What Coby Mayo's Spring Usage Really Says About His 2026 Role

As the Baltimore Orioles prepare for the 2026 season, one of their biggest storylines in spring training has been the white-hot bat of former top prospect Coby Mayo.

Mayo, 24, had struggled in his first taste of major league action in 2024 and 2025. Entering the new season, the young infielder has amounted -0.3 fWAR in 102 games with a .201/.285/.349 slash line and 81 wRC+, although he showed signs of the player he could become with a strong September last year.

This spring, Mayo is again flashing that untapped potential. Entering Friday, he is hitting .500 with a 1.195 OPS; of his 13 hits, four have gone for extra bases and one has left the yard. Mayo has yet to draw a walk and actually has a lower on-base percentage (.464) than his batting average, but he's also only struck out once. For a player who has struck out in 31.2% of his plate appearances at the big league level, Mayo's more aggressive swing decisions are yielding much better results.

Coby Mayo is on an insane heater right now.

He's 4-for-4 today with a 434-foot home run. He's spraying the ball to all fields with singles to LF, RF and CF.

He's 13-for-26 (.500) this spring with a 1.195 OPS. He's struck out only once in 28 plate appearances.

📽️: MASN pic.twitter.com/IDPeAgL4tg
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) March 10, 2026

It is worth mentioning that huge spring training performances are taken with a grain of salt, as they rarely correlate to eventual regular season performance. However, with the Orioles consistently giving Mayo reps at the plate and in the field, they clearly have bigger intentions for the 24-year-old this year.

Coby Mayo could be the Orioles' starting third baseman

Out of Mayo's 10 spring training games, the Orioles penciled him in at third base in nine of them. The youngster's glovework still needs work with three errors in just 49 innings at the hot corner, but Baltimore even threw Mayo at shortstop for an inning to further acclimate him to the left side of the infield.

Mayo had primarily played third base during his rapid minor league ascent, but spent most of last season at first base by playing 70 games there. With the Orioles signing Pete Alonso during the winter, first base is occupied permanently, especially with Alonso's renowned durability.

Coby Mayo making a play at third base.

His glove has gotten much better over the years, but his throwing remains the biggest question. pic.twitter.com/ZIKvdUAqz4
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) February 13, 2026

Third base is now open for Mayo again due to Jordan Westburg's elbow injury that will sideline him until May at the earliest. However, due to the severity of the elbow injury (a partially torn UCL), Westburg will almost certainly be played at DH upon returning, which keeps third base open for Mayo to play.

Mayo has one minor league option remaining, but based on his performance this spring as well as the value of roster flexibility, there is no chance Baltimore would send him to Triple-A Norfolk to begin the year.

With Opening Day less than two weeks away, Mayo has effectively become a lock on the Orioles' roster. After getting somewhat limited opportunities over the past two years, 2026 is the young slugger's biggest chance to prove himself as a full-time big leaguer, and his performance at the hot corner will go a long way towards deciding Baltimore's fate; if that unstoppable spring carries over, the Orioles' talented lineup will become even more deadly.

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