After an absence of five seasons, Frederick has returned as an Orioles affiliate. The Frederick Keys, which were an Orioles’ minor league team from 1989-2019, will return as the team’s High-A affiliate.
When the minor leagues contracted for the 2021 season, Frederick lost its affiliation and was replaced by Aberdeen.
The IronBirds will swap places with the Keys and are now part of the MLB Draft League.
“Fans are thrilled from what I’ve heard,” Keys general manager Slater Fuchs said. “The draft league was fantastic. It kept baseball in the town … From just talking to people around town, they’re like: ‘I’ve been waiting for this time to happen ever since 2021. Having the Orioles’ brand back really brings a new level here.”
The Keys will return to Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.
“Fans are going to notice a dramatically improved ballpark experience,” Fuchs said.
The Keys have expanded the concourse on both sides and have added a new hospitality area down the third base line and on the right-field line as well as two new tiered berms.
“The biggest thing you notice is that the concourses are double what they used to be,” Fuchs said.
Frederick always had enthusiastic fans, and Fuchs expects that will be case with the new Keys.
“I know fans had been clamoring to have affiliated ball back to see the Orioles’ future players that will be in Camden Yards.”
Fuchs thinks the Orioles might send rehabbing players to Frederick.
“Being able to see current Orioles players here brings a lot of excitement to the town,” he said.
Their manager will be Collin Woody, who played his last of three seasons in the Orioles’ organization with Frederick in 2018. His manager, the late Ryan Minor, also played with the Keys.
Woody spent the last two seasons as Single-A Delmarva’s manager.
Jordie Henry will be the Keys’ pitching coach. He was with Double-A Chesapeake in 2025 and with Aberdeen in 2024. Jake Ratz is Frederick’s hitting coach after a year with the Florida Complex League Orioles and two seasons in the Dominican Summer League.
Chase Sebby is Frederick’s fundamentals coach after two years in the same role at Chesapeake. Teegan Leader is the development coach after a year as hitting coach for the FCL Orioles.
The popular “Shake Your Keys” song after the seventh inning stretch will remain and so will free parking.
“Shake Your Keys is an institution here in Frederick. That is not going anywhere,” Fuchs said.
The top two minor league managers, Tim Federowicz at Triple-A Norfolk, and Roberto Mercado at Chesapeake return.
Federowicz is in his second season while Mercado is in his third season with the Baysox. He managed Aberdeen for two years before that.
The Tides have been the Orioles’ Triple-A team since 2007. The Baysox have been in the Orioles’ organization since 1993.
Norfolk has a new pitching coach, Jeff Ware, a Norfolk native, who pitched 18 games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1995 and 1996 and was the Blue Jays’ bullpen coach in 2023 and 2024.
Ware replaces Justin Ramsey, who spent four seasons with the Tides and six in the Orioles’ organization.
Rick Strickland, who was most recently the hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs’ Triple-A Iowa team, joins the Tides in that role.
Felipe Rojas Alou Jr. returns as fundamentals coach. He’s in his 19th season in the Orioles’ organization and has managed Delmarva and Aberdeen. Billy Facteau is back as the Tides’ development coach.
Mercado is joined by Josh Bunselmeyer in his third season as the Baysox’s hitting coach and Calvin Christiansen in his second season as development coach.
Ryan Goll, who managed Aberdeen in 2025, will be the fundamentals coach while Jeremy Hileman moves up from the Ironbirds to serve as Chesapeake’s pitching coach.
Single-A Delmarva, an Orioles’ affiliate since 1997, has a new manager for 2026. He’s Adonis Smith, who was Aberdeen’s development coach last year.
Bailey Vuylsteke is the Shorebirds’ new pitching coach. He previously spent two seasons in the Orioles’ Dominican Summer League. Collin McBride joins the Orioles’ organization as Delmarva’s hitting coach.
Aritz Garcia Goñi is the Shorebirds’ new fundamentals coach while Casey Buckley returns as development coach.
Christian Frias is back as manager of the FCL Orioles while Chris Madera and Elbis Morel return as managers in the Dominican Summer League.
Two longtime Orioles’ minor leaguers, Elio Prado and Noelberth Romero, who were both obtained in a trade from Boston for pitcher Andrew Cashner in July 2019, are transitioning from players to coaches. Prado will be a hitting coach.
Forrest Herrmann has been promoted to director of pitching.
Besides the previously reported hiring of Mike Shildt as upper level coordinator of instruction, Samuel Vega is lower level coordinator of instruction.
Mike Montville, who was Norfolk’s hitting coach last season, is upper level hitting coordinator, and former Orioles pitcher Thomas Eshelman, who was with the team from 2019-2021, is the upper level pitching coordinator.
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