CLEVELAND – The Orioles circled their infield tonight with players drafted by the organization, including their catcher, the lone member of the group to play in college. Two-thirds of the outfield also was homegrown.

Five prospects ranked in the top 10 have debuted this season. The present has caught up to the future, and it’s going to take a group effort to make a deep postseason run.

They need to get there first.

Coby Mayo drew two walks in his first major league game and Jackson Holliday was productive at the bottom of the lineup, but the Orioles couldn’t climb out of a seven-run hole and lost to the Guardians 8-4 at Progressive Field.

The Orioles are 65-46 and can’t do any better than a split of the four-game series. They began the night tied with the Yankees for first place and nothing changed.

CLEVELAND – Coby Mayo had his suspicions.

He was told to get his passport sent to him, but that’s common among the Triple-A players. Everyone is supposed to keep it handy. Norfolk manager Buck Britton removed him from the game in the eighth inning. A big lead, though, so perhaps it meant nothing. Mayo didn’t want to make assumptions.

“He told me that I had six at-bats and it was a long game and he just wanted to get me off my feet,” Mayo said this afternoon, back on his feet at his clubhouse locker at Progressive Field. “You always want to speculate a little bit, but you never want to get too ahead of yourself.”

Did he?

“Of course,” he said, eliciting laughter in his first media scrum as a major leaguer.

CLEVELAND – The prospect watch has lost another participant. Coby Mayo officially is in the majors.

The Orioles selected Mayo’s contract today from Triple-A Norfolk, filling the one vacancy on the 40-man roster. Livan Soto was optioned as the corresponding move on the active roster, a day after he was recalled and met with the local media.

Mayo was told yesterday to have his passport overnighted, but he didn’t find out officially about his promotion until his removal from last night’s game in Charlotte. He went 4-for-6, came out in the eighth inning and received the news from manager Buck Britton. He boarded a flight this morning to Cleveland.

The move was inevitable for the No. 3 prospect in the system. Mayo, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft, was batting .301 with 22 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 61 RBIs and a .961 OPS despite missing a month with a rib injury sustained in a collision with a dugout railing.

Injuries pulled Mayo out of the minors. Jorge Mateo has a dislocated left elbow and Jordan Westburg has a fractured right hand, and their absences will extend deep into September. Mayo can play third base, where Westburg made 64 starts this season. He’s another right-handed bat for a team that wanted to correct its imbalance.

CLEVELAND – The Orioles made a series of roster moves this afternoon leading into their four-game series against the Guardians at Progressive Field.

Jordan Westburg was placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right hand, and the Orioles recalled Livan Soto from Triple-A Norfolk. Westburg could return by late September. Soto is wearing No. 73.

Outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez has joined the club after the Orioles acquired him from the White Sox at the deadline and he’s wearing No. 72. Heston Kjerstad was optioned again to Triple-A Norfolk.

Kjerstad is batting .301 with a .998 OPS, 14 doubles and 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 56 games with Norfolk, but his opportunities remain limited in the majors.

Outfielder Austin Slater, acquired from the Reds, was activated and given No. 15. Reliever Keegan Akin was optioned.

It’s been said that “baseball is a game of inches.” Sometimes it’s less than that.

To hear Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser tell it, a ½ inch is making a difference for him. He cites two things that have helped turn his bat around. He is raking now with a 13-game hitting streak since the All-Star game.

A nice mental reset at the break helped and so too has using a bigger bat, one a bit heavier and one that is 34 inches. A bit longer than the 33 ½ inch model he previously used.

Going into the All-Star break, Cowser was 4-for-31 (.129) with 12 strikeouts his last 10 games.

Coming out of the break he's been on a roll and his hitting streak was extended Wednesday afternoon with a homer and single. Over the 13 games he is batting 19-for-50 which is .380/.429/.660/1.089 with two doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs.

The immediate takeaway from the Orioles’ work at the trade deadline is how they went hard after quantity and also feel like they improved the quality of their rotation and bullpen and the depth of their right-handed hitters.

They really didn't skimp on the quantity.

They were as busy adding players as the Marlins were subtracting them. The flurry over the last 15-20 minutes made the evening a blur. Blizzard conditions in 90-degree heat.

The Orioles didn’t get overly aggressive and go for the trade kill, keeping top prospects who would have netted an elite starter. And I’ll say again that they weren’t dealing those guys, no matter how many rumors swirled and reports surfaced about aggressive pursuits.

How aggressive are talks if they don’t include Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Samuel Basallo or Colton Cowser?

For the Orioles, the high they felt of winning 10-4 today at Camden Yards as Jackson Holliday hit a grand slam to lead the O's past the Blue Jays lasted briefly. The attention immediately turned to Jordan Westburg, who was hit in the hand with a fastball.

A team that has lost pitchers Tyler Wells, John Means and Kyle Bradish for the year and hopes to get Danny Coulombe back late in the year, and recently saw Jorge Mateo also get hurt, lost infielder Westburg. He will miss significant time after getting hit in the right-hand today by a 95 mph fastball in the fifth inning from righty reliever Yerry Rodríguez. He fractured his right hand.

Westburg, who has made starts at second and third, has batted .269 with 25 doubles, five triples, 18 homers, 58 RBIs and a .815 OPS in 101 games.

“All-Star player,” said manager Brandon Hyde, who hopes Westburg can make it back before the end of the regular season. “So, injuries are a part of the game. We have to pick up the pieces for him. We’ve got to play well. He is a huge part of our lineup, our culture, really everything. He’s right in the middle of everything and so we have to have other guys kind of step up in his place and fill the void.”

During the same series when catcher James McCann was hit in the face by a pitch Monday suffering multiple nasal fractures, now the O’s lose Westburg.

On the first full day after the trade deadline, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias expressed optimism that his roster was “fortified,” his pitching staff improved and that his team has “as good a shot as anybody.”

This morning the O’s began the process of retooling their roster after the flurry of deadline trades for the stretch run and trying to turn a recent small stretch of winning into a larger one.

With three wins in their past four games scoring 29 runs, the O’s took the field amid the Baltimore sunshine today looking for yet another American League East series win.

Ryan Mountcastle’s two-run triple to right in the last of the first got the Orioles off to a good start. They built an early 3-0 lead.

The deadline deals opened the door for Jackson Holliday’s return to this team. He electrified the crowd today when his first major league homer was a grand slam in the last of the fifth. It opened an 8-3 lead and led to a Holliday curtain call. The crowd was on its feet and roaring for Holliday, who went 2-for-34 with the Orioles in 10 April games.

Trade deadlines are supposed to address questions and deficiencies with the roster for a team in buyer mode. There are always questions, however. The work gets done and explanations are sought. Why do this and that? Is the club actually better than the previous model?

And about those rumors.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias met with the media for about 23 minutes today in the home dugout. He’s pleased with the results, which netted starter Zach Eflin from the Rays for minor league pitcher Jackson Baumeister, infielder Mac Horvath and outfielder Matthew Etzel, reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache from the Phillies for outfielder Austin Hays, starter Trevor Rogers from the Marlins for second baseman Connor Norby – who was optioned to Triple-A this morning – and outfielder Kyle Stowers, outfielder Eloy Jiménez and cash from the White Sox for Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Trey McGough, outfielder Austin Slater, infielder Livan Soto and cash considerations from the Reds for cash considerations, and left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Phillies for Double-A pitching prospect Seth Johnson and High-A Aberdeen pitcher Moisés Chance.

According to a source, there won’t be a player-to-be-named later in the deal with Cincinnati. Straight cash.

“Trade deadline’s always tough,” Elias said. “It’s always bittersweet trading players for other players. It’s not a one-way street. You’re losing talent but you’re getting different talent that’s a different fit and more of a short-term concentration for the needs of the team. We added two starting pitchers that are going right in our rotation, we added two really hard throwers with success in the major leagues for a long time – one from the left side, one from the right side. And we added a couple of right-handed bats which were especially necessary in the outfield with Austin Hays being gone. So I think that the roster is very fortified.

Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday is back with the team today and about to play in a big league game for the first time since April 23. He said he feels more prepared this time around and his arm is fully ready after a bout with right elbow inflammation.

The 20-year-old Holliday went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts in 10 games in his first time in the bigs.

“Just going to enjoy it,” Holliday said this morning in the Baltimore clubhouse which gets an influx of new talent after the trade deadline. “Enjoy being here and being present. Feel like last time it was all a blur. Just glad to be up here and enjoy every moment with these guys and have fun.

“It was obviously sad to go back down. But got to go down there and make some adjustments and improve a little bit and set myself up for the second time around. Glad to be here.”

Holliday indicated the adjustments he made were minor. He told me he has not eliminated his high leg kick, which some questioned whether that would impact his ability to hit premium velocity. That part didn’t change.

The Orioles recalled Jackson Holliday this morning and he’s starting at second base to close out the series against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Left-hander Gregory Soto was activated and is wearing No. 65. Catcher Blake Hunt and infielder Terrin Vavra were optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Hunt is on the taxi squad.

Also, right-hander Levin Stoudt cleared waivers and was outrighted to Double-A Bowie.

Another slow day for the Orioles.

Holliday took ground balls at second this morning. He’s batting eighth.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled 2B/SS Jackson Holliday from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Activated LHP Gregory Soto. He will wear No. 65.
• Optioned C Blake Hunt to Triple-A Norfolk.
• Optioned INF/OF Terrin Vavra to Triple-A Norfolk.

Additionally, RHP Levi Stoudt has been outrighted to Double-A Bowie. 

In the end Garrett Crochet was not traded to the Orioles or anybody. Neither were Tarik Skubal or Blake Snell.

The O’s added four pitchers – two starters and two relievers – one each throwing left and right. But they didn't get any of the big three.

There were no blockbuster deals and no elite prospects were moved. The highest-rated prospect they traded was infielder Connor Norby, ranked No. 5 by MLBPipeline.com.

The O’s rotation, in some order, now likely consists of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and lefty Trevor Rogers.

The O’s added Rogers yesterday for Norby and Kyle Stowers who went to Miami where reportedly Stowers will get a lot of playing time and Norby went back to the farm to work on playing third base.

The roster reshaping by the Orioles isn’t over.

No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday is headed to Baltimore, multiple sources have confirmed. He could join the active roster before Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Blue Jays or accompany the team to Cleveland before he’s officially recalled.

Holliday was removed from tonight’s lineup, as MASNsports.com reported earlier, following the Connor Norby trade that also sent outfielder Kyle Stowers to the Marlins in exchange for left-hander Trevor Rogers.

This will be Holliday’s second stint in the majors. An unpopular camp cut, Holliday had his contract selected on April 10 and he went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts before the Orioles optioned him April 26.

Holliday missed almost two weeks with right elbow inflammation and was eased back into action as the designated hitter before returning to second base. He’s batting .271/.431/.477 with 25 doubles, 10 home runs, 38 RBIs, 75 walks and 77 strikeouts in 73 games.

For the first time since they drafted him No. 1 overall in 2022, you hear fans open to trading one of baseball’s best prospects in Jackson Holliday.

I don’t have a vote or say here in anything and neither do fans, but I do have an opinion. And I still see Holliday as an untouchable.

While he may have lost his No. 1 prospect status with some outlets, that is fine. He did go 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts for the Orioles in April.

Once it started going south for him with the O's, it stayed that way.

He looked overmatched for whatever reason. This will sound like an excuse but some players coming up from Triple-A Norfolk agreed with an opinion that while Holliday was getting every pitch out of the zone called a ball against him in Triple-A with the ABS system, that changed in the majors. He seemed to be down 0-2 every at-bat. He took some pitches that may have been called balls by the computer but were strikes in the bigs. 

ARLINGTON, Texas – Time to get back to work.

The All-Star break was more restful to some players than others, but it offered a needed reset for a team that’s 9-13 since leaving the Bronx on a high note.

The Orioles worked out last night at Globe Life Field, where Corbin Burnes, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg played in the All-Star Game. Burnes is rejoining the club after flying back to his Arizona home that night.

Whether the Orioles repeat as American League East champions is probably the top question hanging in the air. They’d need to experience a monumental collapse to finish outside the playoff field, but yes, it’s a mathematical possibility.

We’ll lump those two together. Do they make the playoffs, and if so, are they atop the division?

In some circles, after his struggles earlier this year in the majors with the Orioles, Jackson Holliday’s prospect status may have taken a bit of a hit. Whether it was just that other players deserved to move up or Holliday dropped a bit, he fell to second twice this season on the Baseball America top 100 list.

But he has remained No. 1 all season on the MLBPipeline.com top 100.

In June, Baseball America rated Pittsburgh right-hander Paul Skenes No. 1. He graduated from the list, however, and in an update released just days ago the publication rated Washington Nationals outfield prospect James Wood No. 1 and Holliday No. 2. Wood, who produced an OPS of 1.058 at Triple-A this year, was promoted to the majors July 1.

But Holliday, for now, remains at Triple-A and atop the MLBPipeline rankings.

Analyst Jim Callis from MLB.com and MLBPipeline.com said he didn’t see Holliday losing any prospect status, even after his 2-for-34 with the Orioles from April 10-23.

The Orioles announced today that they signed first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper to a minor league contract. He’ll report to Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday.

Cooper, 33, appeared in a combined 36 games with the Cubs and Red Sox and batted .206/.267/.299 with five doubles, one triple, one home run and 11 RBIs. He’s played for five teams in the majors beginning in 2017 with the Yankees and hit .265/.333/.427 in 517 games.

Cooper was an All-Star with the Marlins in 2022. Three years earlier, he batted .281 with 16 doubles, 15 home runs, 50 RBIs and a .791 OPS in 107 games.

Last season, Cooper hit a combined 17 home runs with 61 RBIs in 123 games between the Marlins and Padres.

The Red Sox acquired Cooper from the Cubs in April for cash considerations and released him 11 days ago.

NEW YORK – The list of injured Orioles pitchers keeps growing, along with the worries over how the team will move forward and stay upright.

Kyle Bradish underwent Tommy John surgery this morning in Arlington, Texas, with an internal brace part of the reconstructive procedure. And high-leverage reliever Danny Coulombe had bone chips removed from his left elbow yesterday in Los Angeles, with an optimistic return date of September.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias met with media at Yankee Stadium earlier today to provide the updates.

Dr. Keith Meister handled Bradish’s procedure, which is a little more complex than his work with John Means and Tyler Wells. It’s reconstructive rather than a repair, which likely leads to the usual 12-to-18 month recovery, but the brace brings additional support and makes in a hybrid.

Bradish was diagnosed in January with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and received a platelet-rich plasma injection. He made eight starts after his reinstatement from the injured list and posted a 2.75 ERA and 1.068 WHIP with 53 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings.

Dean Kremer is ready for his rehab assignment.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Kremer will pitch Sunday afternoon for Triple-A Norfolk, which hosts the Memphis Redbirds.

Kremer threw another bullpen session yesterday and has recovered from the strained right triceps that forced him onto the injured list retroactive to May 21.

The length of the rehab isn’t known but Hyde said he’s hoping Kremer can go “four-ish innings.”

“We’ll see how it goes from there. Hopefully it goes well,” Hyde said.