Orioles' Jackson Holliday dealing with 'tricky injury,' father Matt says

Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun on Apr 17, 2026

Published in Baseball

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CLEVELAND — The Orioles’ decision to shut down Jackson Holliday after he struggled at the plate during his minor league rehabilitation assignment raised concerns about the health of his wrist.

The Orioles didn’t provide much clarity about Holliday’s injury, only describing the cause of the shutdown as “mild right wrist soreness.” About two months ago, the 22-year-old second baseman underwent hook of hamate removal surgery in his right hand/wrist, causing him to miss spring training and start a rehab assignment in late March.

But there’s now more clarity on Holliday’s health status and when he will restart a new rehab assignment — thanks to his father, Matt Holliday.

On his podcast, “Cardinal Territory,” Matt Holliday said that his son is dealing with soreness on the opposite side of his wrist. The hamate is on the pinky side of the wrist, but Jackson was dealing with discomfort on the thumb side of his wrist. While hamate injuries are strange, they are relatively common for hitters. Matt said it can be common for hitters recovering from hamate surgery, as the body often overcompensates.

“This is such a tricky injury. He had the surgery and, you know, [the wrist] is such an integral part of hitting,” Matt said. “He was working, obviously, coming back. He had some soreness on the opposite side. Sometimes you kind of compensate with some stuff. His wrist on the opposite side got a little bit sore. He was in Norfolk, and now he went back to Baltimore and got some reassurance that everything was fine, and he just had some inflammation on the other side of his wrist. Taking some anti-inflammatories.”

Matt said Jackson is scheduled to start his new rehab assignment this weekend with High-A Frederick. The Orioles will then reassess Jackson on Monday before deciding whether to send him back to Triple-A Norfolk.

“He’s working his way back,” Matt said. “Obviously, don’t want to rush it, make sure he feels strong and ready. The big leagues is a bear to tackle, especially if you’re not feeling 100 percent. I think it’s just being cautious with the wrist and making sure that when he does get activated, that he’s 100% confident with where he’s at physically so he can get out there and compete at the highest level that he can.”

Jackson hit .167 with a .453 OPS in 11 games during his rehab assignment. While rehab stats don’t mean much, especially for a player who lost his spring training, Holliday has said that he’s still experiencing some pain while hitting. He told The Virginian-Pilot last week that he’s “still working through some things” with his swing and getting used to feeling the discomfort in his swing.

“I’d be lying if I said it felt 100 percent, but it’s kind of just part of it,” Holliday said. “I’m trying to strengthen it, kind of just trying to get used to what I’m probably going to have to deal with for a little bit.”

“It’s just part of moving nerves around,” he added later. “It’s all right. But I’ve just kind of got to get used to pain and just try to get as strong as I can and just go from there.”

Holliday’s recovery from surgery is taking longer than the two other MLB players who went under the knife around the same time as the Orioles’ youngster. Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll were both ready for opening day, though they’ve experienced opposite results. Lindor is slumping with a .607 OPS, while Carroll is crushing the ball with a 1.001 OPS.

“It’s never linear,” Matt said. “I think in recovering from injuries and particularly wrists, there’s been a lot of guys that have had that surgery. There’s just little hiccups here and there. But he’s close and feeling good. I just talked to him a few minutes ago. He’s getting excited about where he’s at.”