Why didn't Jackson Holliday make the Opening Day roster?

It has come as a major shock that Jackson Holliday was reassigned to minor league camp, meaning that he will start the season in the minors. His young age has proven to be nothing more than just a number, as his maturity and strong play have shown to be way above his years.

Having just turned 20 in December, he seemed to be on a direct path to the majors. Throughout last year, he tore his way through all minor league systems, and dominated for that matter. Across Single-A, High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, thriving at each level, Major League Baseball's top prospect earned an invitation to big league camp. Despite his impressive performance, slashing .311/.354/.600 during spring training, it appears the Orioles decided not to include him on their major league roster. Why is this?

Orioles GM Mike Elias states that "Anything he does, he's ahead of the curve.» but still, his name was left off the roster sheet. The thought process behind the decision doesn't make a whole lot of sense, the only way for Jackson to get reps against big league arms, is too, guess what?... get more at bats against them. (I know Shocker right). It is not like they are saving one year on his contract, the rules state that, according to the latest labor agreement, it encourages teams to promote top prospects and deter manipulation of service time. If a player ranks in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting, they can still accrue a full year of service time, even if not called up early in the season. Also, teams can earn an extra draft pick by keeping a prospect on the roster for a traditional full year of service time. To qualify for these incentives, a player must be listed on at least two of the top 100 prospect lists from MLB.com, ESPN, or Baseball America. Holliday is #1...

The chances of him winning or being a finalist for any of these awards is more than likely as the Orioles already saw this exact situation play out in 2022 with star catcher, Adley Rutschman. Rutschman was sidelines for the start of the year and was scheduled to come up just shy of one year of service, but finished second in Rookie of the Year voting and earned that full year anyway.

One Case can be made to this decision is his little playing experience at 2nd base. Gunnar Henderson has already solidified his spot at Shortstop as he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and a Silver Slugger Award in 2023. That leaves Holliday fighting for a spot at 2nd, but being a proficient SS, it should be absolutely no issue for him moving over to the right side of the bag, especially with his skills sets and athleticism.

Fans all over the league expect him to be up in no time while he continues to crush minor league pitchers, it just leaves the question why don't the Orioles want to keep him around now?