BALTIMORE — Two months since undergoing surgery for a broken hamate bone suffered days before the start of spring training, Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday still isn’t ready to return.
A couple days before his minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk was set to expire, Holliday will remain on the 10-day injured list and has been shut down due to “mild right wrist soreness” with the club noting that isn’t uncommon following hamate surgery. The 22-year-old will be allowed to rest for a few days before the organization determines when he’ll resume hitting and begin another rehab assignment.
The Orioles never expressed a timeline for when Holliday might make his 2026 debut, but it’s worth noting fellow major leaguers Corbin Carroll and Francisco Lindor also suffered broken hamate bones and had surgery — albeit to their non-throwing hands — at the start of spring training before returning in time to play on Opening Day. While Lindor is off to a poor start for the struggling New York Mets, Carroll entered Tuesday’s action with an outstanding .321/.403/.623 slash line in 62 plate appearances.
With Holliday having started his rehab assignment on March 27 and now appearing unlikely to return before late April at the earliest, it’s safe to conclude his recovery hasn’t been optimal. In 46 plate appearances for the Tides, Holliday has produced a slash line of .167/.239/.214 with just two extra-base hits and 12 strikeouts.
The first overall pick of the 2022 draft told The Virginian-Pilot last week that he was “still working through some things” and experiencing some discomfort when swinging the bat. Holliday last played for the Tides on Sunday, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
“It’s great to see Jackson be communicative and open at every turn,” manager Craig Albernaz said Tuesday. “Also, it’s still the middle of April. At any point, a player should not rush to come back when they’re on the IL. But with Jackson, it’s making sure that he’s ready to come back. He also missed spring training, so there’s a lot of components to this. With Jackson, you get to see the [doctors], get to see where he’s at, get a little plan in place as far as preparation, rehab, and other aspects he needs to take to kind of nip that in the bud.
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“Selfishly, it also gets him around with the boys for a little bit, gets him around our coaches. When he leaves here and goes to play again, he’ll be in a better spot.”
Fortunately, the Orioles have been in a better spot than expected at second base to open the season with Jeremiah Jackson playing above-average defense and having a career night at the plate in Monday’s 9-7 comeback win over Arizona. The 26-year-old hit a grand slam and a solo homer to help Baltimore erase a 7-1 deficit in the late innings. Jackson was making his fifth straight start at second base on Tuesday night after starting 12 of Baltimore’s first 16 games there.
In his first full season in the majors last year, Holliday batted .242 with 17 home runs, 21 doubles, 55 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, and a .690 on-base plus slugging percentage in 649 plate appearances.
