A few notes on new additions, Mo Gaba and Trey Mancini

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

November 05, 2020, 3:59pm

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The addition of players to be named later keep rolling in for the Orioles. The players always had names, of course, but now we know them as Orioles.

Yesterday, the Orioles completed the trade of lefty Tommy Milone to Atlanta on Aug. 31 when they got 23-year-old infielders AJ Graffanino and Greg Cullen from the Braves. The O's are owed one more PTNL for sending pitcher Hector VelÃ¡zquez to Houston on July 29.

Graffanino, the son of former big leaguer Tony Graffanino, was rated as Atlanta's No. 23 prospect by MLBPipeline.com. He was ranked by Baseball America as the Braves' No. 25 prospect in 2019 and No. 27 this year.

Graffanino was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 249 prospect for the draft and was taken by Atlanta in round eight of 2018 (No. 232 overall). They signed him to an overslot bonus of $300,000.

A gastrointestinal issue limited him to one at-bat in the 2019 season. So in just 44 career games, he hit .316/.342/.380. He has played every pro game at shortstop, where he is considered a plus defender with good range and a strong arm that got a 55 grade from MLBPipeline.com.

Cullen was selected in round 15 of the 2018 draft by the Braves out of Niagra University. He signed for $125,000. He has made 171 career pro starts at second base. He is a career .273/.387/.400 hitter in 185 games.

Mo Gaba Way: In a very fitting tribute, Mo Gaba is soon going to have a street near Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium named in his honor. On Dec. 2, Mo Gaba Way will be unveiled. The Orioles and Ravens superfan lost his fourth battle with cancer and died in July at 14.

He accomplished a lot in his short life and remains an inspiration to many sports fans and pretty much anyone who knows his story. The more health issues he faced, the more he seemed to smile and never have a bad day. His calls to 105.7 The Fan made him pretty famous in the Baltimore area. When fans learned of his life-long health battles, they just loved him more.

On July 28, Gaba was elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame as the second recipient of the Wild Bill Hagy Award. The Orioles honored Mo as one of the most passionate and devoted fans in franchise history. The award, which was established in 2007 following the passing of William G. "Wild Bill" Hagy, expanded the Orioles Hall of Fame to include fans who have inspired others with their devotion to the team and demonstrated an exceptional commitment in support of the Orioles. Appropriately, Hagy, who rooted for the club year in and year out, was named the first recipient of the award in 2008.

Sadly, on the day this honor was announced, Mo passed away.

Former Baltimore City Councilman Joe DiBlasi said he has been working with Jeremy Conn from 105.7 The Fan to get the street named in Mo's honor. Conn told WBAL-TV that they have received approval from the Baltimore City Department of Transportation to dedicate a street downtown for Mo "in proximity to Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium."

DiBlasi said due to the coronavirus restrictions, the dedication ceremony will not be open to the public.

In addition to inspiring area sports fans that admired him and listened to his many radio calls to 105.7 The Fan, Gaba inspired and developed relationships with Orioles and Ravens players. He had a close friendship with the Orioles' Trey Mancini, who talked about Mo upon his addition to the O's Hall of Fame.

"There is no one more deserving of this incredible honor than Mo," said Mancini. "Throughout his battles with cancer, Mo never lost his kind spirit, his sense of humor or his love of the Orioles. His tremendous courage and unwavering positivity in the face of such challenging circumstances have made him an inspiration to me and so many others.

"It is fitting that Mo will now have a place in the Orioles Hall of Fame alongside some of the most iconic figures in franchise history, and for him to be honored as the recipient of the Wild Bill Hagy Award is truly special. I could not be happier for my friend, Mo, and his mother, Sonsy."

Speaking of Mancini: He was back in the batting cage yesterday. He posted a video saying "We're back," as he took some swings of balls being tossed underhand to him from close range. It was a great sight. Mancini was diagnosed with colon cancer in March and finished up the last of 12 chemotherapy treatments in September.

"It's going well," O's executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said Monday of Mancini. "We've all got our fingers crossed. I think it's going as well as it possibly could have gone since we got that horrible news in March. I think any of us would have traded anything to get to Nov. 2 and be where we're at with him right now. He's doing well, he's getting his strength back, he's slowly getting into baseball-ish type activities and it's been incredible.

"We have great doctors and access to just incredible medical resources with the Orioles and I think it's helping get the best outcome we possibly could. But we've still got some work to do."