Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday has not played this season due to injury.
The Baltimore Orioles have spent the entire season shorthanded, and one of the biggest missing pieces has been Jackson Holliday. Even though he has yet to fully establish himself at the major-league level, owning a .229 batting average, .300 on-base percentage and .659 OPS across parts of two seasons, he remains one of the most important long-term players in the organization.
The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft was once the top prospect in baseball, and the Orioles expected him to take a meaningful step forward in 2026. Instead, a right hand fracture has kept him off the field for nearly a month.
On Thursday, Holliday finally provided a positive update. "Jackson Holliday said today in Orioles' clubhouse that he expects to be back playing rehab games next week. Holliday hasn't played since experiencing discomfort in his surgically repaired right hand on April 21, when he was pulled off his 2nd rehab assignment,” reported Jake Rill of MLB.com.
Holliday’s road back has been anything but straightforward. He fractured the hamate bone in his right hand on Feb. 6 during live batting practice and underwent surgery shortly after.
By early March, he had resumed swinging and appeared on track for an early April return. But lingering pain slowed his progress, and his first rehab assignment ended when he admitted he still did not feel right at the plate. The Orioles shut him down briefly, ran additional tests and then sent him out for a second rehab stint in mid April.
That assignment also ended abruptly. On April 21, during his first at-bat with Triple-A Norfolk, Holliday felt discomfort on the opposite side of his wrist, believed to be the result of overcompensation after surgery.
He was removed immediately and returned to Baltimore for imaging the next day. The Orioles have been cautious ever since, prioritizing long-term health over rushing him back.
Now, for the first time in weeks, the timeline is moving forward again. If Holliday begins a rehab assignment next week and avoids setbacks, he could rejoin the Orioles sometime in May.
When he does return, Baltimore will have decisions to make. Jeremiah Jackson has played well at second base, and a platoon between the two could give the Orioles more favorable matchups while easing Holliday back into everyday action.
After 29 missed games, simply getting Holliday healthy and trending upward would be a major win for a team still waiting to see his full potential.