Mayo clarifies demotion remarks: 'By no means directed' at O's, Norfolk

Baltimore Orioles infield prospect Coby Mayo said he wasn't directing his frustration at the team or its Triple-A affiliate when he voiced his displeasure about being sent down to the minors.

"The comments I made yesterday to the media after being optioned were by no means directed to the Orioles organization or the Norfolk Tides," Mayo wrote Wednesday on X. "I will be the first to tell you I didn't do enough this spring to break camp with the big-league team. I was frustrated in the moment and things were taken out of context.

"As a competitor this has lit a fire in me, and I will make sure I work even harder to get back to the big leagues and help the team win games as soon as possible. I will never settle for anything less than the best version of myself."

Mayo, who slashed .190/.239/.262 with three RBIs and a club-leading 13 strikeouts over 42 at-bats this spring, acknowledged Tuesday that his demotion was a tough pill to swallow.

"It definitely is difficult," the 23-year-old said at the time. "It obviously sucks because you feel like you've proved everything you needed to. And sometimes it doesn't feel like it's quite enough."

Mayo is the Orioles' No. 2-ranked prospect and 14th in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He went deep 22 times with a .926 OPS in 89 games at Triple-A last season but went 4-for-41 after making his MLB debut in August.