Injured Blaze Alexander Forces Orioles to Try Outfielder at Third Base for First Time

The Baltimore Orioles got creative with their lineup Monday night. And not in a good way.

Blaze Alexander left the game against the Los Angeles Angels early with what the team is calling right knee discomfort. That forced manager Brandon Hyde into an unusual defensive shuffle — one that put outfielder Leody Taveras at third base for the first time in his seven-year professional career.

Taveras, primarily a center fielder, has never played the infield at any level. Not in the minors. Not in winter ball. Not ever. Until Monday night at Angel Stadium, when he jogged over to the hot corner and started taking ground balls like it was just another day.

MLB.com’s Jake Rill first reported the move on X. The Orioles did not immediately provide an update on Alexander’s status after the game.

A thin infield gets thinner

The Orioles came into this series already banged up. With multiple infielders on the injured list, Baltimore was running on fumes before Alexander went down. The team has not said whether Alexander will need further testing or a potential IL stint, but any extended absence would leave the club scrambling even more.

Alexander, who joined the Orioles earlier this season, has mostly been used as a utility infielder. Losing him — even for a few days — is a problem for a team that doesn’t have many bodies to spare right now.

Taveras, the emergency infielder

It’s rare to see an outfielder pressed into infield duty in a regular season game, let alone one who has never done it before. Taveras has played over 500 games in the majors, all of them in the outfield. Monday marked his first career appearance at third base at any professional level.

The fact that the Orioles went this route instead of dipping into their bench suggests the options were limited. (Or that Hyde just really didn’t want to burn another position player out of position.) Either way, it’s the kind of thing that happens when a team’s injury luck runs dry.

Fans online pointed out the absurdity of the situation pretty quickly. The Talkin’ Baseball account on X noted the move within minutes of it happening, calling it a first in Taveras’ career. By the end of the night, it was one of the more talked-about moments from a game that otherwise had no playoff implications.

For now, the Orioles wait. Alexander’s knee will be evaluated further. And Taveras will probably go back to the outfield. But for one weird Monday night in Anaheim, a center fielder played third base. That’s the kind of headline that tells you everything about where this roster stands right now.