Jackson Holliday offers injury timeline after scary Orioles' Opening Day setback

At the start of spring training last week, the Baltimore Orioles revealed that second baseman Jackson Holliday underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his right hand. At the time of the announcement, Mike Elias didn't provide a timeline other than to say that Holliday wouldn't be ready in time for Opening Day. Holliday met with reporters on Monday to provide an early timeline, and it certainly is encouraging news for the Orioles.

The 22-year-old infielder has already had the cast removed from his hand, and he only expects to miss "a couple of weeks of the season".

Timing certainly appears to be working in the Orioles' favor, considering the injury happened nearly two months before Opening Day. Inconsistency has certainly been at the center of Holliday's career with the Orioles, but there's no question that Baltimore is a better team with him as their starting second baseman.

Jackson Holliday's recovery timeline could explain the Orioles' belief in internal replacements

Holliday missing only a couple of weeks of the regular season could explain why the Orioles haven't been in a rush to add an external replacement. The options on the free-agent market were scarce; a reunion with Ramón Urías could make sense, but the recent trade for Blaze Alexander could ultimately prove to be the fallback option for the Orioles.

Operating under the assumption that Holliday is back before the end of April, it would make sense for Alexander to serve as the starting second baseman to open the season before resorting to a utility role.

There's been recent speculation that the Orioles could open the season with Jordan Westburg at second base, creating an opening for Coby Mayo at third base. It may be the only scenario where Mayo makes the Opening Day roster.

That being said, it doesn't sound likely. Westburg, who is dealing with an oblique strain, confirmed that all of his offseason reps have been at third base. Timing wouldn't be ideal for the Orioles to move him to second base, especially if Holliday isn't expected to miss an extended period of time.