Projecting Orioles' 2026 Opening Day lineup after sudden Jackson Holliday injury

In 2025, the Baltimore Orioles only had two players play over 100 games: Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday. But after news of Holliday's injury broke earlier this week, he may not be able to make that claim in 2026. With Holliday set to miss Opening Day and perhaps the first few weeks of the season, the Orioles have to make a pivot.

The easiest path to filling the Holliday-shaped hole in the roster would be simply sliding Blaze Alexander into the starting lineup. The Orioles acquired Alexander to improve their depth, so having him quickly become a regular starter isn't exactly what was imagined, but he should be well-equipped to cover for Holliday for at least the first few weeks of the season.

What you lose from an offensive standpoint with Alexander, he makes up for on the defensive end. In 2025, he was very similar to Holliday in terms of WAR despite coming nowhere close the number of counting stats. Holliday has a lot of potential, but for the first three weeks in April of 2026, Alexander will have to provide similar value.

The Orioles still present a formidable challenge even with Jackson Holliday out of the lineup

The Orioles have the option to swap Anderson and Jordan Westburg depending on their preference. Both of them are very similar defenders at both second and third base. It's sort of a can't-go-wrong situation. Maybe Orioles manager Craig Albernaz will just flip a coin.

1. Gunnar Henderson, SS
2. Jordan Westburg, 3B
3. Dylan Beavers, RF
4. Pete Alonso, 1B
5. Adley Rutschman, C
6. Taylor Ward, LF
7. Samuel Basallo, DH
8. Colton Cowser, CF
9. Blaze Alexander, 2B

Alexander's presence in the lineup actually provides some much-needed balance. With Holliday in the lineup, it's hard to construct a 1-9 where there aren't three lefties in a row at some point. In the above projected lineup, Alexander breaks up what would be a run of four lefties in a row if you one-for-one replaced him with Holliday.

That's not to say that the Orioles don't want Holliday to come back, but rather to point out that Albernaz will have to decipher how to construct the lineup in such a way that doesn't make it easy for opposing managers to get the platoon advantage late in games.

Losing Holliday is a blow, but even without him, this Orioles lineup is going to be very difficult for opposing pitchers to navigate. Hitters 1-8 in the above all could be well above-average, and they all have the potential to be 20-plus homer guys.

That's not even to mention the fact that Tyler O'Neill and some combination of Ryan Mountcastle/ Coby Mayo will be on the bench. All of those players crush lefties, so the Orioles have the option to flip the platoon advantage when they run into a left-handed starter or tough reliever.