Orioles snub Jackson Holliday, call up top prospect after Jorge Mateo’s freak injury

The Baltimore Orioles have had a bit of an infield quandary for a while now, as they are loaded with top end prospects in the dirt, but have also been steadfast in wanting to give playing time to Ramon Urías and Jorge Mateo. Many Orioles fans have been pushing for those prospects to get a chance, given both players have struggled to consistently produce at the plate (though Mateo's been on a heater lately). Unfortunately, developments over the weekend beyond Mateo's control could end up sorting things out for the Birds.

In what was a scary moment on Sunday, Mateo got struck in the head while he was in the on-deck circle by Cedric Mullins. The injury was bad enough that Mateo had to leave the game and was officially placed in concussion protocol, although those that saw Mateo after the game seemed to think that he appeared to be okay, all things considered.

Still, a stint on at least the concussion IL seemed like it was going to be likely for Mateo, and many thought that that could mean that Orioles top prospect Jackson Holliday could get another look, as the O's most prominent prospect is playing well down at Triple-A right now.

Instead, Connor Norby is getting the promotion, per a keen set of eyeballs and confirmed by Jeff Passan.

Orioles News: Connor Norby set to make big league debut against Blue Jays

Initially, we only had the word of a reputable Orioles beat writer physically seeing Norby boarding a flight to Toronto, which was very telling. However, known dropper of news bombs Jeff Passan confirmed the news of Norby's promotion shortly thereafter.

The Orioles' No. 6 overall prospect, as ranked by MLB Pipeline, Norby has quietly been awesome down at Triple-A this season with a .286/.374/.510 line with nine homers in 51 games. Importantly, Norby can not only play in the infield, but has the ability to cover the outfield as well, which should get manager Brandon Hyde plenty of ways to utilize him in the lineup.

As for Holliday, it is clear that Baltimore doesn't want to make the same mistake twice, and is committed to giving him plenty of reps in the minor leagues before he gets his next chance. Given how much he struggled during his first call-up, no one can really blame them.

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