Orioles news: Coby Mayo jettisoned back to Norfolk, plus a contract extension

On Thursday afternoon, the Orioles finally announced that they'd seen enough of third baseman Coby Mayo. The 22 year old struggled in his first taste of the majors, going 1-17 with just 3 walks and 10 strikeouts in 7 games. The O's have decided to drop him back down to Triple-A Norfolk and have recalled infielder Livan Soto to take Mayo's place in Baltimore.

Mayo certainly needs more time to adjust to major league pitching but with the Orioles locked in a tight division race with the Yankees, they can't afford to let the top prospect develop on the fly - they need immediate solutions.

In a bit of a surprise, Brandon Hyde hadn't been using Mayo in a strict platoon with Ramon Urias at third base. Mayo had actually gotten more plate appearances against same-side righties than against lefties but hadn't been competitive at the plate against either.

That said, Urias had drawn 4 of the last 6 games at third base heading into Thursday's matchup. Despite hitting .154/.185/.269 in August, Hyde had been letting the veteran draw the lion's share of playing time at the hot corner. If that's to continue, it might make sense to let Soto work in the backup role that he's more suited for, and let Mayo get every day reps down in the minors.

With infielders Jorge Mateo and Jordan Westburg due back from their respective trips to the IL in September, it's unclear whether Mayo will get another opportunity in the big leagues this season. He doesn't seem to have much left to learn at Triple-A, considering his .301/.375/.586 slash line and serviceable defense at both first and third base but the roster in Baltimore is crowded at the moment.

Announcer Kevin Brown earns a well-deserved contract extension

Also on Thursday afternoon, the Orioles announced that they had signed fan-favorite announcer Kevin Brown to a multi-year contract extension. Brown has with the Orioles' broadcast team for the past six seasons, serving as the primary play-by-play on MASN for the last three.

Brown was famously suspended by the Orioles last year after making a couple innocuous comments about the team's losses in prior seasons. Former owner John Angelos took offense to Brown's on-air comments about the team's performance at Tropicana Field and handed Brown an indefinite suspension.

Brown would only miss a couple games in August before being reinstated, but not before the entire league made a laughingstock out of Angelos for his thin skin.

Brown was openly thankful for the opportunity to remain in Baltimore, telling fans "Here's to many more nights of this thrilling team, this passionate fan base, and all the ballpark food I can reasonably eat."