It’s time the Orioles gave Coby Mayo a real chance.

The Baltimore Orioles have been the most disappointing team in Major League Baseball in 2025.

After winning 192 games over the last two seasons, more than any other American League team, the Birds were expected to compete for a World Series.

A core of talented young stars was supposed to blossom into a dynasty and bring an end to the decades long championship drought in Baltimore.

Instead, Orioles fans have watched as injury after injury has derailed the team. To make matters worse, virtually every offseason addition they made has been a bust. Tomoyuki Sugano has been stellar, and Ramon Laureano has been solid, but no one else has performed anywhere near expectations.

The big-name players, Tyler O’Neill, Charlie Morton, and Gary Sanchez, have been bad. Morton has lost his spot in the rotation, and O’Neill and Sanchez are on the injured list.

The O’s are more than 10 games out of a playoff spot.

They’ve been one of the worst teams in all of baseball, fired their manager, and are still without numerous key players. With the team spiraling out of contention, now is the perfect time to give Coby Mayo the chance he deserves.

The Orioles’ No. 2 prospect and 17th-ranked prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline has already proven everything he can in the minor leagues.

In 2024, Mayo was a minor league All-Star, named to the All-MiLB First Team, and was voted the International League’s top prospect. The only thing left for him is the major leagues.

There’s no reason the Orioles should keep Coby Mayo in the minors

Mayo has had chances in the majors, and they have not gone well. In 21 games, Mayo has a .094/.186/.094 slash line with five hits (all singles) in 53 at-bats and zero RBIs.

Major league players need to be ready to go at all times, but it’s even harder to adjust to big league pitching without getting regular at-bats.

He’s still only 23 years old, so there’s time for growth. For comparison, Aaron Judge debuted at age 24 and played his first full season at 25. But the situation is just right to give Mayo a true chance.

Finding playing time for him has been a challenge. Jordan Westburg has built a home for himself at third and is likely the third baseman of the future for the Birds, but he’s injured.

Westburg is on the IL with his second hamstring injury this season and isn’t expected back for a few more weeks, having already suffered one setback in his recovery.

With all due respect to Ramon Urias and Emmanuel Rivera, they should no longer get playing time over Mayo. Both Urias and Rivera have been very good for the Orioles and deserve some time on the diamond, but they’re known commodities that don’t have the ceiling Mayo does.

If the Birds were playing around .500 baseball and looked like a team with the eye of the tiger, then sticking with Urias and Rivera until Westburg returns would be wise. But this is not the 2023 Orioles that were seemingly never out of a game.

There is still enough time this season to turn things around, but the odds are against it. Recalling Mayo now and letting him play every day would probably give him a month of regular playing time and consistent at-bats before Westburg is ready to return. Let’s see what the kid can do.