The Orioles have hired a new manager at Triple-A Norfolk.

Tim Federowicz will be the replacement for Buck Britton, who joined the Orioles’ staff as major league coach. He managed the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens in the Tigers’ system this summer.

Federowicz, 37, served as the Tigers’ catching coach in 2023 after managing the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers in the Mariners’ system the previous year. He retired as a player in December 2021.

The Red Sox drafted Federowicz in the seventh round in 2008 out of the University of North Carolina. He caught for six teams over parts of eight major league seasons, the first four with the Dodgers.

Orioles ties would develop later.

Later this month, the Orioles will present another Brooks Robinson Award to their Minor League Player of the Year. 

Coby Mayo is a strong candidate to get the hardware. Now ranked as the club’s No. 1 prospect with Jackson Holliday graduating from prospects lists, Mayo is ranked No. 9 in the national top 100 for both Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com.

In sizing up his 2024 season on the farm, where he played 87 games at Triple-A Norfolk and four on rehab for High-A Aberdeen, Mayo will admit his walk rate dropped a bit but also notes that his production numbers went up. He feels he made progress on defense, taking more groundballs than he can ever remember, he said.

Mayo told me recently that his strong finish at Triple-A in 2023 – he had an OPS of .905 in 62 games – provided confidence he would thrive there this year.

“I think starting in spring training this year, after the season I had last year, gave me a boost that I could have another good year,” he said. “Learned a lot at big league camp and playing well gave me a lot of confidence going into the Triple-A season that I could compete with the best.

Since he burst onto top 100 prospects lists during the 2023 season, O’s catching prospect Samuel Basallo became a marked man. Everyone knew his name and opponent pitchers worked hard to make their mark by getting him out.

He likes that actually.

“I embrace it. It’s a challenge and I like to compete. Guys fighting to get me out, I take that as a challenge. I look forward to the competition,” said Basallo, who we found out yesterday, is being promoted by the Orioles from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk. This was from an interview in July, right before he played in the All-Star Futures Game representing the Orioles and Bowie Baysox.

Now, 12 days after he turned 20, Basallo will become the youngest player in Triple-A when he takes the field tomorrow with Norfolk at Jacksonville. He has 24 games left to show his stuff at the minor’s highest level.

Basallo’s first two pro seasons, in 2021 and 2022, were in short-season ball. He began last year at Low-A Delmarva and after 83 games there he moved to High-A Aberdeen. After just 27 games with the IronBirds, he ended last season with four games at Bowie.

SEATTLE – No team in baseball had a lower batting average or fewer hits before tonight than the Mariners. They scored the fourth-fewest number of runs. The pitching staff held opponents to the lowest average, but the offense sputtered and stalled while a division lead shrank like cotton.

Exposure to a hot starter wasn’t going to make the situation more comfortable.

Grayson Rodriguez followed his seven-inning, two-run outing against the Guardians by tossing 6 1/3 scoreless in the Orioles’ 2-0 victory before an announced crowd of 36,173 at T-Mobile Park.

The Yankees lost to the Reds earlier today, giving the Orioles a one-game lead in the American League East.

Anthony Santander broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the fourth inning, and the Orioles (54-31) delivered a nice bounce back after Sunday night’s 11-2 loss to the Rangers on ESPN. They’ve won five of six and posted their seventh shutout.

As Orioles ace pitcher right-hander Corbin Burnes (9-3, 2.28 ERA) went on the paternity list today, it opened an opportunity for Triple-A lefty reliever Matt Krook to join the team.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Burnes will rejoin the team for Tuesday’s game at Seattle and then they will map out his next start. Today Krook was called from Norfolk to take his roster spot. A player can be on the paternity list for up to three games.

For now, Krook arrives for the first time on the O’s roster. At 29, Krook has spent a lot of time in the minors since being drafted in round four in 2016 by San Francisco.

His first chance at the majors came in four games for the Yankees in 2023 and he allowed 11 runs over four innings, pitching in games in June, July and September.

He was designated for assignment by New York on Feb. 13 of this year and traded five days later to Baltimore for cash considerations. This year at Triple-A Norfolk, he has gone 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA in 26 games over 26 2/3 innings with 17 walks, 31 strikeouts, a .200 average against and 1.35 WHIP.

When this baseball season began, Buck Britton, the third-year manager of the Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk Tides team, was 37. He turned age 38 on May 16, just six days after he recorded his 400^th win as a minor league manager.

The Orioles have the No. 1 ranked farm system in the majors and many people have had a hand in that. But to hear some players with the Orioles now that have played for Britton, he is a very big reason why.

His last season as a Triple-A player was in 2016, so he’s young enough to relate to current players, experienced enough to have seen a lot in a seven-season minor league career and savvy enough to know what he doesn’t know or had lesser knowledge of at one time. He brought himself up to speed with the data and analytics in the game and when you put it all together, Britton, as the Birds' Triple-A skipper, has a lot to offer the talented youngsters he works with daily.

“He’s a great manager,” said outfielder Kyle Stowers. “He has a good gauge of what is going on in the clubhouse and what guys need. How to get guys ready to go. He is willing to work with guys. I see him all the time getting in work with the infielders.

“His door is always open for anyone that needs to talk with him. I’ve spent quite some time with him now and really enjoy playing for him.”

CHICAGO - The lineup card posted on May 12 in Memphis was top-heavy in Orioles prospects. Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton had Jackson Holliday leading off, followed by Coby Mayo and Kyle Stowers. Connor Norby would have joined them except that he exited the game two nights earlier with a left wrist injury and didn’t play for a week. Heston Kjerstad was optioned on the 13^th, with Stowers taking his place on the major league bench. Otherwise, he, too, would have been an imposing part of the order.

Batting sixth and serving as the designated hitter was Terrin Vavra. Back from a brief injury rehab assignment. Back from the shoulder surgery that brought down a season that began with such promise.

Trading in a cloak of invisibility for a Tides uniform that he hadn’t worn in 11 months.

“It’s not the level necessarily that I have aspirations to play at,” he said earlier this week, “but it’s also where I was and where I wanted to get back to.”

The journey was painful and tested him physically and mentally.

On this date last year, O’s lefty Cole Irvin was pitching with Triple-A Norfolk trying to find his way back to the big leagues. A 10.66 ERA his first three starts got the veteran shipped back to the farm to figure it out.

He would end the 2023 season with an ERA of 4.42 for Baltimore, not great. But he did pitch to a 3.22 ERA from June 10 on last season, showing improvement and some promise.

But nothing like this.

Nothing like what he has shown during this 2024 season when he is 3-1 with a 2.86 ERA in six starts.

He has not been scored on since April 15 versus Minnesota. He pitched 6 1/3 scoreless Friday night at Cincinnati, his third straight scoreless start.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Lefty John Means made a fifth rehab appearance on the farm last night, pitching for Triple-A Norfolk. His next turn is likely to come Sunday and it’s possible that could be in Baltimore versus the Athletics.

While Corbin Burnes, Cole Irvin and Albert Suárez have been listed to go Friday through Sunday in that series, that is subject to change pending Means’ status.

“We’re talking about that right now,” manager Brandon Hyde said this afternoon. “He feels really good after that start. He gave up seven singles, they were not very well hit, the stuff is much improved. He’s really encouraged about how he felt during the outing and today.”

Means’ results have not been great in those five games with an ERA of 13.85 in 11 2/3 innings. But it's more about how he is feeling and his pitch quality and pitch count, which reached 79 last night. He could make another rehab start if the Orioles decide he needs that, or they could call him to Baltimore for the next one.

“It’s possibly Sunday, one more with Norfolk or with us. We’re discussing that now,” Hyde said.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Outfielder Heston Kjerstad, officially activated earlier today, is in tonight’s starting lineup for the Orioles batting eighth in right field. 

Ryan Mountcastle, who missed last night’s game with a sore left knee, could be back in that lineup very soon.

“Ryan is way better today,” manager Brandon Hyde said this afternoon in the visiting dugout. “He will definitely be available if we need him.”

As for Kjerstad, who is ranked as the No. 29 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 42 via Baseball America, he was tearing it up in 21 games with Triple-A Norfolk. He was batting .349/.431/.744/1.175 with four doubles, 10 homers and 30 RBIs. He went 8-for-16 his last four Tides games with three homers.

“Off to an unbelievable start in Triple-A. Huge power numbers,” said Hyde. “Hitting the ball hard to all fields. Just want him to come up here and try and contribute. We have a good lineup, but Heston has big-time power, so hopefully he can impact us offensively."

If the Orioles want to win their third straight series to begin the new season, they'll have to win this afternoon in Pittsburgh after a very tough loss there on Saturday.

The clubs have split the first two games and the Orioles lost 5-4 in 11 innings on Saturday. The Orioles were not doing much with Pirates' lefty Bailey Falter, who threw six scoreless on one hit but was pulled after throwing 78 pitches. The O's immediately got it going against the Pirates bullpen and when Jordan Westburg hustled home safely on a grounder to first base, the O's had tied it 3-3 in the ninth.

They went ahead 4-3 in the tenth on Adley Rutschman's sac fly. But Mike Baumann struggled to throw strikes as Pittsburgh tied it and the game went to the 11th. Oneil Cruz singled in the winning run to even up the series for the Bucs.

A tough, tough loss for the Orioles who got five innings with no earned runs allowed from their bullpen. 

But while the bullpen faltered late, the Baltimore offense produced just four hits in 37 at-bats and the hitters went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

PITTSBURGH – After pitching four times in a span of six games, Orioles reliever Yennier Cano stayed in the visiting bullpen yesterday until Oneil Cruz's walk-off single in a 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Pirates.

Cano is in All-Star form again in the early stages of the 2024 season. He’s tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his usual high-leverage role.

“Very impressed,” said Tim Cossins, who works as the Orioles field coordinator and catching instructor but is in the bullpen for games. “It’s kind of a continuation of what we saw last year. And the way he prepares and the way he goes day to day, it’s not surprising. He’s just one of those guys that’s super routine-oriented and super locked in.”

The finest work might have come in Cano’s most difficult outing.

The Royals put runners on second and third base with no outs Monday in the eighth inning of a tie game. What followed was a groundout with the infield in, an intentional walk, a popup and a called third strike on Nick Loftin.

We were probably impressed when the Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk farm team scored 39 runs in their first four games. Their top prospects were spraying line drives in the gaps and hitting baseballs over outfield walls.

As it turns out, the players on the top farm club for baseball’s No. 1 ranked farm system were just warming up.

Wednesday night, Norfolk scored 17 runs from the sixth through the eighth innings at Charlotte and set several team records in a 26-11 victory.

That was a franchise single-game record for runs, breaking the mark of 23 set April 13, 1982 when the Tides were a Mets affiliate. They would not become an O’s farm club until 2007. The Tides set team records with eight homers and 29 hits and Heston Kjerstad’s 10 RBIs is a team mark, two better than any Tide ever. The nine doubles tied a club mark.

So much for some of the top prospects there being too down after not making the Orioles' Opening Day roster.

This year when Corbin Burnes pitches for the Orioles a lot of eyes will be on their new ace pitcher. And some of them will be coming from his new rotation mates.

On Opening Day, Burnes walked none and fanned 11 over six very good innings where he gave up a Mike Trout homer in the first and then retired the next 16 batters he faced.

If they can get it in today through the raindrops, Burnes is scheduled to make his second O's start in the Orioles-Kansas City series finale.

The 2021 National League Cy Young winner has a lot to offer the Orioles and it’s more than just his own stat line and results.

Right-hander Tyler Wells said for the other young rotation pitchers, it’s a chance to watch and learn.

The Orioles (2-0), who had 10 series sweeps in the 2023 season, look for their first of the new season when they host the Angels (0-2) at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

It's the wrap-up game of a season-opening six-game homestand that continues Monday night when Kansas City visits the Yard.

The O's beat the Angels 11-3 Thursday and 13-4 last night. The O's have only trailed for a half-inning this year, when they were behind 1-0 after the top of the first Opening Day. They have scored two runs in each of their first-inning at-bats in this series.

They led 7-1 after the fourth inning Thursday and 3-1 on Saturday through five innings before they scored nine runs in the last of the sixth. The nine runs came before one out was recorded. Per Elias Sports Bureau, the O's had not scored nine runs in an inning before an out was made since at least 1957.

The 24 runs scored are the second-most the Orioles have scored in their first two games of a campaign in club history (25, 2006). On the mound, their 27 strikeouts are the most to begin a season since the team moved to Baltimore in 1954. The previous most was 23 in the 2016 season. 

What has been better for the Orioles so far, their starting pitching or their offense? Their starters have allowed two runs in two games with one walk and 20 strikeouts over 12 innings. The offense has produced 24 runs and 24 hits.

Flip a coin.

The Orioles go for a three-game sweep of the Angels today at Oriole Park after beating them 11-3 in the opener and 13-4 last night.

Leading 3-1 to the last of the sixth, the first nine O's to bat reached base and the Orioles scored nine runs before an out was recorded. 

Per Elias Sports Bureau, the O's had not scored nine-or-more runs in an inning before recording an out since at least 1957.

One of many good things about the fact the 2024 Orioles season has begun is that we will stop hearing about the Texas series and the Orioles being swept in the American League Division Series.

A new year thankfully leads to media asking less about that and the players certainly are glad to stop answering for it and about it.

“I use it for fuel a little bit. But that was last year and this is a new year,” the O’s Gunnar Henderson said this week, probably speaking for just about all of us.

After a 101-win season followed up by their convincing Opening Day romp over the Los Angeles Angels, the O’s are seen as World Series contenders for this season.

They are now the hunted and not the hunters, so to speak.

The Orioles today announced their minor league coaching and player development staff assignments for the 2024 season. Three full-season managers return, but two move to different affiliates.

Buck Britton will return for his third season as manager of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. In 2023, he led the Tides to a record of 90-59 as they won the International League championship and the Triple-A National Championship Game. Last year, he was the winner of the Orioles’ Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award.

Roberto Mercado moves up to Double-A Bowie to serve as manager after leading High-A Aberdeen the last two seasons. In 2022, he took Aberdeen to the playoffs and won the Ripken Sr. Award.

Felipe Rojas Alou Jr. will move up to manage Aberdeen. He has been with the O’s organization for 16 years and managed Single-A Delmarva the last two seasons.

Collin Woody will be a first-time manager, taking over at Delmarva. He served as a fundamentals coach the last two seasons in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.

The Winter Meetings wrapped up two weeks ago and the Orioles hadn't added anyone to their roster until trading for Royals pitcher Jonathan Heasley on Monday. The last deal was the $12 million paid to closer Craig Kimbrel in 2024, along with a $13 million option and $1 million buyout.

Exactly one year ago tonight, the Orioles and Mets swung a trade that provided a backup catcher to Adley Rutschman. James McCann was acquired for a player to be named later who became minor league first baseman/outfielder Luis De La Cruz.

The Mets assigned De La Cruz to their Dominican Summer League team. He didn’t play in 2023.

They also were responsible for $19 million of the $24 million owed to McCann, who had two years remaining on his contract.

McCann said he was Christmas shopping when contacted by his agent. The catcher was caught off guard.

It has been an interesting last 13 or 14 months for Orioles Triple-A pitcher Chayce McDermott. Last Aug. 1, he was acquired from Houston in a three-team trade that sent Trey Mancini to the Astros. Houston had drafted McDermott in 2021 in round four out of Ball State.

This season he advanced from Double-A to Triple-A in mid-July and ends his first full season in the organization named Saturday as the O’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year, winning the Jim Palmer Award.

Ranked as the club’s No. 10 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 14 via Baseball America, MLB Pipeline ranks him as the club’s top pitching prospect.

Late last season his life was uprooted by the trade, but this season ends with the Palmer award. Joining the Orioles has proven to be huge for McDermott, who turned 25 Aug. 22.

“I think people overlook sometimes that getting traded is very hard,” he said Saturday after the announcement of his award. “You get used to an organization and then you pick up and move. Meet new people, new coaches. But I feel like it was a super smooth transition, super easy. I love everyone in the Orioles organization, and they have been super helpful in my career. Now it just feels like I am part of the family.”