Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday will miss the start of the regular season after suffering a broken hamate bone in his right hand, president of baseball operations Mike Elias announced Wednesday. Holliday, who suffered the injury during batting practice last week, will undergo surgery on Thursday. The Orioles have not stated an official timeline for Holliday’s recovery, but Elias said it’ll be “measured in weeks” after Opening Day.
Holliday is one of several notable players to suffer hamate injuries recently. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is expected to miss about six weeks following his own hamate surgery. Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll will miss at least the World Baseball Classic after also undergoing surgery on Wednesday. His Opening Day status is unclear.
For whatever it’s worth, Baseball Prospectus‘ database estimates players who have undergone hamate surgery in the past have missed about seven weeks on average. Every injury and recovery are unique in their own ways, but Opening Day 2026 is roughly six weeks off. If Holliday’s recovery follows that precedent and proceeds without setback, he should be able to return relatively early in the year.
Holliday, 22, is a former top prospect and the No. 1 pick in the 2022 Draft. Last season, his first full campaign in the majors, he hit .242/.314/.375 (95 OPS+) with 17 home runs and 17 stolen bases (albeit on 28 attempts). His contributions were worth an estimated 1 Win Above Replacement, per the calculations housed at Baseball Reference.
During Holliday’s absence, the Orioles could slot recent acquisition Blaze Alexander in at the keystone. It should be noted that Alexander was added before Holliday suffered his injury, making that move look more prescient. Alexander, 26, hit .230/.323/.383 (95 OPS+) with seven home runs and four stolen bases in 74 games. His contributions were worth an estimated 1.7 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference.