Mountcastle on his Orioles’ career: ‘I’ve loved my time here’

NEW YORK—When Ryan Mountcastle played his first game for the Orioles, it was during the pandemic season of 2020. On Sunday, the senior  member of the team might have played his final game with the team.

Mountcastle was the Orioles’ designated hitter on Sunday, going hitless in four at-bats, finishing the season with a .250 average and .653 OPS, seven home runs and 35 RBIs.

Mountcastle was the 36^th overall pick by the Orioles in 2015 draft and has seen dozens of teammates come and go. He isn’t reluctant to cite many as being special to him.

“All my coaches have been great, all my teammates,” he said on Sunday. “I’ve made a lot of close friendships with a lot of guys that have come and gone. There are almost too many I feel like.”

It’s hard to believe that Mountcastle is only 28, but he’s a year away from free agency, and the Orioles have two younger players — 23-year-old Coby Mayo, who hits right-handed, as Mountcastle does, and 21-year-old Samuel Basalllo, a left-handed hitter who can play first when he’s not catching.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino tutored Mountcastle when he was infield coach and is an admirer.

“It’s going to be one of the all-time favorite players I’ve ever worked with in terms of his growth,” Mansolino said. “He went from being positionless to being a frontline defender in this league. He’s a guy that still hasn’t tapped into his immense potential offensively. I think we’ve seen glimpses of it. I’m still hopeful he’s going to find it in himself.”

Mountcastle set a team record as a rookie with 33 home runs in 2021, a year he also had 89 RBIs.

His numbers have trended down since then. This year, he played in only 89 games because of a hamstring injury that sidelined him for two months. When he came back on August 8^th, the Orioles had decided to give Mayo an extended audition at first.

Since then Mountcastle has started only seven times at first, and not since September 15^th. He doesn’t complain about losing so much time to injuries.

“That’s what happens in professional sports,” he said. “You get hurt. Everything’s not always going to go your way. It’s sort of how you respond to that.”

The Orioles could try to find a trade partner for Mountcastle or simply not offer him a contract for 2026. He said that wasn’t on his mind on Sunday morning.

“Wasn’t too crazy. I just woke up and got ready for the game today, and whatever happens after that happens,” Mountcastle said. “I just try to be where my feet are at. I can’t control things that happen. I’m excited to spend today with the guys and just enjoy it.”

Mountcastle said he’s thoroughly enjoyed his time with the club. When he came up, they were a losing team. In his big rookie year, they lost 110 games.

“It’s been awesome. I made really close friends, almost like family to me,” he said. “I’ve loved my time here.”

When pressed, Mountcastle did mention Trey Mancini and reliever Hunter Harvey as particularly special.

“When I came up, Mancini was a really good guy for me to just talk to and get to know the game,” he said. “I’ve had really close friends come through there. I’ve a lot of guys on the team right now. Harvey was one of my really good friends coming up.”

His biggest thrill? “Probably going to the playoffs for the first time in ’23. That was a lot of fun and really enjoyable for me,” Mountcastle said.

His manager only wishes good things for him.

“You’re hopeful that it’s in the organization that raised him and helped lead him to the initial success in this game, but just like coaches, this business is tricky,” Mansolino said. “It’s tricky on players, too. There’s nothing guaranteed in this game for anybody, whether you’re a coach of a player. I hope that Mounty finds a home. I hope that it’s here. If it’s not, I hope it’s somewhere else.

“There’s going to be a lot of people interested in the guy because of the skillset, because of the potential, because of some of the results he’s had in this game. He’s been a really integral part of this organization, turning into a winning organization, going through the lean years. It’s somebody that I love and somebody that I’m really proud of.”

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.