Orioles latest Jackson Holliday trade reports are biggest red flag yet

Once lauded as an untouchable generational prospect, recent buzz would lead us to believe the Baltimore Orioles have changed their stance on infielder Jackson Holliday.

Should we be concerned about how quickly and drastically the perception of Holliday has changed? It feels that way, especially considering the player Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports revealed who Baltimore was pursuing in exchange for the 20-year-old.

On Wednesday, Kovacevic reported that a "high-ranking American League executive" told him the Orioles confronted the Pittsburgh Pirates about swapping "elite prospects." Though based on the intel provided, the timeline of events remains unclear.

Per Kovacevic, the Orioles explored a deal "that'd send Jared Jones to Baltimore," with Holliday getting rerouted to Pittsburgh. Nonetheless, the baseball columnist adds that it was Pirates general manager Ben Cherington "who backed off."

Orioles' latest Jackson Holliday trade reports are the biggest red flag yet

FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray says that the report of a Holliday-Jones swap isn't accurate.

"Any report stating that a Jackson Holliday for Jared Jones swap was on the table is not accurate," according to Murray.

Sitting at 57-34 and atop the AL East, the Orioles cashing in Holliday for an all-in move to bolster their pennant race makes some sense. But instead, they looked at trading one young talent for another. 

Perhaps the Orioles feel a sense of urgency to address their starting pitching rotation, hence the documented interest in Jones. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal recently noted that "Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer and Cade Povich are their only three current starters under team control" beyond 2024. 

Still, does that justify parting ways with Holliday? Albeit his 10-game MLB sample size is less than stellar -- to put it kindly, this feels premature. Regardless, consider the alarm bells officially rung.

In 36 major league plate appearances, Holliday yielded zero home runs and an RBI while batting .059/.111/.059. Moreover, he struck out an unsettling 18 times, more than half of his at-bats. However, Holliday has thrived with Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate this season, the Norfolk Tides. He has a .271/.445/.471slash line across 292 trips to the plate, including eight homers and 29 RBIs.

Have the Orioles seen enough from Holliday? Do they know something we don't? If not, seeing his name dangled in trade talks this early into his Baltimore tenure is puzzling.