After hearing relentless criticism from fans about team spending throughout their underwhelming 2025 season, President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias and the Baltimore Orioles busied themselves in the offseason.
Amid the headline additions the team made, some of which include former New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward, and Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz, one quieter move slipped through the cracks in Charm City: the late-offseason acquisition of infielder Blaze Alexander.
Elias reached an agreement with the Arizona Diamondbacks early in February on a deal that would send Alexander to Baltimore in exchange for right-handed relief man Kade Strowd and a pair of minor leaguers, right-handed pitcher Wellington Aracena and middle infielder Jose Mejia.
A sizable package for the former Arizona utilityman, especially considering Strowd threw to a sub-two earned run average in 26.1 innings for the Orioles during the 2025 season. In an offseason where the Orioles completed five trades, just two of them included the team surrendering multiple minor league prospects: Alexander’s deal and the deal to acquire Baz from Tampa Bay.
So, what can the 26-year-old Alexander bring to the table in Baltimore?
In the wake of young star Jackson Holliday’s broken right Hamate bone, an injury that will cause the former first overall pick to miss time to begin the season, the answer is quite a lot.
Alexander was drafted to Arizona in the 11th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, an infielder from one of the nation’s top sports high schools, IMG Academy. The Florida native made his major league debut on March 28, 2024, a two-hit outing against the Colorado Rockies.
Alexander’s .230 batting average and .323 on-base percentage over the past two seasons in Arizona don’t make him the most encouraging player at the plate. In fact, the infielder struck out 86 times in 266 plate appearances during the 2025 season, which would’ve ranked 5th worst on the Orioles.
Alexander did, however, manage to rank 5th among Diamondbacks batters in bWAR (1.7).
Though his bat hasn’t always stood out, Birdland can expect to see Alexander’s defensive contributions on full display. After all, defense wins championships.
The 26-year-old’s most notable trademark is his versatility in the field and nobody understands that better than Alexander himself. Upon arriving to Orioles camp, he described himself as a “super-athlete” and “a guy who can be versatile, can play everywhere.”.
Elias also recently noted that Alexander is “going to be a really big part of our team.”
In 137 career games with Arizona, Alexander has played at five different positions, not including designated hitter.
His routine position as a Diamondback was third base, which he occupied in 47.8% of his major league starts.
Alternatively, the bulk of Alexander’s time in Arizona’s minor league system came at shortstop, where he played over 3,000 innings.
With Baltimore prepping former top prospect Coby Mayo to slot in at third base for the injured Jordan Westburg, Alexander is expected to see a heavy workload at second base, at least until Holliday makes his highly anticipated return.
With Westburg’s Return Unclear, the Door Opens for Youngster Coby Mayo
Holliday’s hand injury is expected to sideline him for a few weeks to start the season, an injury that was, perhaps, not coincidentally announced just a day after the acquisition of Alexander. The former 11th-round selection has made three of his five spring training appearances from second base, likely indicating that fans can expect to see Alexander start at the position to open the season.
A primary shortstop in the minor leagues. A primary third baseman on his first major league team. And now, potentially a primary second baseman on his second major league team.
The former Diamondback could also shift to the outfield if necessary, where he has logged seven of his career big league games.
Quite the testament to the versatility that made him such an attractive asset to Elias and company.
Beyond Holliday’s return, Alexander’s experience allows him to shift anywhere in the field and still play at a high level. He’s the ultimate utility man, something that Elias has always prioritized in his tenure as the decision-maker in Baltimore.
The team parted ways this offseason with its most notable utility player in recent memory, Jorge Mateo, who signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves in January. Alexander’s arrival will remedy the absence of Mateo, who played most of his Baltimore career in the middle infield.
Alexander also boasts more hitting upside than his predecessor, with that .230 batting average significantly outpacing the .177 average that Mateo posted during his injury-riddled season. Even comparing the two in 2024, Alexander’s rookie season, Baltimore’s new utility man logged a higher batting average, on base percentage, and more runs batted in.
It’s clear that in the Orioles’ view, the value of versatility cannot be understated.
Alexander perfectly fits the model that the team is looking for to replace Mateo, but he’s not alone.
Baltimore also has infielder/outfielder Jeremiah Jackson, a former 2nd-round pick for the Los Angeles Angels in the 2018 MLB Draft. Jackson, 25, has done nothing but impress during his tenure in Charm City, slugging a .276 batting average and .328 on-base percentage in the 2025 season.
Jackson was primarily stationed at third base and right field in his rookie season for Baltimore, but does have the ability to man second base, as he did for 126 of his 579 minor league games.
While the possibility of a competition at second base ahead of Holliday’s season debut exists, the two utility men will likely coexist in a constantly shifting rotation. Jackson also possesses much more outfield experience, a potential limit to his time spent in the infield.
Regardless of how it shakes out, the presence of both Alexander and Jackson will strengthen the team’s bench and give Baltimore some of the strongest positional depth that it has seen in years. On a team with legitimate postseason expectations, that flexibility will matter just as much in September as it does in April.
