When will Orioles promote Basallo and Beavers? | MAILBAG

Question: Is there some clause in rookie status that is holding up Samuel Basallo’s and Dylan Beavers’ promotion? From: Rippley Watson

Answer: Rip, as you can imagine, this is a popular question. David Williams and Jack Lichenstein, among others, have the same question. The guess here is that Basallo’s promotion will come later this month in order to keep him eligible for Rookie of the Year consideration in 2026. A player can’t have 130 or more at-bats or accrue 45 days of major league service time and be eligible for ROY status.

If Basallo is with the team from the beginning of 2026 and stays with the Orioles for the year and finishes first or second in Rookie of the Year voting, the Orioles receive a draft choice. A player must be ranked among the top 100 prospects in two of these three services — MLB Pipeline, Baseball American and ESPN.com.

Basallo is ranked among the top 100 in each of these while Beavers is not. I would expect Beavers to come up within the next few weeks to give him a taste of the big leagues.

Question: Just wondering what your take is on the recent rash of waver claims? Head-scratchers for me. Don’t see the value or the strategy. From: Dan

Answer: Dan, I’m thinking they’re mostly depth pieces since the Orioles traded eight major league players last week and with all the injuries the team has, some of them, Vidal Bruján and Ryan Noda, are here in case of more injuries. They also claimed pitcher Carter Ragsdale from San Francisco.

With all the injuries the Orioles have had, it’s amazing how many players they’ve used.

Norfolk must have enough players to get through the remainder of their season, and some of these claims can fill out the Tides’ roster, too.

Noda can be optioned to the minor leagues, and Ragsdale already has been while Bruján can’t go to Norfolk without passing through waivers.

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.