WASHINGTON -- If Jordan Westburg had been healthy for the entire 2026 season, he likely would have made at least 140 starts at third base for the Orioles. The hot corner was set to be the 27-year-old infielder’s primary position, as he has proven he can be a strong player there.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery this week, Westburg’s start total this year will be zero.
Baltimore’s bad injury luck has caused plenty of absences -- 19 players have spent time on the injured list, including 13 at this moment -- but losing Westburg for the entire season has been one of its biggest losses, if not the biggest.
“We didn’t plan for this outage, and there wasn’t any indication that this was going to be the case until the very first week of Spring Training, when he was reporting his elbow soreness for the first time,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday. “It’s really hard to fill an everyday third baseman’s shoes like Jordan Westburg’s without the ability to plan for it, and we’re having to work through it on the fly.”
The third-base job has mostly belonged to Coby Mayo, who now has a runway to stabilize the position and make it his for the rest of the season. However, there have been ups and downs for the 24-year-old former top prospect -- as expected, considering he had fully converted to first base in 2025, then was asked to move back to third once Westburg got hurt.
Mayo’s potential was on display during Friday’s 3-2 loss to Washington at Nationals Park. He cleanly fielded all three ground balls hit his way, making an especially nice play to end the third inning, when he charged toward the third-base line to scoop a ball hit off the bat of Curtis Mead and made an accurate throw across the diamond in a continuous motion.
Offensively, Mayo had been slumping, but he is 6-for-20 (.300) over his past seven games after going 1-for-3 with a 116.5 mph single on Friday -- the hardest-hit batted ball of his 140-game MLB career, according to Statcast.
Even if Mayo’s offensive numbers aren’t great (a .179 average and .571 OPS in 38 games), it’s easy to see how those could trend upward. He continues to hit balls hard, and the 2020 fourth-round Draft pick had a track record of being one of the Minor Leagues’ top hitters during his ascension through Baltimore’s system.
The uncertainty surrounding Mayo has always been more on the defensive side, and there have been shaky moments, such as May 7, when he committed a two-out throwing error in the ninth inning that resulted in a walk-off win for the Marlins.
But Elias again expressed his belief that the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mayo can hold down third base in Westburg’s extended absence.
“He’s a good infielder, particularly for his size,” Elias said. “Doing it at the Major League level is tough, and I wish maybe he had a little more warning over the winter that this was going to be assignment No. 1. But we just had no indication that Jordan was going to be out.
“But Coby’s been really ardent about working on this, and it hasn’t been a 100-percent smooth ride, but it wasn’t expected to be, and he’s doing great. He’s working really hard every day, and I think he’s getting really comfortable with the bat and the glove and he’s helping our team. So he’s going to be out there a lot, and we need him.”
Nobody around the O’s on an everyday basis can question Mayo’s work ethic. Last year, he was out on the field prior to each game going through extensive workouts at first base alongside various members of the coaching staff.
This year, Mayo has done the same, only he’s been going through drills at third base, predominantly under the guidance of new infield coach Miguel Cairo.
“Having him in the clubhouse and working with him has been unbelievable, the resources he has. He still talks to guys like Scott Rolen consistently, just about third-base defense, and he’s somebody that I’m going to rely on a lot this year, and hopefully for many years to come,” Mayo recently said of Cairo. “The way he explains stuff is very encouraging, very easy to understand. He can put a glove on and show you how to do it, because he’s still got that baseball shape. Everything he does is with passion, and I love that.”
Baltimore has Weston Wilson and Blaze Alexander as depth options at third, while Jeremiah Jackson has played the position in previous years. Also, Jackson Holliday (right hamate surgery) is getting some reps at the position during his Minor League rehab assignment, though Elias said that’s mainly to keep the club’s options open.
So, this seemingly is Mayo’s position moving forward -- as long as he proves he can lock it down.