A healthy Kjerstad could give the Orioles a boost in 2026

When prospective Orioles outfielders for 2026 are discussed, Heston Kjerstad’s name is often missing.

Kjerstad, who was the overall No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, mysteriously left Triple-A Norfolk in late July. Reports were that he was suffering from fatigue.

The Orioles haven’t elaborated on Kjerstad’s condition since a brief answer president of baseball operations Mike Elias offered on September 29^th.

“Heston has been working with our doctors and other doctors on a medical condition,” Elias said. “He’s responded favorably to some treatment and some different treatments that they’ve done recently and he’s in a good spot right now and pointed in the right direction. We’re going to see him in spring training, and I’m really looking forward to that, because we missed the real Heston Kjerstad this year.

“I don’t want to go into any more detail.”

By the time spring training begins in February, Kjerstad will turn 27, and he’s played in only 106 major league games.

Kjerstad’s professional debut was delayed until June 2022 after he missed 2021 with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. He also missed the start of the 2022 season because of a hamstring injury.

He had a great start at Single-A Delmarva, batting .463 in 22 games, and hit .233 in 43 games for High-A Aberdeen.

Kjerstad was sent to the Arizona Fall League to make up for lost time, and he was voted the league’s MVP.

A year later, he was in the major leagues after hitting .303 with a .904 OPS with 21 home runs and 55 RBIs at Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk.

In his first 13 games with the Orioles, Kjerstad hit .233 with two home runs and three RBIs, was on the roster for the Divisional Series against Texas, but didn’t play.

In 2024, Kjerstad was showing promise, hitting .314 with a .946 OPS in 21 games before he was hit on the batting helmet with a pitch by the New York Yankees’ Clay Holmes on July 13^th.

Kjerstad was on the 7-day concussion list and after a seven-game return, was placed on the 10-day injured list with a concussion. He returned to the Orioles on September 15^th and played 11 games.

Post-concussion, Kjerstad hit .188 with a home run and two RBIs in 18 games.

For the first time, Kjerstad began the season with the Orioles in 2025, and he got his first extended opportunity to play, hitting .192 with a .566 OPS, four home runs and 19 RBIs.

He didn’t appear in the major leagues after June 6^th and hit only .149 with two home runs and six RBIs in 27 games with Norfolk. Kjerstad didn’t play after July 25^th.

The Orioles have left-handed hitting outfielders Dylan Beavers and Colton Cowser, and right-handed hitting Tyler O’Neill, who played the same number of games, 54, as Kjerstad did with the Orioles.

A healthy and productive Kjerstad would be a bonus for the Orioles, who could use him as a left-handed designated hitter. Kjerstad struggled in the outfield, colliding with centerfielder Jorge Mateo in a game.

He had a -1.0 Defensive WAR (Wins Above Replacement), though he’s never been charged with an error in 74 major league games.

Besides Beavers, Cowser and O’Neill, the Orioles have added two outfielders in the last week to the 40-man roster –Pedro Léon and Leody Taveras. Léon was claimed off waivers from Houston, and Taveras was signed to a $2 million contract for 2026. They also have Jeremiah Jackson, who played right field and third base in 2025.