To perform in what is essentially garbage time is different than performing in a postseason hunt. But performing well at all is better than the alternative, so the final month of Coby Mayo’s season served as a promising push into the offseason.

The 23-year-old first baseman, thrust into an everyday role following the trade deadline as the Orioles aimed to find out what they might have in Mayo, stumbled at times. Then, in September, Mayo picked himself up and finished on a tear: a .301 average and .941 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 24 games.

Baltimore’s season was practically over. But, for a player hoping to establish himself at the highest level, the steady stream of plate appearances — and the swell of success that came with it — could bode well.

Whether the future for Mayo is in Baltimore or elsewhere as a trade candidate remains to be seen. As the Orioles look to supplement their pitching staff, Mayo’s most valuable contribution to the organization could be as collateral in a trade. He’s an up-and-coming infielder with a bat that holds power potential.

Despite that possibility hanging over Mayo this winter, he’s firmly in Baltimore’s plans for the time being. At Mayo’s end-of-season meeting, interim manager Tony Mansolino and president of baseball operations Mike Elias underlined the goal for him.

September’s success was a start; proving himself over 162 games comes next.

“They want to see me be a mature big leaguer next year, take that next step, really mature into an everyday big leaguer and not a guy who’s just testing the waters, you know?” Mayo said. “That comes with a lot of hard work, training in the offseason, being uncomfortable. Don’t have an easy day in the offseason.”

Mayo generally doesn’t have an “easy day” even during the season. Most players are diligent in their pregame work. But as Mayo worked to improve as a first baseman, making the full-time transition from third base, there was not a day when he was absent from the field hours before first pitch.

Even ahead of day games, when most players condense their prep time and focus on batting cage swings, Mayo put in time with Mansolino and coaches John Mabry and Buck Britton. He picked purposely poor throws, executed grounders that required a flip to a pitcher — and by the end of the year the work was noticeable.

Mayo, by his own account, is not a Gold Glove first baseman. But in one season the effort before games helped make him a league-average defender. Perhaps that’s not a glowing endorsement, but it’s a necessary step.

“I’ve built a lot of confidence,” Mayo said. “Kind of puts me in a good position for the offseason to know that I can do it. A month ago [August], I was struggling a good bit playing every day, and they stuck with me.”

That was a conscious decision by the Orioles, considering the white flag waved on the season at the end of July, when Elias traded Ryan O’Hearn to the San Diego Padres. Once Ryan Mountcastle returned from injury, first base remained Mayo’s everyday position, which forced him to learn by doing.

“Manso said I’m in there every day, if I did have a good game or didn’t have a good game,” Mayo said. “That’s what you need, right? You need the chance to make mistakes and to suck, and it’s kind of how you rebound off of that.”

Mayo had his low moments. In August, when everyday playing time began, he hit .136 in 25 games. But the Orioles stuck with him, riding through the peaks and valleys that can define the start to a young player’s career in MLB.

Mansolino expected there to be volatility in Mayo’s game. In Philadelphia in early August, after Mayo launched a home run, Mansolino tempered expectations.

“Today’s a good day,” he said at the time. “He’s going to have some good moments. He’s going to have some bad moments. As long as he continues to build and work with our coaches, and work on the swing and be open-minded and get better as opposed to trying to be comfortable, then he will become what he can become earlier than not.”

What he could become depends on many factors, one of them being the Orioles’ roster construction.

One of the first major decisions for Baltimore will be whether to tender a contract to Mountcastle in November. Moving on from Mountcastle — who’s projected to make $7.8 million in his final year of arbitration, per MLB Trade Rumors — would increase the foothold Mayo has at the position. Unless, of course, Mayo is involved in a trade, or the Orioles make a splash in free agency with a first baseman.

Samuel Basallo will also see time at first base, particularly in some adverse matchups against right-handed pitching. The right-handed Mayo, after all, hit .199 against righties and .253 against left-handers in 2025.

“We have a lot of faith in the fact that Coby can handle left-handed pitching,” Mansolino said in late September. “I think he is proving himself there. Obviously, the next step is going to be against the other side here at some point, which he will get.”

Coinciding with his overall success in September, Mayo found improved fortunes against righties, hitting .278. Four of his five homers that month came in right-on-right matchups.

Part of the reason Mayo’s statistics blossomed in September is tied to his swing path. Mayo improved his ideal attack angle percentage in September to 58.4% of his swings — meaning his bat, at contact, was on the rise between a 5-degree and a 20-degree angle. That angle, which Statcast labels as “ideal,” produces more positive results: line drives and fly balls with power.

Mayo is at his best when he elevates the baseball, allowing his power to play to all fields. In June, however, Mayo’s swings were in that ideal range only 26.9% of the time. When posed with these statistics, Mayo wasn’t aware of the particulars. All he knew was that, since reaching Low-A years ago, the message from the organization has been to lift the ball.

“Talking to Manso and Mike the other day, just what my goals are and how I think I can be the best big leaguer I can be, that’s putting the ball in the air and hitting it hard,” Mayo said. “If I can do that, I can be one of the best players on the team.”

In September, Mayo was statistically the best hitter for Baltimore — and it wasn’t even close. Turning that into more consistent outcomes is the next step, and it’s the mission he’s pursuing this winter.