Coby Mayo On Triple-A Demotion: ‘It’s Kind Of A Lose-Lose’

Orioles prospect Coby Mayo will have to wait a bit longer to break through Baltimore’s well-documented glut of hitters. The club optioned MLB’s No. 29 prospect to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday after he hit .190/.239/.262 through 46 plate appearances this spring. Even with stronger results, Mayo likely faced an uphill path to regular playing time competing with the likes of Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Urias and Heston Kjerstad for some kind of corner or designated hitter role.

“It’s definitely difficult,” Mayo told reporters. “It obviously sucks because you feel like you’ve proven everything you’ve needed to. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s quite enough. Obviously you go back there and if you have success, it’s “Oh, he’s supposed to have success because he’s already proven it,’ and if he doesn’t have success, it’s ‘Oh, well, obviously he’s fallen off.’ It’s kind of a lose-lose going to Norfolk.”

This will be Mayo’s third stint in Norfolk and he owns a .279/.376/.543 line with 34 homers in 151 games at the level. He struggled to translate his plus-plus power into results a big league cameo last year, hitting .098 with 22 strikeouts in 46 plate appearances, and also faces some questions about whether he can stick at third base in the long-term. Now, he’ll head back to Triple-A in the hopes of answering them — and applying some pressure on the Orioles to find a way to carve out a permanent role for him either in Baltimore or another organization.