Breaking down what Coby Mayo's exact future with the Orioles will be

As the Baltimore Orioles' offseason begins following a 75-87 finish, there are plenty of questions to be answered in the coming months. One important step in the process will be figuring out what roles the newest crop of players to establish themselves on the roster will play. Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers seem to be heading towards roster spots and considerable playing time after finding their first tastes of big-league success, but the question still remains for the 23-year-old Coby Mayo.

The Florida native has wrapped up his first extended stay in the majors with an unconvincing .217/.299/.388 line with 11 home runs and 28 RBIs. However, Mayo had noticeably picked up the offense in the waning games of the season and remains one of the youngest players on the roster. As Baltimore looks towards 2026, what role does Coby Mayo have to play in the season to come?

Coby Mayo's role with the Orioles may be determined by how 2026 goes

While the season long stats for Mayo are not what you would look for in a bat-first corner infielder, the performance he put up during the final games of the season was remarkable. In the month of September, he produced at a .301/.393/.548 line while hitting 5 of his 11 home runs for the season. This was good for a 165 wRC+ during the stretch, a mark that shows his incredible hitting performance was 65% above a league average bat. Mayo’s improvement demonstrates an increase in both power and in patience, as his walk rate increased from 8.6% before August 31st to 10.7% in the final month.

Looking into his advanced metrics, it’s clear the raw power is certainly there, as Mayo's average bat speed (74.7 MPH) is not only among the fastest on the Orioles roster alongside Gunnar Henderson, Samuel Basallo, and Ryan Mountcastle, but among the fastest in baseball period. It’s clearly not hard to see the upside in a player with the raw power potential of Mayo, so what was the culprit behind his early career struggles?

For starters, Mayo has had a very high K rate in his time with the Orioles in 2025, with 28.6% of his at bats this season ending via strikeout. While this is an improvement from an astronomical 47.8% in his limited major league time the year prior, it’s still significantly higher than average and was a facet of his game which did not improve in his recent hot streak. Additionally, concerns exist on the true sustainability of this hot streak in September, as a .386 BABIP suggests quite a bit of luck may have been involved in producing the lofty numbers seen above.

Combine all of that with the fact his average exit velocity actually decreased in September (82.6 MPH vs 89.1 MPH rest of season) and it’s easy to paint the picture that this recent stretch was nothing more than good luck in a limited sample. Overall, Mayo’s career to date has been filled with underwhelming hitting results, save for one very impressive stretch that could potentially be due to luck more than any on-field improvement. So what should we expect from the former top 100 prospect with the Orioles this coming season?

It is clear that the Orioles have faith the young slugger can find his footing in the majors in due time, as the team has now given him just over 300 major league at bats. The organization clearly still believes he has all the tools necessary to break out and reach the vaunted potential scouts have seen through his minor league career, and his closing stretch of games may offer a glimpse of that potential.

Taking all this into consideration, Mayo seems primed for an extended look at major league playing time at the beginning of the season. 2026 will certainly be an important season both for Mayo and the Orioles, as time is running out for both to truly cement themselves as the player—and team—they want to become.

With Mountcastle an impeding free agent, Basallo potentially projecting as a long term 1st baseman, and a front office looking to make big additions, there has never been a more pivotal year in Mayo’s young career than 2026 will be, and Birdland is excited to see how much the youngster can contribute to a team that is foaming at the mouth to return to the top of Major League Baseball. Whether the recent stretch of success for Mayo was a sign of things to come or merely a mirage, the Orioles seem prepared to find out the truth about Mayo on the field next season.