​It has been somewhat of an up-and-down season for the Baltimore Orioles. After some big offseason moves, the team was expected to rebound after a disappointing 2025 season.Now three-quarters of the way through 2026 things have not gone to plan. The club traded a franchise icon in Adley Rutschman to the in-division Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline and shipped away offseason acquisition Taylor Ward to the Seattle Mariners as well.One pleasant surprise this year has been a new Oriole in utility man Blaze Alexander. He was traded to Baltimore from the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to the season after having spent the first two years of his career in Arizona.MORE: Yankees make trade with struggling National League team before Orioles matchupAlexander’s 2026 seasonJul 10, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles infielder Blaze Alexander (23) fields a ground ball in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)Now with a more full-time opportunity in year three of his MLB career, Alexander has been a real standout all over the diamond. He has played six different positions this year, logging the most time at third base (317 ⅔ innings).In 82 games, Alexander is slashing .312/.368/.439 (.807 OPS) with four home runs and 29 RBIs. He has looked light years better than he did in his two seasons with the Diamondbacks.Everything was going swimmingly until the 26-year-old unfortunately suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand following a hit-by-pitch on July 12. Alexander gave his thoughts on a return timeline Wednesday, saying that his recent X-rays looked good and that he expects to be back with the team for their series at the Athletics at the end of August.Alexander’s return and implicationsDuring the 26-year-old’s absence, it has mostly been Christian Encarnacion-Strand taking the reps at third base. The former Cincinnati Red joined the Orioles following Alexander’s injury.Encarnacion-Strand has been playing very well. In 25 games, he is slashing .262/.308/.524 (.832 OPS) with six home runs and 22 RBIs. He has played some solid defense at third base as well.The Orioles will of course want both in the lineup on a nightly basis, so it will be interesting to see what kind of roster shuffling will happen and who will lose playing time. Alexander will likely play at second base or somewhere in the outfield upon his return.— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —