Orioles player of the week: From the last man on the roster to the star of the team

When the 2024 season began, the Orioles roster was loaded with talent and the farm system was bursting at the seems. With a star studded infield already in Birdland and guys like Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo lying in wait, it was almost a surprise that Ramon Urias even made team out of spring training. Many believed that he was only a place holder because there wasn't a spot open for Mayo and it would be better to let him play everyday in the minors rather than sit on the bench in Baltimore.

Fast forward to August and you see the Orioles infield in a very different situation. Their All-Star third baseman Jordan Westburg is on the IL with a broken hand, Mayo struggled in his first chance in the majors before returning to Triple-A, Jorge Mateo is on the IL with an elbow injury, and Connor Norby is a Miami Marlin. To quote Mariah Carey "Then a hero comes along".

With Westburg going down, the Orioles turned to Urias to hold down the everyday third base job and he delivered. After a slow start to the month, Urias has gotten better and better as the month has gone on. Only an injury to his ankle would slow him down.

Urias started the week off with a bang in Las Angeles against the Dodgers. With one out in the fifth inning and Jackson Holliday on first, Urias blasted a Jack Flaherty slider over the left field wall. The two run shot gave the Orioles a one run lead that they would hold onto to take the first game of the series.

The hot hitting continued the next day for Urias with a two hit performance, including an RBI double in his first at-bat. Urias later came around to score on a sacrifice fly from James McCann. He reached base two more times, getting hit by a pitch in the fourth inning and singling in the sixth, but got thrown out at second base each time.

The thin air in Coors Field didn't seem to bother Urias as he started that series with another two hit performance. In the top of the fourth inning Urias laced a ball down the left field line for what should have been a double, but Eloy Jimenez was thrown out trying to go from first to third due to a base running blunder. Even though Urias wound up at second base, by rule he could only be credited with a single. Urias did come around to score on Emmanuel Rivera's first Orioles home run two batters later.

In game two of the series, Urias' luck ran out. First, he narrowly escaped injury when a 94 mph sinker from Ryan Feltner just grazed his nose (Urias would come around to score on a Ryan O'Hearn single), then a freak injury, as Urias rolled his right ankle while covering third base on a stolen base attempt and was forced to leave the game. He was later seen on crutches and placed on the IL the following day.

Even though Urias was forced to miss Sunday's series clincher over the Rockies, he still had a great week. He slashed .333/.474/.600 with a 1.074 OPS, a double, a home run and four RBI's. O'Hearn had this to say about Urias, "Ramón has been, I don’t want to say carrying us, but close to it over the last week or so, and then maybe even more going back".

Urias is a big loss for an Orioles team that has been fighting through incredible adversity. He should be eligible to return for the series in Detroit. The guy who was arguably the last man on the roster when they broke camp earns a late season player of the week nod.