Jon Meoli: Cut a year ago by Seattle, Leody Taveras has turned his career around with the Orioles

It could have been one of those moments when baseball makes you shake your head in wonder.

Leody Taveras, a year to the day from Seattle demoting him to the minors and potentially spelling the end of a once-promising big league career, was up with the bases full of Orioles on Tuesday.

A grand slam would have put a bow on a tumultuous year for the 27-year-old outfielder, who has carved out a meaningful role for the Orioles after signing a $2 million deal early in the offseason.

What happened instead showed how he’s resurrected his career here. He fought back from a 1-2 count, laid off the pitches he should have and spoiled the pitches he could, before lacing a sacrifice fly to center field to open the scoring for the Orioles. A night later, the club’s most productive hitter with runners in scoring position added an RBI double that helped snap its four-game losing streak.

“We all know he had the tools to be the player that he’s showing right now, but it’s been so much fun to watch, and it’s a great testament to him of taking an opportunity, earning it, and continuing to earn it each day by his work and his play,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “His at-bat quality has been outstanding, but it’s everything else he brings to the table: the defense in center field, the baserunning, the ability to bunt, all the little things that it’s really tough to quantify numbers-wise, but when you see it on the field and how he plays the game, it’s huge for us.”

Taveras entered the year as the club’s fifth outfielder, seemingly ticketed for a bench role but well suited for it, considering he’s a switch hitter who can run and credibly play all three spots. It was also, considering how things have gone recently, about all that could have been expected of him.

Taveras was one of the top teenagers coming out of the Dominican Republic in 2015 when the Rangers signed him for $2.1 million, and he was a top prospect in their system and across the game leading up to his big league debut at age 21 in 2020. He had a .703 OPS that year and looked to be blossoming into a real contributor in 2023, when he had a .733 OPS and was worth 2.5 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, on a Rangers team that won the World Series.

His offense took a step back in 2024, though, and in May 2025 he ended up on the waiver wire. Seattle, in need of outfield depth, took on the remainder of his $4.75 million salary, but it didn’t receive much in return. Taveras had a .470 OPS and was designated for assignment a year ago Tuesday; he spent the rest of the year at Triple-A Tacoma, where he had an .804 OPS.

“It was kind of a tough year last year, but a lot that I learned,” Taveras said. “When those things happen, you just have to flush it and keep going. You don’t want those things to happen, but you’ve just got to go through.”

Reflecting on his assignment to the minors, he said he wanted to improve every aspect of his game but believes his mindset came the furthest.

“Stronger, more prepared, not afraid to fail,” he said. “As a young guy, you just want to go out there and perform. It’s performance, and you put that pressure on you. It’s not like that. You just got to go out there and play the game.”

Taveras was grateful the Orioles approached him with a major league deal so quickly after free agency opened in the fall, and he has had more chances to play than anyone envisioned in early November.

Only Taylor Ward has been a steady presence in the Orioles’ outfield. Colton Cowser has turned it around now but struggled early, while Dylan Beavers has been out since mid-May and Tyler O’Neill has played poorly when healthy.

Through Wednesday, Taveras had started 47 of the team’s 69 games and appeared in 11 off the bench, mostly playing center field. His .356 average and .967 OPS with runners in scoring position are both best on the team. He’s walking at a career-high 11.2% clip and faring well against righties with an .804 OPS. He has a .530 OPS against lefties.

Although he has cooled after delivering an .855 OPS through the end of April, his .726 OPS for the season is still good value for an Orioles team that has needed everything he does on and off the field.

Albernaz has enjoyed watching Taveras help fellow Dominican Samuel Basallo navigate his first full season. Taveras was mentored by Robinson Chirinos, Shin-Soo Choo and Elvis Andrus as a rookie, and he knows the value of guidance from a veteran.

“He’s one of our hardest workers, whether it be defensively, in the weight room, in the [batting] cage,” Albernaz said. “He’s very diligent. He’s a great team player and teammate. … Leody just wants to win and wants to do well and wants his teammates to do well as well.”

That’s what Mariners manager Dan Wilson recalls too.

“Leody is one of those guys that everybody roots for because he’s such a good person,” Wilson said before Tuesday’s game. “The energy he brings, the personality that he brings every day to the ballpark is exceptional. That’s what you really love about what Leody does, and the fact that he’s been consistent here is, again, it’s somebody that you root for all the time and it seems like he’s putting it together.”