The Baltimore Orioles come back from the All-Star break looking to bounce back from a rough stretch, one that has seen them lose six of their last eight games and score two or fewer runs in five of their past six.
The Orioles are still in first place in the American League East but only by one game. A bounce-back stretch is necessary to pull away from the second-place Yankees, a team struggling just as much as the Orioles of late.
Former Orioles pitcher and MASN analyst Ben McDonald isn’t worried about the club’s ability to do so. He is hesitant to put a lot of weight into a short stretch in the midst of a 162-game season.
“These are the dog days of summer,” McDonald said on Glenn Clark Radio July 18. “The Orioles have played a lot. They’re banged up right now. I don’t want to judge them on a [small] sample size.”
He referenced Baltimore’s 1983 team, which won the World Series despite similar midseason struggles.
“The 1983 World Series champion Baltimore Orioles had two seven-game losing streaks mixed in that run that they [made],” McDonald said. “I would rather struggle now than … [limp] into the playoffs. I felt like I could see our offense going south last year when we got to the playoffs. I’d rather have those struggles now, rather the players go through this tough time right now. Hit the reset button a little bit and finish really strong down the stretch, because it’s all about how you’re playing when the playoffs get here.”
McDonald believes the most effective — and most likely — way to ensure this success is to bolster the starting rotation. He is confident in the one-two combination of Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez, but in his eyes, more is needed to be a World Series favorite come October.
“If I’m looking at this and trying to win the World Series this year, I’ve got to go get not just a starting pitcher, it’s got to be a top-three starting pitcher [in the rotation],” McDonald said. “It [also] has to be a pitcher that’s got some club control, because you’re talking about next year, and as you look at next year, there’s not a whole lot of starting pitchers under club control.”
The Orioles have repeatedly been linked to White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. McDonald likes Crochet but has concerns about the 6-foot-6, 245-pound lefty’s ability to contribute as a starter down the stretch. Crochet has thrown 107.1 innings so far this year, the first time he’s broken 70 in a season at the college or pro level.
“If I go get Crochet, I would have to put him in the bullpen this year,” McDonald said. “I wouldn’t mind doing that because I need a bullpen arm. And then next year, I can hit the ground running with him and he would be a starter for next year.”
He thinks Blue Jays veteran Chris Bassitt is an ideal target for GM Mike Elias and his front office. The former All-Star boasts a 3.52 ERA and has the durability to be an immediate workhorse down the stretch. He has thrown nearly 650 innings the last four seasons and hasn’t missed time since 2019.
Bassitt is also under contract until the end of the 2025 season.
“[Bassitt is] a veteran guy that’s had two of his best couple of years, the last couple of years,” McDonald said. “… I like a guy like that. I think he’d really slot in as a real No. 3 [pitcher], maybe it won’t kill your prospect list to go get him. And I think he’d be a big piece.”
Another way the Orioles can help their roster down the stretch is by tapping into their elite farm system, McDonald said. He thinks infield prospect Coby Mayo, who MLB Pipeline ranks as the team’s No. 3 prospect, should be the next man up. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound 22-year-old is tearing it up at Triple-A Norfolk. He has a .983 OPS and a team-leading 19 home runs through 65 games.
“I really thought Mayo was coming [before the All-Star break], just to inject a little bit of spark in this offense,” McDonald said. “Then maybe you send him back down, or he went 3-for-4, maybe he gets to stay a little bit longer.”
“Coby Mayo’s knocking, and he’s been knocking for a while,” the former right-hander added. “He’s got to get better if he’s going to play big league third base, that’s going to be his real spot. But he took a giant step forward from last year to this year. That’s a positive sign. But you can always plug him in at DH and at first base.”
To hear more from McDonald, listen to the full interview here:
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