Baltimore Orioles prospect Coby Mayo issued a statement on Wednesday, a day after he drew criticism for his comments about being demoted.
Mayo on Tuesday was optioned by the Orioles to the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. He was frustrated over the demotion and said it sucked.
“It definitely is difficult. It obviously sucks, because you feel like you’ve proved everything you needed to. And sometimes, it doesn’t feel like it’s quite enough,” Mayo had said.
Fans would have been more sympathetic towards Mayo had he batted better than .190 in spring training this year, and better than 4-for-41 (.098) in a brief call-up to the majors last year.
The 2020 fourth-round pick has played at Norfolk two years in a row and hit well there, so that factors into his disappointment. He batted .287 with 23 doubles and 22 home runs in Triple-A last season.
A day after his comments circulated, Mayo addressed matters.
“The comments I made yesterday to the media after being optioned were by no means directed to the Orioles Organization or the Norfolk Tides. I will be the first to tell you I didn’t do enough this spring to break camp with the big league team. I was frustrated in the moment and things were taken out of context,” Mayo wrote in his statement.
“As a competitor this has lit a fire in me and I will make sure I work even harder to get back to the big leagues and help the team win games as soon as possible. I will never settle for anything less than the best version of myself.”
— Coby Mayo (@cobymayox) March 20, 2025
In 151 career games at the Triple-A level, Mayo has batted .279 with 38 doubles and 34 home runs. He has performed well at Norfolk, which explains why he wouldn’t want to begin the season there. But his bad results in a limited call-up last year and in spring training this year, seem to prove he needs more time to develop. Mayo has hit some monstrous home runs, so fans are looking forward to seeing him at the Major League level eventually.
