A Look Back at the 2025 Season

Season In Review: The Tides finished the 2025 campaign with a 63-84 regular season record. That placed them eighth in the International League East Division and 15^th overall in the league. In the split season, Norfolk went 30-43 in the First Half and 33-41 in the Second Half. The Tides went 29-44 at Harbor Park, while going 34-40 on the road. Of the 27 series, the Tides went 5-15-7 (W-L-S), going 3-10-1 at home and 2-5-6 on the road. By calendar month, Norfolk went 1-2 in March, 8-17 in April, 11-16 in May, 13-11 in June, 6-16 in July, 17-10 in August and 7-12 in September.

Keep It 100: Throughout the season, the Tides had two different players ranked in the Top 100 prospect rankings by MLB.com (MLB) and Baseball America (BA). Samuel Basallo was ranked #13 and #14, respectively, while Coby Mayo ranked #14 and #29. It was the fourth straight season for the Tides to have at least two Top 100 prospects play for them.

Roster + Transaction Records: The Tides set their single-season franchise record with 382 transactions, hosting 98 different players on the roster and 95 making at least one appearance. It's the most players the Tides have ever had in one season. It's the fourth straight season the Tides have reached 300 moves, with the previous record being 314 transactions in 2022. Norfolk had 84 players in 2024 (83 played), 78 players in 2023, 83 in 2022 (81 played) and 80 (73 played) in 2021. Nine players made their Major League debut: Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, Maverick Handley, Yaramil Hiraldo, Jeremiah Jackson, Carson Ragsdale, Kade Strowd, Grant Wolfram, and Brandon Young. 51 played for both the Tides and Orioles during the 2025 season. The Orioles tied a Major League record this season with the 2024 Miami Marlins, using 70 players.

MLB Rehabbers: Of the 95 players to play for the Tides this season, 21 of them played for Norfolk on MLB Rehab at some point: Keegan Akin, Scott Blewett, Kyle Bradish, Colton Cowser, Maverick Handley, Gunnar Henderson, Andrew Kittredge, Ramon Laureano, Jorge Mateo, Chayce McDermott, Ryan Mountcastle, Tyler O’Neill, Cody Poteet, Cade Povich, Trevor Rogers, Adley Rutschman, Gary Sanchez, Colin Selby, Albert Suárez, Tyler Wells, and Jordan Westburg.

Trades Involving Tides: The Orioles acquired 15 players and one draft pick via trade during July as they sold during the deadline. Of the 16 players acquired, two would play for the Tides: Anthony Nunez (one of three players from the Mets in exchange for Cedric Mullins) and Cameron Foster (one of two players acquired from the Mets in exchange for Gregory Soto). Early in the season, Norfolk traded away Nick Gordon to Kansas City for cash. Daz Cameron was traded to Milwaukee along with cash in exchange for Grant Wolfram.

Leave It To Beavers: Dylan Beavers won the International League MVP Award, while also being named an All-Star. eavers is the eighth Tide to win the International League MVP Award, and the second to do so as an Orioles affiliate (Ryan Mountcastle in 2019). Beavers played 94 games with the Tides this season and hit .304 (104-for-418) with 78 runs, 14 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 51 RBI, 23 stolen bases and 68 walks, while slashing .420/.515/.934. He finished ranked among league leaders in on-base percentage (2nd), OPS (4th), batting average (7th), slugging percentage (8th) and runs (10th). Beavers’ contract was selected on August 16 by Baltimore and made his Major League debut at Houston that night. He’s played 34 games with the Orioles into the final game of the season, batting .231 (25-for-108) with 16 runs, five doubles, a triple, four home runs, 14 RBI and 24 walks, slashing .371/.407/.778. Beavers joins Mike Vail (1975), Randy Milligan (1987), Tom O’Malley (1989), Jeff Manto (1994 while splitting the season with Rochester), Butch Huskey (1995), Roberto Petagine (1997) and Mountcastle.

Basallo Bombas: Samuel Basallo played 76 games with Norfolk in 2025. He hit .280 (73-for-270) with 49 runs, 17 doubles, 23 home runs, 67 RBI and 44 walks, slashing .377/.589/.966. Basallo ranked tied for eighth in home runs in the league, and through his final game with the Tides on August 15 he ranked ninth in RBI (67). Basallo is the first Tide since Todd Hundley (1991) to be named a postseason All-Star at the catcher position and is the third in franchise history to do so (John Stearns, 1976). Basallo had his contract selected by Baltimore on August 17 and made his Major League debut that day at Houston. He played 31 games with the Orioles and is batting .165 (18-for-109) with six doubles, four home runs, and 15 RBI.

Mr. Rogers: Trevor Rogers began the season with Norfolk on MLB Rehab due to right knee subluxation. After he finished the assignment, he was optioned to Norfolk for roughly six weeks and in seven starts went 0-3 with a 5.46 ERA and 26 strikeouts to eight walks. He went on to be one of the best pitchers in the American league through the remainder of the season for the Orioles. He made one spot start for Baltimore in May, then stayed on their team from June 18 through the end of the season. From that point on, he ranked 1^st in ERA (1.92) and opponent’s average (.185), and 2^nd in WHIP (0.94). Rogers would later be named by Baltimore media as the Most Valuable Oriole.

Extra Mayo: Coby Mayo played 45 games for Norfolk this season, hitting .226 with 10 doubles, eight home runs and 28 RBI. He made his first stint of the season with the Orioles in early May, but joined the team for the remainder of the season on May 31. In 85 games with the Orioles, Mayo hit .217 with 12 doubles, 11 home runs and 28 RBI. He finished on a strong note with Baltimore, where in 24 games in September he hit .301 with five home runs and eight RBI.

Hometown Kid: Trey Gibson was given the Jim Palmer Award by the Orioles on September 24 as the top pitching prospect in the farm system. Across three levels in Aberdeen, Chesapeake and Norfolk, he pitched in 26 games (25 starts) and went 5-6 with a 4.26 ERA (57 ER, 120.1 IP) and 166 strikeouts to 41 walks. The strikeout total tied him for fourth-most in all of Minor League Baseball. Gibson was born in Newport News, and graduated from Grafton High School in Yorktown. He is the 15th player in franchise history to have also played high school baseball in the 757 area code. Colin Selby, who attended Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, also played for the Tides in 2025.

Norfolk No-No: In game two on June 8 at Louisville, Norfolk combined to toss a seven-inning no-hitter in a 4-0 win. Roansy Contreras (3.0 IP) made the start followed by an inning each from Grant Wolfram, Colin Selby, Kade Strowd and Yaramil Hiraldo. It was the eighth no-hitter in franchise history, and the second straight season the Tides have recorded one.

The JJ Miracle: Jeremiah Jackson was signed as a Minor League free agent by the Orioles prior to 2025 and didn’t join the Tides until June 3. JJ would go on a tear for the Tides, where in 40 games he hit .377 with 15 doubles, 11 home runs and 22 RBI. He was rewarded for his efforts by getting his contract selected by Baltimore on July 31. In his time with Norfolk, JJ led the International League in average, slugging (.673), hits (61), and extra-base hits (26).

Forever Young: Brandon Young made five starts for Norfolk this season, going 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 27 strikeouts to four walks. He spent most of his season with Baltimore, where in 12 starts he went 1-7 with a 6.24 ERA. Young spent three different stints on the Injured List this season, including a season-ending left hamstring strain on August 21.

The Hitting Machín: Vimael Machín played 124 games for the Tides, hitting .286 with 28 doubles, 18 home runs and 79 RBI. He finished with 130 hits, ranking eighth in the International League. Machín played four games with Baltimore, and recorded one hit: a home run.

It’s Weston, Not Wesson: Cameron Weston pitched in 29 games (26 starts) for Norfolk. He went 5-9 with a 4.59 ERA and 133 strikeouts to 71 walks. The strikeout total is the second-most in Orioles affiliate franchise history, only trailing Chayce McDermott (144 in 2024). Overall, the strikeout total was tied for second in the International League, and Weston finished 10^th in the league in ERA among qualified pitchers.

The Future is Now: Keagan Gillies joined the Tides on July 3 to make his Triple-A debut. Prior to then, he made 26 relief appearances with Double-A Chesapeake going 4-1 with eight saves, a 1.15 ERA (4 ER, 31.1 IP), a 0.57 WHIP, and a .128 opponent's average with 34 strikeouts to four walks. Among the 89 Eastern League pitchers with at least 31.1 innings, Gillies ranked among league leaders in WHIP (1st), opponent's average (1st), SO/BB (1st, 8.50), and ERA (2nd). He earned a 2025 All-Star Futures game selection, becoming the ninth player to do so while playing for the Tides prior in the same season. Enrique Bradfield Jr. also participated in the Future’s Game, and was later called up to the Tides on September 2. He played 15 games for the Tides, hitting .179 with a home run, five RBI and six stolen bases. Bradfield Jr. finished with 36 stolen bases in total, ranking tied for fifth in the Orioles farm system.