The Orioles selected the contract of outfielder Mason Williams from the alternate training site at Double-A Bowie on Saturday and designated outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. for assignment.

Williams, who can play all three outfield positions, gives the Orioles a versatile defensive option. This will be Williams’ second stint with the Major League club. Last year, Williams played in 11 games and was 8-for-30 (.267) with two RBIs for Baltimore.

“Mason was doing a nice job down in our secondary site,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. “He will be able to defend and run. He is a left-handed bat. I’m excited to add Mason.”

Williams, 29, has played in 87 big league games across five seasons, producing a .286/.325/.382 slash line with the Yankees, Reds and Orioles.

Baltimore is hoping Smith, 27, will stay in the organization. General manager Mike Elias said he feels there is a lot of promise in Smith’s bat. After all, Smith hit 13 home runs in 101 games last year when given the chance to play. But he was not consistent with the bat this year, going 14-for-63 (.222) with two home runs and six RBIs. It didn’t help that he missed most of Summer Camp because of COVID-19.

“Great kid, great player,” Elias said. “He has been a big part of our clubhouse. If we do end up keeping him, our hopes would be to get his feet underneath him at our site and be back here on the club. But we have to see what happens.”

When a player's contract is designated for assignment -- often abbreviated "DFA" -- that player is immediately removed from his club's Major League roster. Within seven days of the transaction, the player must either be traded, released or placed on irrevocable outright waivers.

Right time for Mountcastle
After being added to the roster, the Orioles are hoping that outfielder Ryan Mountcastle is in the big leagues to stay. The plan is to have him play left field. The team understands that Mountcastle, the No. 5 O's prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is still developing and there are going to be ups and downs.

• Mountcastle's solid debut -- with pranks

The Orioles were hoping Mountcastle would develop in the Minor Leagues this year, but the pandemic wiped out those plans. Last year, Mountcastle had a season to remember at Triple-A Norfolk, hitting .312 with 25 home runs and 83 RBIs.

“We feel he is in a decent enough spot defensively in terms of his comfort in left field to at least survive out there right now,” Elias said. “He might surprise. He is a good athlete. He is a good baseball player. Getting the real in-game repetition will be great for him.”

Worth noting
• Although Chris Davis is on the 10-day injured list with a left knee injury, there hasn’t been any talk of shutting him down for the rest of this abbreviated season. The club will evaluate him on a week-to-week basis, according to Elias.