Should Orioles call up Basallo in September? / MAILBAG

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.

Question: Any chance Samuel Basallo gets the Manny Machado treatment with a quick in-season call-up with little to no Triple-A time? We need to reduce the wear on Adley and three catchers would do that. Having seen his bat at Bowie, it is so advanced I think he could handle it. From: Bill Connor

Answer: Bill, Samuel Basallo has played just five games at Triple-A, and he’s only caught three. Machado was barely 20, like Basallo is, and playing third base, a new position, but catching in the big leagues is far different than catching in the minors.

I would be extremely surprised to see Basallo with the Orioles before the latter part of 2025.

Question: It’s no secret the Orioles’ offense was not as effective in August as in earlier months this year. Aside from Ramon Urias, and perhaps Anthony Santander with his home runs, it seems like almost all of the Orioles’ hitters struggled. What were the batting average and OPS stats for the individual Orioles for the month of August? From:  Rick Newell

Answer: Rick, the Orioles as a whole hit .231 with a .691 OPS for August, both season lows. Of six Orioles who played often in August, Urías had the highest batting average, .260 and OPS, .858. Santander had the lowest batting average, .198 with a .743 OPS. Adley Rutschman hit .229 with a .625 OPS, Gunnar Henderson .234 with a .705 OPS, Ryan O’Hearn .242 with a .658 .OPS, and Colton Cowser .234 with a .718 OPS