On Saturday night in Baltimore — the same night they honored one of the best center fielders in team history — the Orioles sent out an outfield that has a combined five hits in the last eight games.

A couple of hundred miles away, catcher Samuel Basallo and outfielder Dylan Beavers, the Orioles’ No. 1 and No. 3 prospects, were with Triple-A Norfolk. They are hitting, respectively, .277 with a .997 OPS and .307 with a .953 OPS.

No, Triple-A numbers don’t always translate to the majors, but they are a good indicator of what might be in store. So in a season when the Orioles have officially punted on playing in the postseason and turned their focus to 2026, why are they using players who in all likelihood won’t be part of the future instead of calling up Basallo and Beavers?

The results of the games do not matter anymore for the Orioles, which would make this as close to a no-pressure situation for a debut as exists in the major leagues.

“It’s something that we’re talking about more and more frequently, the coaching staff and the front office,” general manager Mike Elias said in an interview with The Baltimore Banner. “They are both having tremendous Triple-A seasons so that’s to be expected. I understand that, as we’ve had a lot of injuries and vacancies after the trade deadline, it kind of brings the conversation a little more to the forefront. But we sold at the deadline and as [interim manager Tony Mansolino has] been saying, we’re kind of in player development mode, so we don’t want to rush anything player development-wise because of a panic over major league need. We’re going to be ready for them when they’re ready.”

At this point in the baseball calendar, rookie eligibility is a consideration. If a player is on the major league roster for more than 45 days, or exceeds 130 at-bats, he loses his rookie eligibility. Maintaining that heading in 2026 gives the player a chance to win American League Rookie of the Year — which would give the Orioles an extra draft pick if they appear on two or more of the top 100 rankings released by MLB Pipeline, ESPN and Baseball America. Basallo already is already on those lists and Beavers could be added this winter.

So will Basallo and Beavers coincidentally be ready on Aug. 15, when there are exactly 45 days left in the season?

The answer is not “no.”

“I think we have to be aware of the rules and, in general, systems that are in place that benefit players and benefit organizations,” Elias said. “You just kind of hope that that stuff synchronizes well with whatever the baseball need or player development need is. So it’s something that takes a back burner to baseball decisions.”

Statistically, it’s hard to expect these two prospects have more to prove. For Beavers, Elias said, at this point it’s not about mastering any specific skill but rather just gaining Triple-A experience.

“A lot of guys in the locker room right now had five, six, 700 appearances in Triple-A, and there’s a lot of learning that goes on at that level.”

Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, both members of the 2019 draft class, were brought along much faster. They were called up after accumulating 238 and 295 plate appearances with Norfolk, respectively.

Jackson Holliday (437 Triple-A plate appearances), Colton Cowser (523) and Jordan Westburg (714) all had more plate appearances than Beavers (416) before establishing themselves in the majors. But Jeremiah Jackson, who on Friday played right field, a spot Beavers could have filled, did not hit that benchmark with just 171 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s also not a top prospect the organization has developed every step of the way.

Nearly all of the Orioles’ top prospects who have debuted in the last three years have struggled when they hit the majors, including Holliday, who was optioned back to Triple-A in 2024 after getting just two hits in his first 10 games.

The team had high aspirations in 2024 and couldn’t have someone in their lineup who wasn’t performing. That’s no longer the case.

“I think some of our call-ups that didn’t go smoothly, Jackson being one of them, we didn’t give them enough time in Triple-A,” Elias added. “If we have an opportunity to try to make sure that’s not the case, we’re going to do it.”

Holliday played 10 games in Triple-A at the start of 2024 before he was called up. Following his demotion, he remained in Norfolk for 63 games, reaching 346 Triple-A plate appearances on the season.

As for Basallo, gaining catching experience is the key, Elias said. His bat is ready, Elias said, as evidenced by the 23 homers, the second-most in the International League. But his skills behind the plate aren’t there yet.

“He’s got a really strong arm, his receiving, you see and hear a lot of good things,” Elias said. “The experience of calling a game at the upper levels and then also calling it in the major leagues and managing the pitching staff and the running game and the pitch clock and all that, it just moves really fast. He’s had to learn a lot in a short amount of time.”

The Orioles are unsure how they will use him moving forward. The goal is to still have him catch in the majors, but there is a scenario where, if his catching skills aren’t completely there, they use him as a combo catcher, first baseman and designated hitter. That would mean the Orioles would have carry a backup catcher in addition to Rutschman and Basallo.

Now could be the perfect time to start to figure that out, as well to see what Beavers can do.

This article has been updated to correct the earliest possible date when the Orioles could call up Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers and not exhaust their rookie eligibility. It has also been updated to clarify the circumstances where the Orioles would be awarded a draft pick.