Orioles' rotten injury luck continues with latest brutal update from spring training

Baltimore Orioles third baseman Jordan Westburg's injury status may be much worse than fans were led to believe by the initial report of a "mild oblique strain". The rumor circulating online is that the root cause of Westburg's oblique soreness is actually an elbow injury that will require season-ending Tommy John surgery.

With these rumors swirling, manager Craig Albernaz met with the Orioles beat this morning and faced a barrage of questions about Westburg's injury status. Albernaz clearly wasn't in a position to officially confirm the rumors, but his answers did nothing to dispel them either.

"Right now, he’s unable to participate right now. He’s getting evaluated by our medical team and also outside people to make sure we have a plan in place to see what’s going on with Jordan"

Craig Albernaz

This kind of non-answer is understandable. If serious surgery is on the table, then Westburg is likely seeking out multiple opinions to see if there is any alternative. Before his appointment with Keith Meister is set, there is no reason to officially sound the alarm. However, if Westburg was fine, the answer to the various questions about his health would have been along the lines of "We're excited to get him back in a couple of weeks, as we previously stated."

Orioles fans should prepare themselves for an official announcement of the bad news in the next couple of days

Losing Westburg for the season is a massive blow to the Orioles. Over the past few seasons, the Orioles have really struggled when he's missed time. In 2024, the Orioles second half swoon correlated strongly with Westburg missing several months with a broken hand, and part of why the Orioles struggled so much at the start of 2025 is that Westburg got hurt in the first series of the year and went on to miss significant time with various lower-body injuries.

With Jackson Holliday already set to miss the first few weeks of the season, the Orioles infield depth will be stretched thin. The lineup on opening day is going to be significantly worse than what the Orioles planned on just a few weeks ago.

Even once Holliday gets back, filling the void left by Jordan at third base will be very difficult. Most projection systems had him projected to be a 3-4 win player, and that kind of production cannot be replaced by "the next man up".

As far as the Orioles current options, it would appear that they plan on having Coby Mayo give it a go at third base again. Mayo has the offensive upside that it's possible he could match what Westburg would have brought to the plate, but defensively, he'd be a major downgrade. Much of Mayo's offensive value could be negated by his efforts on the defensive side of the ball.

Blaze Alexander would be able to hold down the position defensively, but would be a major step down in offensive production from what the Orioles would have gotten from Westburg. If somehow Mayo and Alexander could be combined into a single player, that player would be a worthy replacement for Jordan Westburg, but that technology is not yet available for baseball purposes.

No matter what the Orioles do, losing Westburg is going to hurt. Besides the quantifiable numbers that show what he brings to the table, Westburg has become one of the leaders on the team who sets the tone with his hard work and serious attitude, and the Orioles will miss his steady presence.