Leody

Taveras

The Yankees are throwing left-hander Max Fried, so it’s likely that Beavers would have sat anyway, but the team also sent him for an MRI on his oblique and is “going over the results.” That’s a bit of an ominous sign. Leody Taveras will start in centerfield and bat sixth on Wednesday, but there remains a possibility that Beavers could land on the IL. That would open up playing time for Colton Cowser or potentially Heston Kjerstad (hamstring), who is rehabbing in Triple-A right now.

Taveras had started in each of the team’s previous four games, so he’ll get a breather in this one. Colton Cowser will start in his place in center field and will bat seventh for the O’s against Marlins’ right-hander Max Meyer.

Taveras smacked a two-run triple off of Lance McCullers Jr. in the fourth inning of this one, but all it did was pull the Orioles to within seven runs at 10-3. He has been sizzling at the dish in recent weeks and is slashing a healthy .288/.397/.455 with two homers, 17 RBI and a stolen base in his first 79 plate appearances with the O’s.

The Orioles scored their first run with two outs in the top of the ninth to turn this into an extra-inning game. Both teams went scoreless in the 10th and plated one in the 11th. In the 12th, the Orioles took a lead on a Samuel Basallo single before Taveras appeared to finish things. The Royals, though, came back with three runs before making an out in the 12th, only to sputter out afterwards. Taveras came into tonight as a lifetime .280 hitter with the bases loaded, but he’d never gone deep in 50 plate appearances. He’s been a great surprise in the early going, hitting .341/.453/.554 to take over as the Orioles’ primary center fielder. His success might get Colton Cowser demoted at some point.

Taveras also drew a walk in the contest, reaching base twice on a day in which Messick was nearly un-hittable. He also scored the O’s first run on a sacrifice fly by Gunnar Henderson in the ninth. He’s off to a nice start at the dish this season, slashing .375/.487/.469 with zero homers, eight RBI and a 9/7 K/BB ratio in his first 40 plate appearances.

With Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound, all three left-handed hitters will take a seat. Blaze Alexander will stay in the lineup and play centerfield with Johnathan Rodriguez hitting cleanup and playing right field and Weston Wilson hitting fifth and playing left field.

It’s notable that O’Neill has started just half of Baltimore’s eight games on the young season and he’s been out of the lineup for three straight. It’ll be Dylan Beavers and Colton Cowser continuing to get opportunities to play regularly with reclamation project Leody Taveras getting some unexpected run in center field at the moment.

The deal is now official. Taveras heads to Baltimore as additional outfield depth behind young starters Colton Cowser and Dylan Beavers after struggling to a subterranean .530 OPS with three homers and nine steals in 58 games between the Mariners and Rangers last season. The 27-year-old is just a few years removed from being one of the top prospects in baseball, but he needs to show something at the dish if he’s going to remain a viable option in the majors.

It’s a $2 million deal, per Heyman. Once among the top prospects in the game, Taveras was awful in stints with the Rangers and Mariners in 2025 with a combined .205 with a .530 OPS OPS in 171 at-bats across 58 games. The 27-year-old will likely be a fourth outfielder for Baltimore with the ability to play all three outfield positions.

Taveras failed to capitalize on a fresh start with Seattle after being claimed off waivers from the division-rival Rangers, batting .174/.198/.272 with two homers and three steals in 28 games. The 27-year-old former top prospect should be able to latch on somewhere this offseason as a low-risk reclamation project, but he’s been a non-factor at the dish in the big leagues for a couple seasons at this stage of his career.