Are Orioles playing Holliday at shortstop in case Henderson isn’t ready? | MAILBAG

Question: With Gunnar Henderson out, Jackson Holliday is getting a lot of reps at shortstop. Is that an indication that the O’s expect Henderson to start the year on the injured list? From: Kevin Gish

Answer: Kevin, Henderson hasn’t played since February 27^th and needs to play in a few games this week before he’ll be ready for Opening Day. I’m not ruling him out because I was surprised that Jorge Mateo was ready to play on Sunday.

The Orioles want to be protected and if both Holliday and Mateo can play shortstop, that’s good insurance if Henderson starts the season on the injured list.

Question: What do you think of this idea? Keep slamming Sammy Basallo. Platoon him at first base and right field and catcher. Remember the Yankees did that with Elston Howard until Yogi Berra retired. From: Rob Schroeder

Answer: Rob, as impressive as 20-year-old Samuel Basallo has been this spring, he won’t be starting the season with the Orioles. He’s played just 21 games in Triple-A and needs to concentrate on learning to catch veteran pitchers there before he can come to the big leagues.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.