Jackson Holliday's return to the Orioles should see a surprising position change

While Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg have been recovering from their injuries, Coby Mayo, Jeremiah Jackson, and Blaze Alexander have been dividing up the second and third base duties amongst themselves, and over the first few weeks of the season, there have been some interesting developments that may change what Holliday's role is when he returns to the team.

The two main developments that impact Holliday specifically are that Jeremiah Jackson has been the Orioles' best offensive player andCoby Mayo has looked completely overwhelmed at the plate once again this season.

When Holliday returns, the Orioles will need to make room for him. Early in the season, it seemed like Jackson would be the odd man out. With Jackson playing so well and Mayo playing so poorly, it seems that the fates of each player may have been flipped

If Mayo were to be optioned, that would open up playing time at third base. Since Holliday has almost exclusively played second base since making his debut, it would be expected that he would take over at second, and Jackson would play more third.

There's an argument to be made that Jackson is the better fielder at second base, and that could create a curious possibility for Jackson Holliday,

A new position for Jackson Holliday?

The Orioles were once so invested in Holliday being their shortstop of the future that they tried to make Gunnar Henderson a third baseman. Once it was clear that Henderson was the better shortstop, the Orioles shifted Holliday over to second base. 2025 was Holliday's first full MLB season as a second baseman, and it was not a strong season for him defensively. His -8 Outs Above Average tagged him as one of the worst defensive infielders in all of baseball.

But, if you look at the statcast data on Holliday's defense, you will see that he was -12 OAA on balls ranging towards his right and +6 OAA on balls coming in. With that, it could be easily argued that Holliday is a better fit at third base.

There's really no reason to think that Holliday would be a worse defender at third base. The biggest concern would perhaps be his arm strength, but his arm grades similarly to Jordan Westburg's.

There might be some growing pains as Holliday attempts to learn yet another position, but the Orioles were already dealing with the growing pains of Holliday playing second base, and they've been playing with fire, having Mayo play there as often as they have.

It's at least worth a try. If it doesn't work out, then Alexander and Jackson can split third, and Holliday can return to second base to continue trying to figure out how to not be one of the worst defenders in the league at that position.

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