More on the Baysox name change, plus notes on Aberdeen and Frederick

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – So now the score is 2-2. There are two Orioles full-season affiliates that use a very specific home name, as in the Triple-A Norfolk Tides and the High-A Aberdeen IronBirds. Now two have a more regional look: the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds and, as of yesterday, the Double-A Chesapeake Baysox, formerly the Bowie Baysox.

“I think when we looked at where our fans are coming from, we wanted to be inclusive of the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed,” said Brian Shallcross, in his 20^th year as Baysox general manager. “We saw people coming from the Eastern Shore, west of the Potomac. We were surprised when we dug into the stats of just how far and ranging our fanbase was. We wanted to be inclusive of all those fans without forgetting our roots.”

Shallcross noted that the club went through a two-year process to change the name and meet all Major League Baseball approvals. The Orioles were involved throughout. They don’t own this team, but it’s their farm system.

So, what changes now?

“Well, I think what changes, basically, is we want to make sure that everybody knows they are welcome in our ballpark," Shallcross said. "Anywhere within the Chesapeake - and, heck, you saw we’ve sold tickets to fans from 42 states and Maryland – but anywhere, really, in the watershed we want to be welcoming and a destination.”

Under Attain Sports, the Baysox ownership group for the last three seasons, attendance increased more than 39 percent from 2022 to 2024. Now they hope this renaming and rebranding can take that another step.

“That’s our hope,” said Shallcross. “Baseball teams rely on the local community, and we rely on Bowie. But what is good for Prince George’s County, good for Bowie, is people coming from outside the county too. Good for economic development.

“It's been a fantastic couple of years under Attain’s leadership. Our ownership has invested in people. We’ve invested in the stadium and we’re not done. We’ve got some more announcements to make and there are exciting times ahead for our organization."  

Checking in with Greg Baroni: Yesterday’s announcement of the Baysox name change was made at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis by Attain chief executive officer Greg Baroni.

Just this past Oct. 1, Attain took over controlling interest in the O’s Aberdeen club even though Cal and Bill Ripken retain a minority stake. Attain also owns the MLB Draft League’s Frederick Keys, the Spire City Ghost Hounds of the Atlantic League and the Loudoun team in the United Soccer League.

Baroni said his group expects to learn more about the IronBirds during the 2025 season.

“The same things as here (with the Baysox),” he said Friday. “We look at, How do we engage the community and what kind of partnerships are possible? Much like we did here, we start meeting with a lot of folks.

“I would characterize the 2025 season as one of observation and stakeholder outreach so that we understand a lot more about Aberdeen.

“It’s a different situation than here in Bowie and Frederick. As you know, we also own the Frederick Keys. And we’re just trying to make sure for the Baltimore family, for the Maryland residents, we’re doing the best that’s possible.”

Attain could expand its operations in the future, but not by looking nationally. Baroni said the group will retain its focus on this region.

“My interest as the founder and CEO of Attain Sports, I’m not trying to do, for example, what Diamond Baseball Holdings (a group that now owns 36 minor league clubs) is doing and owning a bunch of teams. I want to own only the Maryland – frankly the Baltimore Oriole - affiliates.

“When we started our investment, it was only DMV focused. D.C., Maryland, Virginia. With the first ones being Bowie and the Frederick Keys, we said our investment is Maryland and it’s only with the Orioles. Mike (Elias, the Orioles' executive vice president and general manager) has known this since Day One. To the extent that I can continue that, that’s where we’re going.”

When I asked Baroni yesterday if Frederick one day could get back its former status as an affiliate of a big league club, he said yes. The Keys lost their affiliation with Major League Baseball and the Orioles when the minor leagues contracted in 2021. Frederick has been playing in the MLB Draft League with a team of college prospects since then. 

“Stay tuned. I would say we have a significant interest in making sure an affiliate returns to Frederick. Stay tuned,” he said, smiling.

Left unsaid and unclear is how that could happen or whether the Orioles or some other MLB team would be the parent club. Lots of unanswered questions remain, but anyone that ever saw a big crowd at a Frederick Keys game knows how that community so embraced minor league baseball. So for me, as someone who worked in Frederick back in the day and knows how wonderful that place is as a baseball community, Baroni’s words were most encouraging.

By the way, Elias and Orioles minor league operations director Kent Qualls attended yesterday's Baysox announcement.

The bond between the Orioles and their affiliates has been strong under the Elias regime. 

"We are the longest-serving affiliate in the system," Shallcross said of the Baysox. "Mike and Kent being here, they've always been supportive of us. Just the fact that relationship has been so strong over the years, it's just a tribute to them that they are supporting us in this transition."

The non-tender deadline: The Orioles non-tendered right-handed reliever Jacob Webb on Friday, making him a free agent. He missed six weeks with right elbow inflammation, but returned in mid-September.

Also, the Orioles have agreed on a 2025, one-year deal for $1 million with Emmanuel Rivera.

The club tendered contracts to Keegan Akin, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Jorge Mateo, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Trevor Rogers, Adley Rutschman, Gregory Soto, Ramón Urías and Tyler Wells. They also tendered all pre-arbitration players on the 40-man roster, which currently has 38 players.

Clubs across the major leagues have non-tendered numerous relievers, including All-Star Kyle Finnegan, whom the Nationals took a pass on, and former All-Star Jordan Romano, whom the Blue Jays declined to make an offer. Toronto also non-tendered former Oriole Dillon Tate.