Orioles calling up prospect Norby, sources say

The Baltimore Orioles are calling up superutilityman Connor Norby, the latest standout prospect to join one of the best teams in baseball, sources told ESPN.

Norby, 23, has played second base and both corner-outfield spots this year at Triple-A, where he hit .286/.374/.510 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs. He’s the latest top Orioles prospect to get called up this year, joining Jackson Holliday (No. 2 on Kiley McDaniel’s updated top 50), Heston Kjerstad (No. 47) and Kyle Stowers. Both Holliday and Kjerstad have since been sent back to the minors.

Should Norby fill in at second base for Jorge Mateo, who was hit in the head Sunday by a Cedric Mullins swing in the on-deck circle and entered concussion protocol, Norby could fill out a fully homegrown Orioles infield, with Adley Rutschman at catcher, Ryan Mountcastle at first base, Gunnar Henderson at shortstop and Jordan Westburg at third.

The Orioles chose Norby out of East Carolina in the second round of the 2021 draft, and he’s done nothing but hit in the minor leagues.

In Norby’s first full season in 2022, he hit 29 home runs while ascending from High-A to Triple-A, where he spent all of 2023 and the first 51 games this season. The right-handed-hitting Norby will need to be added to the Orioles’ 40-man roster before officially joining the team for its series in Toronto that starts Monday.

Baltimore, which at 37-20 owns the fourth-best record in baseball, is three games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East division.