Feb. 12: Holliday had successful surgery today to address his fractured hamate bone, according to multiple reports, including from Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun. The second baseman is expected to be sidelined several weeks beyond Opening Day.
Feb. 11: Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday will open the 2026 season on the injured list after suffering a fractured hamate bone in his right hand during live batting practice on Feb. 6, president of baseball operations Mike Elias announced to the team’s beat this morning (link via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner). He’ll likely miss the first several weeks of the season.
Elias also added that infielder Jordan Westburg suffered an oblique injury three weeks ago while training but is only expected to miss the first few games of Grapefruit League play (via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). The team isn’t concerned about his Opening Day status at this juncture. Righty Colin Selby, meanwhile, is dealing with inflammation in his right shoulder and is expected to open the season on the injured list (per Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun).
The Holliday injury is the most notable of the bunch. The former No. 1 pick and top prospect had been in line to open the season at second base after hitting .242/.314/.375 with 17 homers and 17 steals in his age-21 season with the O’s last year. Second base will now presumably fall to some combination of trade acquisition Blaze Alexander and utilityman Jeremiah Jackson. Alternatively, Baltimore could play Westburg at second base and give Coby Mayo some run at third base to begin the season.
Many fans on social media were quick to jump to the conclusion that the Holliday injury was a driving factor behind Baltimore’s acquisition of Alexander in last week’s trade with the Diamondbacks. However, the timing was a matter of happenstance; Holliday actually suffered the fracture in his hand/wrist the day after the Alexander trade was completed. Perhaps there was some modest concern about Westburg’s oblique at the time, but Holliday’s injury didn’t have any impact on that swap.
Hamate fractures are relatively common. Stars Francisco Lindor and Corbin Carroll are currently in similar boats at the moment. The resulting surgery typically sidelines players for anywhere from four to eight weeks. Hand injuries of this nature can often have a lingering impact on a player’s power output even after he’s cleared to return to the field, though every case is unique unto itself, of course. Assuming Holliday indeed hits the injured list, this will the first major league IL placement of his young career.
As for Selby, there’s less certainty on his outlook at the moment. The Orioles acquired him from the Royals in a July 2024 swap sending cash back to Kansas City. He spent the rest of that year and the majority of the 2025 season in Triple-A, but the 28-year-old righty was effective in 14 big league frames in 2025. Those 14 innings came over the life of 11 appearances and saw Selby hold opponents to five runs (3.21 ERA) on 16 hits and just two walks with 14 strikeouts. Selby also tossed 25 2/3 innings of 2.45 ERA ball at the Triple-A level, fanning 31.5% of his opponents there.
Selby’s IL placement opens up some space in the team’s Opening Day bullpen competition, which could create an easier path for lefty Grant Wolfram, righty Yaramil Hiraldo or out-of-options right-hander Rico Garcia. Right-hander Chayce McDermott, too, could find himself in that mix. He’s been a starter in the past, but Elias said today that the 27-year-old righty will be used as a reliever in the upcoming season (via Kostka). Righty Tyler Wells, meanwhile, will build up as a starter. There’s currently no clear rotation opening for him, but stretching out in camp will create some insurance for rotation injuries. Wells could open the season in a long relief role in the ‘pen or in the rotation with Triple-A Norfolk; he still has two minor league option years remaining.
Ban injuries..
Ugh….not bueno.
I say muy bueno. Every year there’s a day when Elias gives the injury update and it’s been way worse than this. If this is all, it’s pretty good. It’s like our own groundhog day – we find out if Elias sees his shadow and whether we will have six more months of IL.
I’m gonna be frustrated if the temporary fix isn’t Westburg at 2B and Mayo at 3B. I’ve never understood why they didn’t trade Mayo after the Alonso signing. If they don’t use him to trade for SP, and they don’t use him now when Holliday is hurt, then when?
Westburg is also injured (oblique).
Also, I never want to see Mayo at 3B again.
Westburg should be fine by opening day as long as he doesn’t obtain another injury or complications. Although, oblique injuries have proven to be a nagging hindrance that hang around and impact certain players performing. Let’s hope that is not the case!
Agree with you on Mayo.
baseballfan- As you say, oblique injuries can linger and nag, so I will believe it when I see it.
letsgolos- Mayo doesn’t need to go back to 3B because he isn’t good enough at 3B to play there regularly. That is why he was moved off the position in the first place.
Mayo should get a look. Blaze can’t cover both positions and Jeremiah Jackson isn’t a good 3B either.
Lousy situation if they’re both out
Question…how come football players play through oblique injuries?
He’s blocked at 1B by Alonso. DH is gonna be whoever isn’t Catching that day. He needs to go back to 3B especially in a time like this. If not, trade him!
Gonna have to agree that Mayo at 3rd is not good. He looked very uneasy there to be kind.
But…Mayo should be able to play a corner OF spot. His arm and relative speed means he’ll be better than Santander ever was, I think anyway.
Or trade Mayo for Grayson Rodriguez…😁
Will Basallo/Rutschman get the DH at bats? Thought maybe between O’Neil, Cowser, Mountcastle and Beavers that there would be some DH time for the odd man out of the outfield.
Welcome Jeremiah Jackson to the opening day lineup!
Yeah, his chances of breaking camp with the big league club just skyrocketed.
Mayo really is not an adequate MLB 3rd baseman. Way too many throwing errors – he’s a DH /1b if you need to win the game. If they were gGoing to give him more 3b time, it would’ve been last year when they didn’t need to win games.
They didn’t have Alonso last year. They do now. It’s 3B or trade. 3B is open right now if they move Westburg to 2B while Holliday is out.
If they’ve determined 3B isn’t an option for him anymore then he HAS to be traded.
This simply isn’t true.
He doesn’t have to be traded at all.
He doesn’t have to be traded but if we dont see Mayo as being capable at anywhere other than 1B then he makes for a tough fit.
I don’t feel Basallo will ever be a traditional full time C. Regardless, he’ll likely absorb DH or 1B ABS when not catching. Alonso will play everyday at 1B. Makes Mayo a pretty tough fit if we don’t think he can cover 3B or a corner outfield slot on a part time basis.
Now somebody’s hearing me.
Sure they dont have to trade him, but if they areny going to use him they should. I say give him a run at 3rd for a feww weeks and if he rakes you can deal him for a pitcher. if he fails you send him down. He is never going to get a real opportunity at 1st base for the O’s
Yes!
I was thinking the same thing. Hopefully he gets some good productive AB’s to boost his value.
Chris Davis to 3rd- Westburg to Second….
Because Mayo can’t play third at all. You didn’t see him there last year? It was terrible.
What is wrong with the Hanmate lately?
Whole Milk lost popularity.
trying to milk nuts is a hand breaking job
BOOOOOOO!
The Blaze Alexander trade is looking even better now though, and I liked it from the very beginning.
At least you still have Gunnar…
DON’T JINX IT
Birds of feather fly together.
Oh, wait don’t Orioles are very territorial and can live alone for most of the time?
Jeez that’s sad.
What is going on? Who’s next?
This is odd now. Players/Trainers need to evaluate their hand strengthening exercises.
quite an overreaction to what could just be a simple coincidence
I feel like this injury has increased in recent years. Any injury is worth checking into to see how to possibly avoid it in the future, especially in the sports field.
I only know one hand strengthening exercise if you know what I mean, and I think that you do.
-Joe Bob Briggs
lol
Are these guys getting hit in the hand by a batting practice machines or pitcher?
Conspiracy theory: teams are paying off opposing batting practice pitchers to aim for hamates. Or programming the machines to do so. Next step, world domination. No hamate is safe. Keep your children indoors people.
In case you aren’t aware, hamate bone fractures are almost always non-contact injuries. If you were aware and were just making a joke, than I’ll leave this here for anyone who doesn’t know.
The hamate bone is a little bone at the base of the palm of the hand, opposite side from the thumb and supports movement of the pinky and ring fingers. It usually breaks on a weird swing or a swing where the batter had the knob of the bat in his hand.
Best guess about this batch of injuries is:
-Guys working out during the winter and now taking hard swings with a different strength level from last time they played and causing the break.
-Guys working out during the winter and stressing the hand with extra weight work and then swinging with a hand that may not be properly rested.
-Trying a new grip in spring training that puts the hand in a riskier position.
…Or just random dumb luck.
We don’t have to guess!
1. Jackson Holliday (Baltimore Orioles)
How it happened: Holliday suffered a fractured hamate bone in his right hand on February 6 while taking live batting practice in Sarasota.
Status: He is scheduled for surgery on Thursday, February 12.
Impact: He will miss Opening Day, and his return is currently “measured in weeks.”
2. Corbin Carroll (Arizona Diamondbacks)
How it happened: Much like Holliday, Carroll fractured the hamate bone in his right hand while taking batting practice swings earlier this week.
Status: He underwent surgery on Wednesday, February 11.
Impact: This is a major blow for both the Diamondbacks and Team USA, as he has been forced to withdraw from the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
3. Francisco Lindor (New York Mets)
How it happened: Lindor is currently dealing with what the team calls a stress reaction in his left hamate bone. This is essentially the precursor to a full fracture, often caused by the repetitive “micro-contact” and vibration of the bat handle over time.
Status: He is visiting a hand specialist this week to determine if he needs surgery.
Impact: If he chooses surgery, it’s a roughly six-week recovery, which would put his Opening Day status in serious jeopardy.
-Increased use if hand held devices causing hamate fatigue resulting in higher risk of injury.
RULE #1 = Don’t swing at pitches that are going to hit you.
RULE #2 = Get out of the way of pitches that are going to hit you.
RULE #3 = Keep your hands away from pitches on the inside corner.
And it begins.
How in this world do baseball players even make it through life in general. I can’t think of another group of individuals that gets hurt this much this bad this often.
I wouldn’t call Jackson Holiday a superstar.
Maybe they can share the same harambe
Mediocre youngster they hope will be decent as 1/1 pick-but he’s no Witt Jr that was actually worthy of the hype.
He’s only 21. Can we give him some time please? It’s way too early to call him mediocre
He’s mediocre until he proves otherwise. Youth is no guarantee of improvement
💯
Who’s the 3rd? It sure ain’t mayo
Lindor, Holliday, Carroll
Oops, Mayo on the brain. I meant 3rd superstar ain’t holliday
Mayo on the brain? Sounds like a serious condition. Probably should get that check out.
Bust
Profound. As always.
130th of 154 qualified batters in OPS. Poor man’s Xavier Edwards
DDT – fangraphs shows 125/145 for Holliday; BR shows 126/146. fangraphs shows wRC+ 96 and BR shows OPS+ 95, that’s definitely not bust territory IMO. He was 21 last season, fangraphs projected an improvement from 1.2 fWAR to 1.9, not awesome, but he’s headed in the right direction…
He’ll be a major league regular: so as long as youre good with Gordon Beckham. Temper expectations- then hope to be surprised.
There we go, my Orioles again getting injuries like last year and the season hasn’t even started yet.
I am putting Westburg into the David Segui permanent injury category if he misses regular season time this year.
Funny that Wells is still categorized in the “potential” category and still has 2 option years left. He’s not 24, he will be 31. Wells could be effective in the old Sammy Stewart short/long relief and spot start role, but can’t be a full time rotation piece. He breaks past 100 IP if he gets that far.
The real focus here is that Westburg now has a better shot at retaining 2B eligibility in my keeper league…
I see you have your priorities in order!
On the “Mayo’s terrible at 3B” chatter: remember, it often takes young players a year or two to adjust at the major league level, and he hasn’t had much playing time at all to this point.
Bobby Witt, Jr was awful defensively his first year in the majors. But then solid his second year, and one of the best defensive players in baseball the past two years.
I’m not saying that Mayo = Witt or that he’ll become an excellent fielder. But I do think it’s worthwhile to give their former top prospect some more run at 3rd and see if he can develop there before giving up on him and relegating him to 1B/DH.
He’s been bad at third for his entire professional career. It’s his footwork, transfers, throwing accuracy etc. The infield defense was subpar last year so I can’t see them wanting to make it worse.
They should send him to Norfolk and put him in a corner outfield spot until he’s at least passable out there. Can’t be worse than Santander was and he has a very strong arm. He’d be called up pretty soon I’m sure.
A positive voice of reason? Well done sir!
Well I guess that explains the urgency to get Blaze Alexander… still doesn’t explain why it wasn’t sufficient to use Jeremiah Jackson plus re-signing Ramon Urias for just money and instead of losing Stroud, Arcenena and that more minor fielder.
Unless they feel like Blaze can actively move all over the field in every position other than DH, 1B and catcher… I still don’t understand giving that much away for a player that is likely gone after 2026 (regardless of years of control).
Maybe Blaze is the backup catcher behind Adley and Big Sam too! Can he pitch in relief, he’s supposed to have an 70 arm… maybe he can. How cool would it be to have him pitch against 2 hitters… then go to the OF while another reliever faces the couple lefties, then come back to the mound the next inning. THAT can help you eat some relief innings. Next variant of the ambidextrous reliever. Junior Ohtani.
ramon urias already stated he wanted 30 million a year, or he is not signing.
Why would Blaze Alexander be gone after 2026? This will be his 3rd season in the majors! Makes no sense!
Corbin Carrol and Francisco Lindor both have the same injury. I can’t remember when 3 guys had the same injury on the same day (reported at least).
Darn
At least it’s a successful surgery.
Recovery from hand surgery is tough.
Gonna be hard to hold the Mayo.
Hamate injuries tend to increase during years with digits that add up to ten.
Yup,
1900 had quite a few also…
Abner, Honus, and good ole Cleatus.
A few hamate injuries this Spring Training so far. Lindor is another that had issues if I remember correctly.
The door is open for Payton Eeles with a NRI. The O’s very own Dustin Pedroia?
blogs.fangraphs.com/minnesota-twins-top-43-prospec…
Just the good stuff: “Eeles is a 5-foot-5 outlier who had no Division-I offers coming out of high school and ended up at Division-II Cedarville, where he spent four seasons. He used his extra year of college eligibility after the pandemic to transfer to Coastal Carolina in 2023, where Eeles (who was listed at 5-foot-7 at the time) posted a .500 OBP as a fifth-year senior. Undrafted, he went to Indy Ball and raked in the American Association before the Twins finally signed him in May of 2024. He was quickly promoted from Fort Myers to High-A Cedar Rapids, where Eeles struck out just three times in 55 PA before Minnesota skipped him over Double-A and sent him straight to Triple-A St. Paul for the second half of the 2024 season. He never stopped hitting, and slashed .299/.419/.500 with 12 homers in 64 games at the hitter-friendly affiliate.”
Unfortunate for them but should be easy for them to replace his career 87 OPS+
Yes, because they fully expected their young, developing top draft pick to put up an 87 OPS+ again…
They don’t all work out though. Way she goes. Mind you in 2025 is was less below average than in 2024 so maybe 2026 is the year he shows some value.
Yeesh, they are NOT giving Mayo significant time at 3rd. They need to win games this year and they didn’t even give him time there last year when they didn’t need to win.
He has a 14% error rate in MLB; the worst full time 3bs have 4-5%. Small sample so check minors: an unbelievably bad 20% in AAA last year. Minor leagues in ”24 it was ‘only’ 6%.
The guy IS NOT a fielder, unless you count 1b as a fielder.
Bring in Chris Taylor for a spring look. PLS’s all positions and lengthens the depth
“Meanwhile” should START the sentence, not interrupt the syntax by coming in the middle between commas. How do you screw this up twice? There shouldn’t be a comma before “too” either.