More on McDermott starting and Mayo waiting for his own debut

Let’s begin the day by trying to figure out what the Orioles are doing with their rotation. And why.

Chayce McDermott was on the 24-hour taxi squad yesterday in Miami and the Orioles withheld an announcement on tonight’s starter. Albert Suárez started last night, and he limped off the mound with assistant athletic trainer Patrick Wesley in the third inning after a 102 mph ground ball slammed off his lower right leg. Corbin Burnes is listed for Thursday afternoon and that’s set in stone, but tonight remained TBA prior to first pitch.

Oh, the drama.

(Burnes has gone at least six innings while allowing no more than four earned runs in his last 15 appearances, the longest streak by an Oriole since Dennis Martinez in 1978, per STATS).

The choices seemed to come down to McDermott tonight or maybe Cole Irvin returning to the rotation and McDermott having his contract selected and going into the bullpen. The 40-man roster is full, so space would need to be cleared.

Manager Brandon Hyde and his staff want to give Burnes an extra day of rest, and they’ll do the same with Grayson Rodriguez, who apparently gets pushed back to Friday night against the Padres at Camden Yards.

The Orioles wouldn’t summon McDermott from Triple-A Norfolk and fly him to Miami just to spend a day with them and head back. Like he needed to work on his tan. This isn’t Connor Norby being in town in case a position player had to go on the injured list.

“We’re gonna kind of see how tonight goes,” Hyde said in his pregame media session that aired on MASN, “and then make a determination after tonight’s game.”

It’s official. McDermott is starting.

All signs pointed to McDermott making his major league debut with the Orioles deciding to stick with a five-man rotation rather than using the off-day to delay it. Cade Povich can’t be recalled because he was optioned July 13 and isn’t eligible to return until Saturday unless he’s an injury replacement.

McDermott posted a 3.96 ERA in 20 games with Norfolk and he averaged 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings. His 129 strikeouts led the minors. That’s the good. He was walking 5.3 per nine innings. That’s the concern.

High walk rates usually don’t plummet after reaching the majors, though we like to point at Félix Bautista as an exception.

McDermott was up and down this month while staying with one team. He allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, with three walks and 12 strikeouts, on July 1, and followed with four runs and two hits with three walks in one-third of an inning. He shut out Memphis on one hit over 6 2/3 innings, with four walks and seven strikeouts.

The Orioles shortened their Triple-A starters coming out of the break and McDermott worked only one inning Friday. He allowed three earned runs and four total with four hits.

“He’s had some really good moments in Triple-A this year,” Hyde said. “He’s had a little bit of a rocky road. His last time out wasn’t his best, but the stuff is there. It’s all about the strike-throwing ability and he’s going to get his chance sometime soon.”

Tonight puts McDermott on normal rest, so the timing is right in that regard. This can serve as an audition, with the chance to stick as Povich did for a while or be one-and-done.

Here’s another reason why the timing makes sense:

Going into last night – and yes, I know what happened - the Marlins ranked 24^th in the majors with a .234 average, 29^th in runs scored with 350, 29^th with a .287 on-base percentage, 29^th with a .356 slugging percentage, 29^th with a .643 OPS and last with 83 home runs. They have the worst record in the National League.

He ain’t being thrown to the wolves.

They aren’t even the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Povich made his debut in Toronto, which isn’t an easy venue or lineup. Then, he had the Braves, Yankees in the Bronx, Guardians and Rangers to close out June. A start in Oakland seemed like a reprieve, which proved to be quite the opposite. His last start was a rematch with the Yankees.

I’m not saying the Marlins will be pushovers. This is the majors, and they jumped Suárez early last night. But it seems like a way to ease him in.

McDermott would be the fifth Oriole to make his major league debut this season. Name the others. Answer below.

Meanwhile, the trade deadline can impact Coby Mayo beyond whether he’s packaged in a deal.

(I still expect him to remain in the organization past July 30. Prove me wrong.)

Mayo wasn’t in Miami yesterday, instead staying with Norfolk for the team’s scheduled game against Jacksonville that was rained out. The timing of a major league debut would have been sweet with Mayo being a native of Coral Springs who grew up in Parkland.

Jorge Mateo exited last night’s game with a gruesome injury to his left arm, a collision with Gunnar Henderson on a ground ball up the middle causing his elbow to bend back in a most unnatural way. There’s little chance that he avoids the injured list, and his absence could be prolonged depending on the severity. X-rays were negative, but bring on the MRI.

Mayo and Connor Norby immediately came to mind, with the latter a natural second baseman. But Jordan Westburg and Ramón Urías also play second.

Norby will be in Miami today, per a source. He's the chosen one.

The Oriole say that Mayo is “close” or his promotion is coming “soon,” but they haven’t moved him.

They’ve needed to work through how to make room for a corner infielder that didn’t involve an injury. Any suggestions that he could be used in the outfield demonstrate a lack of awareness. He’s never played the position. A pennant race probably isn’t an ideal setting to find out whether he can handle it.

Perhaps the Orioles have been waiting for the deadline to pass and reassess their roster before bringing up Mayo. A spot could open via a trade. Better than just losing an infielder on the waiver wire. Let the dust settle and proceed with a plan.

We’re less than a week away. They’ve gone this long.

Teams are asking about Ryan Mountcastle, and Jeff Passan reported that the Orioles are willing to discuss trades involving Mountcastle and center fielder Cedric Mullins. Being a buyer and a seller. That’s bold when you’re in first place.

Mayo can play first base.

Answer: Povich, Norby, Jackson Holliday and David Bañuelos.

Admit it, you forgot about Bañuelos.