With Nolan Arenado’s help — kind of — Orioles’ Jackson Holliday adapts to third base

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The initials on the dark brown glove Jackson Holliday wore were not his own. Stitched in black on the thumb of the Rawlings mitt were the letters N.A.

Nolan Arenado.

As Holliday adapts to life as an occasional third baseman, the Orioles infielder is receiving help from one of the best corner infielders in baseball. Kind of. That dark glove Holliday wore before Wednesday’s game as he took grounders at third base was one he received from Arenado almost a decade ago.

Holliday didn’t use it in the game. He fumbled one grounder during warmups and looked at that unfamiliar leather, then swapped mitts to his own. And, when he made his debut as a third baseman in Wednesday’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays — for only one inning — Holliday was wearing his own glove.

As is often the case, the ball found Holliday immediately. He charged the chopping grounder and made a running throw from an unfamiliar position on the infield. But he has watched enough high-level third base play to know a thing or two about the hot corner and, if called upon, Holliday appears comfortable stepping in for Baltimore.

“Always grew up watching some really good third basemen, and being around Nolan Arenado, so it’s been fun to go over there and learn a new position,” said Holliday, who played shortstop growing up and who has primarily played second base in the majors. “Just to have it, to be able to go out there and at least feel a little confident, a little comfortable, has been fun.”

When Holliday learned ahead of his most recent rehab stint in the minors that Baltimore wanted to try him at third because Jordan Westburg is out for the season, the 22-year-old texted Arenado to see if the 10-time Gold Glove winner happened to have an extra glove.

There’s a small variation between Holliday’s middle infield mitt and what a third baseman uses. Holliday’s glove is 11.5 inches. Most third basemen use a 12-inch glove.

Arenado, who played against Holliday’s father for years before they became teammates in 2018 with the Colorado Rockies, now plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He wrote Holliday that he didn’t have a glove to spare, and Holliday didn’t want to bug the veteran about any advice for the position.

But, as Holliday’s parents move from Oklahoma to Arizona, his mother texted him a well-timed photograph of an assortment of supplies in their Stillwater garage. Do you need anything? she asked.

“Actually, yeah,” Holliday replied. “Can I get that glove?”

It was Arenado’s old third base mitt, which now sits in Holliday’s locker.

“Nolan gave us gloves growing up. I’ve always had a few. I had Tulo [Troy Tulowitzki] gloves, as well, that say Rockies,” Holliday said.

The package from his parents’ house arrived Tuesday in St. Petersburg, so he didn’t have much chance to test it. He also ordered a new Rawlings glove in a similar model to what he generally wears, only half an inch larger, “just in case.”

Holliday likely won’t need to play much third base, but manager Craig Albernaz likes the versatility in Holliday’s game. He could play center field, Albernaz joked, because of his athletic ability.

“Just speaking to the athleticism he has,” Albernaz said. “He will not be in center field. … As long as Jackson Holliday’s in our lineup and on our team, we feel really good about it.”

The Orioles have needed to wait for Holliday to return to the lineup. He underwent surgery for a broken hamate bone in his hand in February. His recovery lasted longer than initially expected due to lingering discomfort, and even now Holliday is dealing with an odd sensation in his hand near the incision.

After talks with other players who have experienced the same surgery, Holliday said, he expects that sensation to linger for another few months. But he knows there’s nothing structurally wrong with his right hand and the general pain is much lower, he said.

“It’s much easier to get off a good swing than in the past,” Holliday said. “Unfortunately, a broken hand isn’t exactly the easiest to deal with, especially when you’re trying to push to make the team.”

His rehab process was twice paused due to the lingering pain, and once, when he swung at a pitch late last month, he feared he broke his hand again. The imaging was clean, and after a break Holliday’s latest push toward a return worked.

It came with the twist of playing some third base in the minors, and he faced an immediate challenge Wednesday when the first ball came his way after he stepped in at that position. He may not be wearing Arenado’s glove, but perhaps some of the veteran third baseman’s prowess will rub off on Holliday as he adjusts.

“Probably not,” Holliday said when asked if he’d ever wear it in the game, “but it’s fun to have and mess around with.”