Orioles wave the white flag on former top prospect with Jackson Holliday's position change

At the end of last week, Jackson Holliday started his most recent rehab assignment on his path back from hand surgery, and on Saturday, the Orioles announced that during this assignment, Holliday would be mixing in at third base. This surprise announcement tipped the Orioles' hand on two fronts. It hints that the team is not confident that Jordan Westburg is going to return this season and that they have reached a breaking point with Coby Mayo.

When Westburg's injury was announced, the Orioles didn't have much time to pivot to find a solution and went into the season hoping that, between Mayo and newly acquired utility man Blaze Alexander, they could patch together third base until Westburg returned in May.

Mayo and Alexander have been a tough watch at third base this year. To get a feel for how bad it's been, here is how the Orioles third base position group rates out at some of the more important stats compared to the rest of the league.

WAR: -0.6 (29th)
wRC+: 48 (27th)
AVG: .180 (28th)
OPS: .517 (28th)
K%: 31.8% (30th)
RBI: 9 (30th)
OAA: -4 (24th)

The Orioles have to try something different at third base this season

Now that it has become more clear that Westburg may not return at all this season, the Orioles are rightfully looking at the production they are getting from third base and saying to themselves, "we need a better solution than this".

As far as in-house solutions, the Orioles don't have a lot of options. The Orioles don't have a prospect version of Jordan Westburg sitting in Triple-A. They have some veteran journeymen in Norfolk, but none of them have looked good, even in the minors. Jeremiah Jackson is a possibility, but he is a much better defender at second than at third, which naturally brings you to Holliday.

With the news that Holliday is going to start playing some third base, it appears the Orioles are interested in seeing if he can be their solution. If he is, then upon his return, he would take over third base, Jeremiah Jackson would remain at second, Blaze Alexander would slide to the utilityman role he was traded to fill, and Mayo would either slide to Weston Wilson's current role of bench bat who only plays if someone gets scratched or he would get optioned back to triple-A.

Basically, if Holliday proves he can handle third base, that would put an end to Mayo's run of getting everyday playing time with the Orioles in 2026.

The question then becomes, will Holliday be able to handle third base, and is it wise to try to make him learn a new position?  

There is some concern that making Holliday learn a new position after he spent all last year working on being a second baseman is going to harm his development. After all, the Orioles did just kind of do the same thing with Mayo, having him move back to third after spending all year trying to learn first base.

On top of that, there is reason to be doubtful about Holliday being able to just take over third base after a two-week rehab assignment. Holliday was not a good defender at second base last year, and one of his weakest tools has always been his arm. One of the biggest things the Orioles will have to be watching for as Holliday mixes in at third is his ability to make strong, accurate throws across the diamond.

Concerns about this move are legitimate, and it's possible that the whole thing could fizzle out if Holliday looks lost at third during this rehab assignment. However, if he proves he can handle third base defensively, then his addition to the major league lineup at third would lift the floor of this Orioles team dramatically, even if he's the exact same player he was last year.

Having Holliday move positions mid-season and mid-rehab assignment is far from ideal, but the Orioles are at a crucial point in their season. Third base has been an anchor on this team both offensively and defensively all year, and if Holliday can come in and just be a slightly below league-average third baseman, that would help the team a lot. If he ends up being better than a league-average third baseman, then maybe this position change will end up being the best thing that ever happened to him.

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