Orioles sign ex-Yankees infielder to help rescue team from injury woes

For a majority of Baltimore Orioles fans, their best memories of Thairo Estrada probably came during time with the New York Yankees organization. The infielder, however, hasn't suited up in the Bronx since 2020, and spent the past several seasons playing for the San Francisco Giants and, most recently, the Colorado Rockies.

But after losing both Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg to injury during spring training, the Orioles needed to add some infield depth to the roster and agreed to a minor-league contract with Estrada that includes an invite to big-league camp.

Estrada joins the likes of Coby Mayo, Blaze Alexander, and Jeremiah Johnson, all of whom are competing to find a spot on the Orioles Opening Day roster. The O's also added third baseman Bryan Ramos off waivers last week.

Orioles sign ex-Yankees infielder Thairo Estrada, with Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg set to open 2026 on the IL

Holliday suffered a broken hamate bone, and after undergoing surgery, is expected to miss the first few weeks of the 2026 season. Westburg is dealing with a UCL injury and, for the moment, is hoping to avoid season-ending surgery.

If Estrada can't improve on his stats from the past two seasons, his impact could be minimal. He's appeared in just 135 games since 2024 — due to poor performance and injury — and has hit just .228/.258/.351 during that stretch. But in the three years prior, Estrada posted a combined .266/.320/.416 slash line with a 105 OPS+. If healthy, it's possible that Estrada could get back to that level of production.

Though he can play several different positions across the infield and has experience in the outfield as well, Estrada is most comfortable at second base. All 39 of his starts with Colorado last season came at the keystone, and that was the position he played most often with the Giants in 2024.

Given these recent acquisitions, it's a good bet that Orioles GM Mike Elias will avoid making any other meaningful additions to the infield. After all, Holliday isn't expected to miss a lot of time, and adding an impact player would only add to the abundance of infielders already on the team's 40-man roster.

New Orioles manager Craig Albernaz will need to get used to all these new faces over the next few weeks, and with the additions of Alexander, Ramos, and now Estrada, it would seem that Baltimore has a good old-fashioned roster battle on their hands.