the White Sox from 2001-07 as an executive adviser and was on the staff when they won the World Series in 2005.

Along with being a two-time World Series champion and three-time Executive of the Year, Hemond won the Branch Rickey Award in 2003 in recognition of his community service, and he won the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award in conjunction with the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

The Baltimore Orioles are willing to listen to teams' offers for center fielder Cedric Mullins, but their asking price is understandably high after the 27-year-old just polished off an All-Star season with 30 home runs and an .878 OPS.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Audacy provided the report:

Word has gotten out that the Orioles would listen on star CF Cedric Mullins, and teams are lining up to give it a shot knowing it’s a long shot. Asking price is understandably extremely high. All these teams (and more) could use a CF: Philly, Rangers, Astros, Giants, Mets, Yanks.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 26, 2021

Mullins is also under team control for the next four seasons, so he isn't eligible for free agency until 2026. That further raises Mullins' trade value, and he figures to be a core piece in the Orioles' ongoing multiyear rebuild if he isn't moved.

On the surface, dealing Mullins doesn't make any sense.

He became the latest member of the exclusive 30-30 club following his 30-homer, 30-stolen base season. Mullins also finished ninth among American League position players with a 5.7 WAR (wins above replacement), per Baseball-Reference.

Plus, there's no guarantee that the Orioles receive any players of Mullins' caliber.

Nick Stellini of the FTN Network provided this thought.

Maybe the Orioles will trade the prospects they get for Cedric Mullins in five years and get a player who's 80% as good as Mullins, whom they'll then flip for even more cost-controlled pieces six years after that.

— Nick Stellini (@StelliniTweets) November 26, 2021

The Orioles have a promising farm system that includes MLB.com's No. 1 overall prospect (Adley Rutschman), the No. 8 prospect (right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez) and three other prospects in the top 100.

This team's complete overhaul will take some time. Having patience and retaining Mullins is the most prudent option.

On the other hand, it's possible Mullins' most recent campaign was a fluke after he hit .225 (.632 OPS) in 115 games over his first three seasons. But he just established himself as one of the game's top center fielders with a dominant 2021 season. The most recent numbers are hard to ignore.

For now, Mullins is the team's star in center field as the Orioles look to bounce back from a 52-110 season.

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini and San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey were named the American and National League Comeback Players of the Year on Monday:

Trey Mancini and Buster Posey are your AL & NL Comeback Players of the Year! 👏 pic.twitter.com/KXiZruMHD2

— MLB (@MLB) November 22, 2021

Mancini's story was one of the most inspiring in the entire sports world in 2021, as he returned to the field after missing the 2020 campaign because of Stage 3 colon cancer. Posey also missed the 2020 season after choosing to step away from the game because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Orioles called Mancini winning this award "inevitable from the moment he took the field on Opening Day" and shared a story of his comeback:

If great comeback stories inspire, then Trey's is truly one of the greatest.

Congratulations, @TreyMancini. We are so proud of you. pic.twitter.com/xEh3FcVnis

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) November 22, 2021

As Andrew Golden of the Washington Post detailed, Mancini was diagnosed in March 2020 and underwent chemotherapy until September of that year. He also underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor.

Orioles fans gave him an emotional standing ovation for his first at-bat at Camden Yards of the season.

"It was 25 percent capacity at the time, but it felt like a full stadium," Mancini said, per Golden. "The city really rallied around me last year and was so supportive. For it to come full circle and for me to be back in a game … it was really special."

He did more than just return, though, and was a key part of Baltimore's lineup. Mancini slashed .255/.326/.432 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI while appearing in 147 games and notably advanced to the championship round of the 2021 Home Run Derby at Coors Field in Colorado before falling to Pete Alonso.

As for Posey, he helped lead the Giants to the best record in the league at 107-55, which was quite the improvement from their 29-31 mark during the shortened 2020 campaign without him.

The catcher slashed .304/.390/.499 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI while making his seventh career All-Star Game and taking home his fifth Silver Slugger. He now has the 2021 Comeback Player of the Year to add to an illustrious resume that includes an NL MVP, three World Series titles, a Gold Glove and a batting title.

Posey won't be adding to that on-field resume any longer after electing to retire this offseason.         

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini said he went through a scare in June after he received carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test results that suggested his colon cancer may have returned.

Mancini, who sat out the 2020 season while undergoing chemotherapy treatments before being declared cancer-free, told Dan Connolly of The Athletic on Thursday subsequent tests showed the cancer cells hadn't returned.

"Me, overthinking it, I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that my CEA was normal for quite a few times, and now it's elevated," he said. "I was thinking the worst. And I couldn't shake that."

The 29-year-old Florida native put together a career year for the O's in 2019. He posted a .291 batting average, .899 OPS and 35 home runs across 154 appearances. His career-best 3.5 WAR ranked in a tie for 56th among all MLB hitters that season, per FanGraphs.

After the one-year hiatus, he returned to a full-time role for Baltimore in 2021. His numbers dipped slightly from the career-high marks in 2019, but he was still a valuable contributor with a .758 OPS and 21 homers in 147 games.

Mancini told Connolly he struggled with the uncertainty between the concerning June 21 results and the July 4 confirmation the cancer hadn't returned, and he wants to share his story for other people who may be going through a similar situation.

"Maybe this can put their minds at ease because there's a number of reasons why this marker can be elevated. And you don't have to spend weeks and weeks with it racing through your head," Mancini said. "Above all, listen to your doctors and health professionals. They know what they're talking about."

Eight days after being given the all-clear, he was at Coors Field in Colorado to take part in the 2021 Home Run Derby as part of MLB's All-Star festivities.

Mancini defeated the Oakland Athletics' Matt Olson and Rockies' Trevor Story to reach the finals before coming up short against reigning champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.

"I've never been on a stage like this before," he told reporters. "And it was just an incredible day, an incredible evening, and I was just so honored to be a part of it and just to be asked. To make it to the finals is something that I think we're going to look back on and really cherish and appreciate."

Shoutout, @TreyMancini.

An inspiration to us all. #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/wpkFfhwtTk

— MLB (@MLB) July 13, 2021

Mancini saw his OPS drop 80 points from the first half of the season (.791) to the second half (.711), but the slugger said he was pleased to endure the physical toll of an entire campaign.

"I hate to use the word grind, but I had to grind it out those last couple months, and I did," he told Connolly. "I'm happy that I made it to the end of the season, that I didn't go on the [injured list] one time. It is a big accomplishment."

The Orioles fell well short of the playoffs with a 52-110 record, but Mancini figures to remain a key building block as they continue their rebuilding efforts heading into 2022.

Cedric Mullins added another chapter to his breakout 2021 on Friday night when he hit his 30th homer of the season in the second inning against the Texas Rangers. 

The 26-year-old is the first player in Orioles history to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a single season. 

The first player in Orioles history to reach 30/30, and the first player in baseball to do it this year.@cedmull30 has put together one of the greatest seasons we've ever seen in Birdland. pic.twitter.com/KRSIA6lNv2

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 24, 2021

Even though the Orioles remain mired in a rebuild and entered Friday tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the worst record in Major League Baseball (49-104), Mullins has been an incredible bright spot for the franchise. 

Mullins was named to the American League All-Star team earlier this year. He entered Friday ranked fourth in MLB with 30 stolen bases and is now tied for 19th in the AL with 30 homers.

Per FanGraphs, Mullins ranks fourth in the AL among position players with 5.6 wins above replacement. 

In a season featuring several breakout performances, Mullins' has been one of the most unexpected. He was an unheralded 13th-round draft pick out of Campbell University in 2015. 

MLB.com did rank Mullins as the fifth-best prospect in Baltimore's system prior to the 2017 season. He made his big league debut in 2018  but never showed this kind of potential. The North Carolina native hit .225/.290/.342 with seven homers and 10 stolen bases in 115 games from 2018-20. 

There is a bright future in Baltimore with an improving farm system. Catcher Adley Rutschman, the top pick in the 2019 MLB draft, is the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball. Grayson Rodriguez is one of the top pitching prospects in the sport. 

Assuming Rutschman and Rodriguez debut at some point next season, the Orioles will have a strong foundation with that duo and Mullins to build around.    

The Baltimore Orioles broke their 19-game losing streak with a 10-6 comeback win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday.

We won 🥲

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 26, 2021

We did it, y'all. pic.twitter.com/Ewweelq6J3

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 26, 2021

Outfielder Anthony Santander scored three runs and had three hits to lead Baltimore to its first win since Aug. 2, when the O's beat the New York Yankees 7-1.

Santander and Cedric Mullins each hit solo home runs in the first inning off Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani to give Baltimore a 2-0 lead.

CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER WITH A FIRST-PITCH SHOW! pic.twitter.com/7qZs1WX9eI

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 25, 2021

Tony Taters has the best OPS in the American League in the month of August. pic.twitter.com/SQEuAMYBTe

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 25, 2021

Per Joe Trezza of MLB.com, the Orioles became the only team to hit multiple home runs off Ohtani in the same game with those blasts. The presumptive American League MVP entered the night with an 8-1 record, 2.79 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 100 innings this year.

However, the Angels scored six consecutive runs (two in the second, four in the fourth) to take a 6-2 advantage. The fourth inning featured Brandon Marsh's three-run blast and a solo shot by Jared Walsh.

https://twitter.com/Angels/status/1430685226863267842

The O's slashed the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame thanks to DJ Stewart's two-run homer.

DJ spins up our third homer of the night. pic.twitter.com/L6SdImbtsU

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 26, 2021

Mullins' RBI groundout in the seventh cut the lead in half once again before the O's exploded for five runs in the eighth.

A pair of bases-loaded walks, an Austin Hays two-run, pinch-hit double and a Mullins sacrifice fly got the job done.

We love pinch-hit doubles in this town. pic.twitter.com/ZHzHnmJvAh

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 26, 2021

ESPN's Jayson Stark noted this stat after the O's took the eighth-inning edge:

Breaking: Not only do the Orioles now hold a lead…

It’s the first time they’ve held a lead after the end of any inning later than the 3rd in over two weeks (since Aug. 8)!

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) August 26, 2021

The Angels went down in order in the ninth. The victory means the longest losing streak in MLB's modern era will stay at 23 games—set by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies en route to a 47-107 season.

The 1988 Orioles, who started their season 0-21, are second on that list. The 1969 Montreal Expos, the 1916 and 1943 Philadelphia Athletics and 1906 Boston Americans are tied at third with 20 losses apiece.

The Orioles are now 39-86 after the win.