2 Orioles who deserve promotion to MLB roster, 2 who should be sent to Triple-A

The Baltimore Orioles made headlines at the trade deadline, not just for who they acquired but more for who they parted with. What’s left is a roster in transition. Several veterans are gone, new opportunities are opening, and the franchise has no shortage of promising talent waiting in the wings.

Despite those changes, some of the team’s most exciting prospects remain stashed in Triple-A, while a few underperforming big leaguers continue to clog up roster space. With the stretch run offering the perfect chance to evaluate the future, the Orioles should stop hesitating and start rewarding performance, both good and bad.

Here are two players who’ve clearly earned a call-up, and two who shouldn’t be on the major league roster a moment longer.

2 Orioles who deserve a promotion to the MLB roster

OF Dylan Beavers

Seriously, where is Dylan Beavers?

The Orioles’ No. 3 prospect is doing just about everything short of showing up at Camden Yards with his own jersey. Yet the soon-to-be 24-year-old outfielder remains parked in Triple-A Norfolk while Baltimore continues to shuffle lesser bats through its big-league outfield.

Beavers has been electric all season long. Across 306 at-bats, the 6-foot-5 lefty is slashing an eye-popping .307/.421/.520 with a .941 OPS, 16 home runs, 70 runs scored, 46 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases. A complete offensive force. He’s flashing power to all fields, improved plate discipline, and plus speed on the basepaths. And more importantly, he’s doing it consistently.

With the Orioles having parted ways with Cedric Mullins and Ramón Laureano at the deadline, there’s no better time to give Beavers his shot. This isn’t about service time or development anymore, it’s about rewarding dominance and seeing what a potential future starter can do.

If this kind of production doesn’t warrant a call-up, what does?

C/1B Samuel Basallo

It’s not often a 20-year-old forces a franchise’s hand, but Samuel Basallo is a different story.

The No. 9 overall prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, Basallo has lived up to the hype. After a quick ascension through the Orioles’ minor league system, the young catcher now finds himself in Triple-A Norfolk, and if his bat is any indication, he won’t be there much longer.

Over just 68 games, Basallo is slashing .271/.382/.592 with 21 home runs and a .974 OPS. That kind of raw power and bat-to-ball skill from a player this young is rare. It’s even more rare when it comes from someone playing a premium defensive position. But Basallo is no longer just a future star, he looks ready to impact games now.

With the Orioles parting ways with veterans and positioning themselves to evaluate talent down the stretch, there’s zero reason Basallo should be held back. Whether it’s behind the plate, at DH, or even working at first base, to keep his bat in the lineup, Baltimore should be clearing a path.

2 Orioles who should be sent to Triple-A

1B/OF Ryan Noda

Let’s be honest, what are we doing here?

Ryan Noda is a placeholder, and everyone knows it. The 29-year-old first baseman hasn’t done anything to suggest he belongs on a big-league roster in 2025. After a decent rookie year with the Athletics in 2023 (.229/.364/.406, 16 HR, 54 RBI), Noda has fallen off a cliff. He hit just .137 in 2024, and across 16 games with the White Sox this season, managed an unsightly .088 average before the Orioles plucked him off waivers.

That pickup felt more like a flier than a future. But the problem? He’s here blocking legitimate talent from getting major league reps.

Noda may have gone 1-for-2 in his cameo since joining Baltimore, but don’t let that fool you. This isn’t a diamond in the rough. It’s a temporary body taking swings that could, and arguably should, be going to someone like Samuel Basallo, who not only represents the future but actually has the bat to impact games today.

If the Orioles are serious about evaluating talent and building something sustainable, Noda shouldn’t be standing in the way. He’s here for a good time, not a long time. And it’s time the organization stopped pretending otherwise.

IF Luis Vázquez

Luis Vázquez might be the quintessential Quad-A outfielder, too seasoned for Triple-A, but never able to stick in the majors. And yet, here he is in 2025, still occupying a spot on the Orioles’ major league bench.

In 25 games over the last two seasons, Vázquez is slashing a brutal .071/.100/.071 with just two hits and two RBIs in 30 plate appearances. He’s an offensive vacuum. Across eight minor league seasons, he’s hit .242/.312/.364 with 49 home runs in 572 games. Respectable numbers for an organizational depth piece, but nothing that suggests he belongs on this big-league roster.

If this isn’t a case of service time manipulation, it’s hard to see the logic. Are the Orioles really trying to convince anyone that Vázquez deserves at-bats over a surging prospect? If there’s a real reason, it’s not clear, and fans have every right to be frustrated.

Vázquez isn’t a developmental piece or a spark plug off the bench. He’s a stand-in, plain and simple. And every at-bat he takes is one fewer opportunity for the future of the franchise to get real experience. The Orioles can’t afford to waste the rest of this season pretending that placeholders are progress.

The Orioles have built one of the best farm systems in baseball, but the value of a top-tier pipeline comes from knowing when to tap into it. Right now, that means pulling the plug on placeholders and making room for players who can actually move the needle. Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo are knocking, and Baltimore shouldn’t waste another week letting their growth stagnate in Triple-A.

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