Orioles utilityman Blaze Alexander is day to day after leaving game with knee injury

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Orioles infielder Blaze Alexander, who was enjoying the best stretch of his young career, was removed from Monday’s game against the Angels with right knee discomfort.

The good news, manager Craig Albernaz said, is that this doesn’t appear to be a long-term issue for Alexander. He fouled a ball off his knee in the second inning, and when he sat down in the top of the third inning, his knee “just locked up on him,” Albernaz said.

“I think if we had more time, we probably could have worked it out for him, but in that moment with the inning being over, we had to make a quick decision,” he said. “It’ll be muscle contusion, day to day.”

Cameras from the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network showed Alexander in the dugout struggling to put weight on his right leg.

The quick decision turned out to be outfielder Leody Taveras at the hot corner, a position he has never played before.

“Excited, excited, honestly, because it was a pretty nice opportunity down there,” Taveras said. “You have to find a way to help the team. That’s all I had in my mind, so I go out there, catch the ball and make the out.”

He answered the call from Albernaz, who asked the dugout at large, “Who wants to play third?”

Infielder Jackson Holliday is dealing with a tight groin and wasn’t available Monday. Infielder Coby Mayo is the designated hitter, and to move him into the field would have required the Orioles to burn the DH role and have a pitcher hit for the rest of the game. The other bench pieces are catchers Samuel Basallo and Chadwick Tromp.

That left Taveras as the most suitable option. And of course, a ball immediately found him. Jose Siri hit a ground ball to third. Taveras gloved it, and while his throw to first bounced, Pete Alonso successfully scooped it.

This was Taveras’ first time playing the infield at any level of professional baseball. When asked if he could consider himself now a super utility player, he said: “I can do my best, for sure, why not?”

A serious injury for Alexander would have been the worst possible timing for the Orioles and the player, but it appears they’ve avoided that. Alexander is hitting .310 with an .804 OPS this year. He can play multiple positions in the infield and outfield.

The Orioles have utility infielder Luis Vázquez in Anaheim on the taxi squad, so he’d be the most logical replacement if a roster move is required.

Between innings, Alonso was seen helping Taveras on his throwing motion. And before each new batter, infield coach Miguel Cairo helped Taveras position himself.

Positioning is where Taveras was most unsure, but Cairo handled it.

“He’s an athlete,” Cairo said. “He sometimes gets some work in on the red machine, the little machine that we have in there [that spits out hard grounders from close range], and he’s an athlete. So he went over there and just caught the ball and made a play.”