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Jordan Westburg Takes Step Forward After Missing Entire Baltimore Orioles Season
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- Jordan Westburg Takes Step Forward After Missing Entire Baltimore Orioles Season
(Brad Penner-Imagn Images)
The Baltimore Orioles got a positive update on Jordan Westburg . The 27-year-old third baseman is beginning a hitting progression this week after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in May.
He is on track to enter spring training healthy for the 2027 season, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports on X .
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It has been a brutal stretch for Westburg. He came into spring training this year dealing with a right oblique injury and suffered a partial UCL tear while rehabbing the issue.
He received a platelet-rich plasma injection on Feb. 20 in an attempt to avoid surgery, but continued discomfort in May forced him to undergo the procedure. The injury wiped out his entire 2026 season before it ever started.
Bad injury luck is nothing new for Westburg. He fractured his right hand after being hit by a pitch during the 2024 season, then dealt with a left hamstring strain, left index finger injury and right ankle sprain in 2025, limiting him to just 85 games. In those 85 games he was productive as he hit .265 with 17 home runs and 41 RBIs.
His absence was a big loss for Baltimore. Westburg had established himself as one of the Orioles' best young position players when healthy, earning his first All-Star selection in 2024.
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With him out all year, Coby Mayo stepped in and emerged as one of the team's more productive options, tying Gunnar Henderson for second on the team with 24 home runs and posting a 1.105 OPS against left-handed pitching.
That production gives Baltimore some depth at the position, but Westburg should have every opportunity to reclaim third base if he can stay healthy.
Mike Elias said at the time of the surgery that returning as a full player in the early part of 2027 is very much in play, and the hitting progression this week is the latest sign that timeline remains on track.
The Orioles finished 79-82 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season. It was an extremely disappointing year after the front office invested so heavily into the team last offseason. Getting Westburg back healthy is one of the more important offseason developments for a team that needs to reload around Pete Alonso and Henderson.
He has shown what he can be when available. The challenge has simply been staying on the field long enough to prove it consistently.
