Jeremiah Jackson’s uncertain place on ’27 Orioles

The Orioles have begun removing players from the 40-man roster to prepare for the likelihood of a quicker than usual offseason because of the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. When the expected lockout begins on December 1^st, transactions will be frozen.

One of the players who could be in danger of losing his spot is Jeremiah Jackson.

Jackson benefited from the trade of utility infielder Ramón Urías in July 2025. The Orioles needed another infielder and he was added for the final two months of the 2025 season.

He’d been struck in Double-AA for four seasons in three different organizations: the Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets and Orioles. When a need arose at Triple-A Norfolk, Jackson, who was then 25, got his first experience at that level.

He hit decently for Chesapeake, batting .254 with a .703 OPS, four home runs and 19 RBIs in 45 games. Norfolk was a great experience for Jackson, and he hit .377 with a 1.073 OPS, 11 home runs and 22 RBIs in 40 games.

Jackson had been invited to major league spring training and was sent back to minor league camp quickly, so the Orioles didn’t know a lot about him.

After Urías’ trade, Jackson got a chance to play right field and third base. He had an outstanding first month, hitting .323 with an .828 OPS in August. His September wasn’t as strong with a .221 average.

Overall, Jackson hit .276 with a .775 OPS, five homers and 21 RBIs. His performance on a team that made eight July trades was good enough to warrant at least a serious look at spring training this year.

With injuries to second baseman Jackson Holliday and third baseman Jordan Westburg, Jackson made the team, and hit well in the first month of the season.

His most memorable hit came on April 14^th when his foul ball broke manager Craig Albernaz’s jaw in the fifth inning. An inning later, with Albernaz back in his office, Jackson hit a grand slam to propel the Orioles to an exciting come-from-behind 9-7 win over Arizona.

That win put the Orioles at 9-7, the only time all season they were two games over .500.

On April 30^th, Jackson was hitting .270 with a .768 OPS, six home runs and 24 RBIs.

Holliday, who had right wrist surgery in February, returned in mid-May, and Jackson’s time at second base was limited.

In July, he suffered through an 0-for-25 slump, and was sent to Norfolk on August 19^th when catcher Samuel Basallo came off the injured list. The Orioles opted to keep three catchers and Jackson went back to Triple-A.

He returned to the Orioles on September 9^th, and finished the second half with a .111 average.

His season average was .217 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs with a .611 OPS. His highlight came on September 25^th when he hit an inside-the-park home run.

Jackson’s play regressed in two important ways. In 2025, he walked only 11 times while striking out 50. This season, he struck out nearly seven times more often than he walked (69/10). His on-base percentage dropped from .328 to .247.

Even though he played only 80 games at second base, he led the American League with 10 errors. New York’s Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Toronto’s Ernie Clement each made nine, though Chisholm played about twice as many innings and Clement played 132 games at second.

Though the Orioles need outfielders, Jackson didn’t play there much in 2026, starting four times in left and once in right.

If both Holliday, who had left wrist surgery at the end of the season, and Westburg, who had Tommy John surgery in May, are back, Blaze Alexander could get more playing time at second against left-handers. That could hurt Jackson’s case.

Alexander has proven he can play at each of the three outfield positions as well as second, third and shortstop. Jackson played 13 games at third base in 2025, and with Alexander, Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand filling in at third, he played only one inning there this year.

Jackson does have two options remaining, but after his uneven season offensively, seems to be a uncertain fit for the Orioles in 2027.

The Orioles have another interesting minor league player, Aron Estrada, who played second base at Chesapeake and displayed some power, hitting 25 home runs and driving in 81 runs while hitting .281 with an .807 OPS with the Baysox and Norfolk.

Room must be found for Estrada, who isn’t considered strong defensively, as well as others on the 40-man roster.

While Jackson has shown some value, his place on the 40-man doesn’t seem assured.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com