Baltimore Orioles Boss Shares Insight on Coby Mayo Demotion

The Baltimore Orioles boss talked about how difficult it is to play at the big league level and more.

Mar 16, 2024; Sarasota, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles infielder Coby Mayo (86) scores a run during the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Ed Smith Stadium. / Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

The Coby Mayo experiment didn't last long for the Baltimore Orioles. Mayo made this debut on August 2 and was sent down after the Orioles game on August 14. He struggled at the plate mightily, going 1-17 in his first big league stint.

It's not unusual to see a rookie struggle when first called up. In fact, it's common.

Players around Major League Baseball are the best in the world for a reason and while many of these prospects look like players who could make an impact for their teams right away, it's almost impossible to actually do so.

As Baltimore discovered with Jackson Holliday, sometimes, even the best prospects need time to get used to the big leagues.

Mike Elias, the Orioles general manager, spoke with Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun about the Mayo situation, talking about how tough it is to come up and make an impact.

“It certainly feels that way, and I’m surprised now when they don’t struggle right away, especially the young ones,” Elias told The Baltimore Sun on Thursday.

If there's a team in baseball with players who understand how tough it is, it's Baltimore. Colton Cowser found that out the hard way last year, but he offered some advice about how much different the game truly is at the major league level.

“It’s a different environment coming up in a divisional race, trying to make a push for the playoffs,” said Cowser “And no matter how much people say it’s the same game, it’s not, between Triple-A and here. But I think it gets to the point where it does start to feel the same. That can take a little bit.”

Just because Mayo struggled this time around doesn't mean he won't get another chance in the near future.

If anything were to happen on the Orioles roster, there's a good chance that he'd be the first one called up. Rightfully so, too, as 17 at-bats isn't going to define his career in any sort of way. 

Elias said he understands that prospects likely won't convert right away, but he mentioned that it's tough to continue keeping players in Triple-A when they're producing. 

"We understand that it’s probably not going to convert right away, but I do think there’s a point in time where you put in your work in Triple-A... and so we maybe lean into calling up a kid when that opportunity presents itself even if we think he might struggle once he’s once he’s kind of earned the call-up. I think there’s some value to that.”

There have been some interesting decisions from Baltimore's front office regarding calling up and sending players down right away, but it's worked out in their favor so far.