Orioles’ Jackson Holliday plan blows up in their face after latest roster move

Nearly everyone was hoping that the Baltimore Orioles were going to carry Jackson Holliday on their Opening Day roster, but instead the team declared that Holliday didn't have quite enough experience to make that leap yet. When the Orioles called him up a couple weeks in the regular season, the masses rejoiced, and some even made fun of the fact that it was the decision that the Orioles should have made all along.

Unfortunately, Holliday's first look in the big leagues has been pretty brutal to watch. In his first 36 plate appearances in MLB, Holliday has just two hits (both singles) while striking out 18 times. Those struggles have really begged the question of how long the Orioles would remain patient with Holliday before sending him back to the minors for some more development away from the bright lights.

We have that answer now, as the Orioles optioned Jackson Holliday back to Triple-A and brought up outfielder Ryan McKenna to take his place on the roster on Friday afternoon.

Orioles News: Baltimore sends Jackson Holliday back down to the minors for now

No, not a high-ceiling replacement like Connor Norby or Coby Mayo. Just...McKenna.

Barring the unforeseen, Holliday is going to be an important part of the Orioles' future going forward. It was always pretty wild to see him ascend the minor league ranks as quickly as he did, but the fact remains that he is just 20 years old and was eventually going to get challenged. Unfortunately, he had to find that challenge in the big leagues with the whole world watching him. A .170 OPS in his first few games in the big leagues doesn't take away from his talent; he just needs more time.

In a corresponding roster move, the Orioles brought up Ryan McKenna. Baltimore doesn't exactly have a shortage of outfielders at the moment, but McKenna has posted a very reasonable .778 OPS down at Triple-A and simply adds to the big league roster's depth.

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