Baltimore Orioles GM Explains Sudden Jackson Holliday Demotion

Baltimore Orioles GM Mike Elias explained why he sent Jackson Holliday back to Triple-A.

Nov 7, 2023; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias speaks to the media. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

When the Baltimore Orioles called up Jackson Holliday earlier this month, it felt long overdue. MLB's No. 1 prospect had played well in Spring Training and was murdering Triple-A pitching. It was time to give him a shot.

A couple of weeks later, it seems the Orioles may have overestimated his readiness. Holliday was historically bad during his first taste of the big leagues, managing just two hits (both singles) in his first 10 games. His batting line was an anemic .059/.111/.059 and he was clearly overmatched against MLB pitching, striking out in half of his plate appearances.

On Friday, Baltimore mercifully returned him to Triple-A Norfolk for additional seasoning. General manager Mike Elias addressed the media before Friday night's home game against the Oakland A's to explain the decision.

"It's a little hiccup and I think it's probably the first one that he's ever had, and he's ultimately gonna be better off for it."

Mike Elias explains the Orioles' decision to send Jackson Holliday back to Triple-A Norfolk pic.twitter.com/IBN45JSHeR

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Elias admitted that the decision to have Holliday start the season in Triple-A rather than on the big-league roster was "borderline," but that the team felt encouraged by his strong performance at Triple-A (1.077 OPS) and wanted to give him a look in the majors.

After seeing Holliday struggle, Elias said he feels that Holliday will benefit more from making the necessary adjustments at Triple-A rather than attempting to do so at the big-league level. Elias also noted that the Orioles are set to face a number of left-handed starting pitchers soon, which means the left-handed-hitting Holliday likely would have been sitting on the bench anyway. At Triple-A, he'll get more repetitions, more chances to fix his swing and more chances to get his confidence back.

"I think the bright side of this is he got very intense, very specific feedback from major-league pitching," Elias said. "He's a brilliant talent and a very sharp kid, and I expect he's going to implement those adjustments very quickly. But we felt that Triple-A, and steady playing time in Triple-A, was the place for that for a number of different reasons."

Holliday is only 20 and has logged just 162 games across all levels (majors and minors), so he still has plenty of learning to do and plenty of time to do it. With Baltimore off to a hot start, the team can afford to be patient with him and let him develop at his own pace. There's no need to rush him and potentially hamper his development.

Perhaps Holliday will follow the same trajectory as Colton Cowser, who struggled in his cup of coffee last year but has started this season on fire after making adjustments last offseason. Lots of rookies have setbacks, even former No. 1 draft picks like Holliday.