Baltimore Orioles Top Prospect Among Latest Round of Spring Roster Cuts

The Baltimore Orioles made their latest round of roster cuts on Tuesday, and one of the team's top prospects is among the group heading to Triple-A Norfolk.

Mar 13, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Coby Mayo (16) doubles against the Toronto Blue Jays in the second inning during spring training at TD Ballpark. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles announced their latest roster cuts on Tuesday as the organization continues to whittle down its spring training contingency with Opening Day just around the corner.

The group includes outfielder Daz Cameron, utility man Nick Gordon and pitchers Corbin Martin, Levi Stoudt and Thaddeus Ward.

Also among those cut are two of the top prospects in all of MLB in catcher Samuel Basallo (No. 13 according to MLB Pipeline) and infielder Coby Mayo (No. 14).

Basallo's cut prior to Opening Day is not a major surprise, as the 20-year-old is blocked from a full-time role at his natural position in Baltimore by Adley Rutschman, but Mayo's cut is somewhat unexpected.

The 23-year-old fourth round pick in the 2020 MLB draft struggled in his first taste of the Major Leagues in 2024, but he looked too advanced as a hitter during his time with Triple-A Norfolk, where he posted a .926 OPS and hit 22 home runs over 89 games last year.

“It definitely is difficult," Mayo told MLB.com beat reporter Jake Rill. "It obviously sucks, because you feel like you’ve proved everything you needed to. And sometimes, it doesn’t feel like it’s quite enough.”

Mayo produced a triple slash line of .191/.239/.262 in 17 spring training appearances, and he exited Monday's game after taking a pitch off the hand.

The Orioles likely hope Mayo will find a stroke at the plate that was not showing up in his spring training results like he did in 2024, but the third baseman does not see the opportunity in a positive light.

"You go back there and if you have success, it’s, ‘Oh, well he’s supposed to have success, because he’s already proved it," Mayo told Rill. "And if he doesn’t have success,’ it’s, ‘Oh, well obviously he’s fallen off.' It’s kind of a lose-lose going to Norfolk."