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Plan A for the Orioles infield went out the window as soon as Jackson Holliday suffered a broken hamate bone. The backup plan for the infield followed not long after once Jordan Westburg’s sore oblique turned into “he has a partially torn UCL.” With two expected starters likely
out for at least the first month of the season, in Westburg’s case potentially the whole season, we know that the team is going to have to get creative.
One part of that looks like it is going to be Coby Mayo taking a lot of the playing time at third base. This is the experiment the Orioles are running here in spring training and it sure seems to be a “get him as much practice as possible for the regular season” kind of thing rather than “we’re still not sure if we want to do this.” In about three weeks, we’re going to start getting an idea of whether this is an acceptable experiment for the Orioles chances of fielding as winning a team as they possibly can.
How do you feel about the potential for Mayo as a regular third baseman for at least April?
In the scouting world, there have always been doubts about whether Mayo could handle third base at the MLB level, because it’s tough for 6’5” guys to react on the hot corner. It is something of a desperate plan that’s brought the Orioles to this point for 2026… well, that and the fact that Mayo’s next most-likely home of first base was filled up by the long-term, big-money signing of Pete Alonso.
