The Orioles need a version of Jackson Holliday that he's never sustained at the Major League level

Over two months after having surgery to remove his broken hamate bone, Jackson Holliday is back with the Baltimore Orioles. Holliday's return comes at a crucial point in the Orioles season. At 21-27, they have played well below the level that was expected of them coming into the season, but despite the slow start, they remain just barely on the outside looking in at the playoffs. If Holliday can provide a spark to the Orioles' offense, his return could be viewed as a turning point in the season.

The timing of Holliday's return is interesting. Had he somehow been ready to go 10 days ago after the Orioles lost to the Marlins on a Coby Mayo throwing error, it feels likely that Mayo would have been the one to lose his spot, if not on the active roster, then at least as a regular in the starting lineup to make room for Holliday.

However, since that game, Mayo has been one of the Orioles hottest hitters, slashing .261/.370/.565. That well-timed hot stretch might have been enough to save his job. With Mayo being at least for the moment secure in the lineup, the player that would get circled as the one to have to step aside to make room for Holliday would be Jeremiah Jackson.

On the year as a whole, Jackson has been one of the Orioles more productive infielders, but over the last two weeks, his bat has really slowed down. So it seems that despite the reps the Orioles had Jackson take at third, he'll be returning to be the Orioles primary second baseman after all.

This won't be the end of Jeremiah Jackson's playing time as a whole. The Orioles have had no problem shaking up the lineup and moving players around out of position to get everyone some playing time. Now that Holliday is back, expect to see Jeremiah Jackson in the outfield from time to time or over at third or even back at second if there's a lefty starter the Orioles want to protect Holliday from.  

Jackson Holliday has the potential to be the hero of the 2026 season

The question would be, is Holliday capable of providing a spark for this offense?

Looking at what Holliday has done at the major league level over the past two seasons, that feels like a tall order. He has a career slash line of .229/.300/.360, and last year, in a season seen as a major step forward for him, he was still a below-average hitter. During his rehab assignment across three different minor league levels, he hit below .200

As much as Holliday's past struggles are concerning, there is a good reason to believe he could be a driving force for this Orioles team to get their season turned around.

Holliday is still just 22 years old and still has many of the tools that once made him the number 1 prospect in baseball. Because of where his numbers ended up at the end of last season, it gets forgotten, but Holliday was almost the starting second baseman for the American League All-Star team last year. Through the first two months of the season, he slashed .270/.320/.439, that's an above-average hitter, especially at second base.

The Orioles have really struggled to get any consistent offense from their infield, and their lineup always feels like it falls off a cliff after the first 4-5 hitters. If Holliday can plug in at second base and just hit for average at the bottom of the lineup, the Orioles offense would feel a lot more competitive.

Asking Holliday to turn the Orioles season around is too much to put on the shoulders of one player, but if he comes in and plays like the best version of himself, he can provide a big boost to the Orioles.

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