Orioles’ Heston Kjerstad ‘back to full health’ after unspecified ailment
SARASOTA, Fla. — Heston Kjerstad is ready to put the 2025 season behind him.
The Orioles outfielder reported to spring training feeling back at full strength after going on the minor league injured list with “fatigue” in July and dealing with an unspecified injury or condition that sidelined him the rest of the year.
“Back to full health, feeling great, excited to be here,” Kjerstad said Sunday, the first time he has spoken publicly since landing on the IL. “Got a great team rolling in this year, really pumped to be healthy and just see what I can do this season.
“Probably took me the first part of the offseason to kind of build back some strength and do some things like that to get back to where I wanted to be. But right now, thankfully, in a great spot right now, full health, ready to roll.”
Kjerstad, 27, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft by the Orioles. The start to his professional career was delayed when he was diagnosed with myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, and he didn’t appear in a minor league game until June 2022.
But he mashed in the minors, rocketing through the Orioles’ farm system before making his MLB debut in 2023. Kjerstad still had to fight for playing time, appearing in just 52 games over his first two seasons while bouncing between Triple-A Norfolk and the major leagues. When he finally got his chance to be in the everyday lineup last season, he couldn’t run with it. Kjerstad hit .192 with four home runs and a .566 OPS in 54 games.
The Orioles demoted him to Triple-A and Kjerstad’s struggles continued. He tried to play through the fatigue that was bothering him, but the organization opted to rest him for a couple of weeks, and he never made it back into a game before the end of the season.
Now feeling more like himself, Kjerstad has been an early standout in spring training with multiple homers during live bullpen sessions. His latest blast came Sunday, when he lifted a pitch from pitching prospect Levi Wells the other way to left field.
Silent J with another loud bomb.
For the second time this weekend, Heston Kjerstad has gone deep during live BP at Orioles spring training — this time off prospect Levi Wells.
2025 was tough for Kjerstad, but the outfielder could still earn a roster spot this spring.
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) February 15, 2026
Kjerstad has also made some mechanical changes to his swing, dialing back his big leg kick. It’s a change he decided on his own over the offseason, though he did discuss it with teammate Jackson Holliday and his dad, Matt, the seven-time All-Star and Team USA hitting coach for the World Baseball Classic, at their family’s complex in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Jackson Holliday also had a dramatic leg kick that he stopped using at the end of 2024.
“He looks like he’s physically in a great spot,” manager Craig Albernaz said Saturday. “You can tell he’s put a ton of work in this offseason. And to me, he’s just moving so efficiently in the box, and that’s the beauty of baseball.
“The game is going to dictate what you need to adjust and change and I’ve seen him when he when he first came in in ’24 and he had a bigger leg kick and load and he still did well, but also the game is going to dictate what you need to change and he’s kind of, I wouldn’t say made some moves smaller, but he’s just made everything more efficient.”
He faces an uphill battle to make the Orioles’ opening day roster. Baltimore acquired outfielders Taylor Ward and Leody Taveras this offseason in addition to carrying holdovers Colton Cowser and Tyler O’Neill. Top prospect Dylan Beavers is expected to be in the mix for at-bats, perhaps in a timeshare with O’Neill, and the Orioles have a pair of utility players in Blaze Alexander and Jeremiah Jackson who can play the outfield.
But even if Kjerstad begins the season in Triple-A, the fact that he’s no longer dealing with the effects of last year’s ailment bodes well for his chances of getting another chance with the Orioles at some point in 2026. A swing change could be the ingredient that helps him take advantage of it next time.
“Found a move that gets me in the same spot that my leg kick does, but also feels the same timing-wise,” Kjerstad said. “Little smaller stride, kind of drag it close. It felt good. That was something I was working on this offseason, maybe kind of developed into that and we’ll see what it leads to. I still have the leg kick, always like it, but there’s always a time for change, especially if it makes you a better hitter. That’s all I’m trying to do.”
Have a news tip? Contact Matt Weyrich at mweyrich@baltsun.com410-332-6200, x.com/ByMattWeyrich and instagram.com/bymattweyrich. Matt appears as a regular host on The Sun’s “Early Birds” podcast.
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