Current:Home > BackOrioles send Jackson Holliday, MLB's No. 1 prospect, to minor leagues-LoTradeCoin
Orioles send Jackson Holliday, MLB's No. 1 prospect, to minor leagues
View Date:2024-12-24 07:08:04
In a moderate surprise, Major League Baseball's No. 1 prospect will not make his club's Opening Day roster.
The Baltimore Orioles on Friday reassigned infielder Jackson Holliday to the minor leagues, ending the eye-opening spring training performance of the industry's consensus top young player.
Orioles general manager Mike Elias said over the winter that there was a strong chance Holliday, 20, would break camp with the big club after a dominant 2023 season in which Holliday swept every major minor league player of the year award.
Holliday backed that up in the Grapefruit League, with a .311/.354/.600 slash line and seven extra-base hits in 48 plate appearances. But the Orioles do not want for capable young players, and his reassignment means the club saves a 40-man roster spot for the time being.
Elias told reporters in Sarasota, Florida that Holliday's ascendance was so quick that he needs more reps against elite pitching, most notably left-handers, and that when he makes the major leagues, the club prefer it be permanent.
All things Orioles: Latest Baltimore Orioles news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
"He’s moved through the minors at a pace that we haven’t seen in a couple of decades, arguably," says Elias of Holliday, who started 2023 at low Class A and finished with 54 combined games and 255 at-bats at Class AA and AAA. "When we think about developing and completing the development of a player with his talent, and it’s something we have some experience doing…there’s a lot of considerations involved so that when they do start their major league career, you want them to be able to stay.
“Guys of that marquee caliber, you want them to be able to start their careers in full-time, full-blown roles. He’s not faced a ton of major league quality or even Triple-A quality left-handed pitching. That’s something that’s going to be thrust in his face when he’s in the American League East.”
Holliday's reassignment means second-year man Jordan Westburg and veterans Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo will help man the infield around Gunnar Henderson, the reigning Rookie of the Year who occupied Holliday's top prospect spot just one year ago.
The Orioles also have veteran infielder Kolten Wong in camp, and adding him to the bench would give them a reserve left-handed bat while Holliday and the other young players receive full-time at-bats.
While top prospects' minor-league assignments often raise concerns that the club is engaging in service-time suppression, Holliday can still receive a full year of service time if he is recalled and finishes in the top two of American League Rookie of the Year voting. That stipulation was added to MLB's collective bargaining agreement in 2022, just in time for Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman - that year's Rookie of the Year runner-up - to take advantage of the clause.
Conversely, the Orioles will not gain the draft-pick reward had Holliday been on the roster from Opening Day and ended up winning Rookie of the Year, another hallmark of the 2022 CBA.
veryGood! (54)
Related
- Republican Dan Newhouse wins reelection to US House in Washington
- Pilots of an Alaska Airlines jet braked to avoid a possible collision with a Southwest plane
- Francis Ford Coppola sues Variety over article about his 'unprofessional behavior'
- Video shows dog leap out of car window to chase deer eating grass in New York: Watch
- 2 striking teacher unions in Massachusetts face growing fines for refusing to return to classroom
- 3-year-old dies after falling into neighbor's septic tank in Washington state
- Pac-12 adding Mountain West schools sets new standard of pointlessness in college sports
- Jason Kelce Introduces Adorable New Member of His and Kylie Kelce’s Family
- ONA Community Introduce
- A man pleads guilty in a shooting outside then-US Rep. Zeldin’s New York home
Ranking
- Krispy Kreme is giving free dozens to early customers on World Kindness Day
- A teen accused of killing his mom in Florida was once charged in Oklahoma in his dad’s death
- Thursday Night Football: Highlights, score, stats from Bills' win vs. Dolphins
- New York governor says she has skin cancer and will undergo removal procedure
- 'America's flagship' SS United States has departure from Philadelphia to Florida delayed
- Arizona man copied room key, sexually assaulted woman in hotel: Prosecutors
- Three people wounded in downtown Dallas shooting; police say suspect is unknown
- September 2024 full moon is a supermoon and harvest moon: When to see it
Recommendation
-
Pete Alonso's best free agent fits: Will Mets bring back Polar Bear?
-
Britney Spears praises Sabrina Carpenter after VMAs homage: 'She made me cool'
-
Pac-12 adding Mountain West schools sets new standard of pointlessness in college sports
-
A strike would add to turbulent times at Boeing
-
Agents search home of ex-lieutenant facing scrutiny as police probe leak of school shooting evidence
-
Schools reopen with bolstered security in Kentucky county near the site of weekend I-75 shooting
-
Nikki Garcia Shares Official Date of Separation From Artem Chigvintsev Amid Divorce
-
Consumers are expected to spend more this holiday season