Baltimore Orioles General Manager Mike Elias is unwilling to spend significant amounts of money in free agency this offseason, despite new team owner David Rubenstein’s expressed willingness to do so, according to a source close to the Orioles’ front office.
The source described a very siloed front office, in which Elias has few checks or balances against his vision for the team.
That vision for the Orioles—which the source described as a “vanity project” for Elias—is to build a team that serves as the antithesis to teams like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers and prove that an organization can be built from the ground up, rather than purchased through free agency.
However, Elias is in over his head in building a Major League roster, the source noted, and there is currently no one within the Orioles’ front office on as close to equal footing as Elias that could serve as a check on his decisions. Instead, Elias is elevating people within the organization who will allow him to maintain his personal vision for the team, rather than shaking things up.
Last year, the Orioles finished their season in second place in the American League East with a 91-71 record before being swept by the Kansas City Royals in the American Wild Card Series. By contrast, both the Yankees and Dodgers won their respective divisions and faced each other in the 2024 World Series, with the Dodgers ultimately winning their eighth title.
Rubenstein, who led an investment group that acquired the Orioles from Peter Angelos last year, has expressed a willingness to spend money in free agency this offseason. However, it appears that willingness doesn’t necessarily align with Elias’s vision for building the Orioles.
In addition, Elias doesn’t want ownership to spend large amounts of money on free agents because it would make Elias more accountable and place higher expectations on him, according to the source.
The source added that the Orioles’ new ownership group is “naive” and has no idea what they bought last year, and Rubenstein himself will often defer to Elias rather than force Elias’s hand.
This isn’t the first time ownership has given Elias the green light to make a big splash and Elias has declined to do so. The source noted that former Orioles chair and CEO John Angelos gave Elias permission last year to seek out a deal to acquire San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto, but Elias was uninterested in the proposition. The Yankees went on to acquire Soto as part of a larger trade with the Padres in December 2023.
The source also spoke to manager Brandon Hyde’s role in the organization, describing Hyde as a “puppet” and pushover for Elias. According to the source, Hyde attempted to push back regarding the Orioles’ shaky bullpen situation last year, arguing the team needed to get better and not necessarily younger—as a result, the team fired bench coach Fredi Gonzalez and co-hitting coach Ryan Fuller, two of Hyde’s confidants.
The Orioles lost two major pieces of their 2024 roster to free agency this year in starting pitcher Corbin Burnes—whom the Orioles acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for pitcher DL Hall and infielder Joey Ortiz in February—and right fielder Anthony Santander.
Given recent free agency deals for major pitchers like Max Fried, who received an eight-year, $218 million deal from the Yankees, and Blake Snell, who received a five-year, $182 million deal from the Dodgers, the Orioles would very likely have to spend a significant amount of money if they wish to re-sign Burnes.
Currently, MLB Trade Rumors projects Burnes to receive a seven-year, $200 million contract, and recent reporting from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggests the San Francisco Giants have been in “serious talks” with Burnes.
That being said, the Orioles have spent some in free agency to this point. On Saturday, they signed outfielder Tyler O’Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million deal as well as catcher Gary Sánchez to a one-year, $8.5 million deal.
Pitcher List has reached out to the Orioles for comment and did not receive a response at the time of publication.
This is spicy
This reeks of Jason La Confora as the “source”. What a load of garbage.
Key word in this article is ‘SOURCE’ not sources but singular source LMAO. Not actual journalism if you ask me, nice click bait though. Perfect example of why media is broken as hell.
The source, who doesn’t even work for the front office is perpetual GM hater Jason (I got fired from nfl network for breaking fake news) La Confora.
please do not confuse the internet with media!
What is this nonsense article? Am I the only one who thinks Elias and Co is the best front office in the big leagues?
1) The offseason is not over. Give them time to finalize the rotation.
2) The lineup is so stacked and looks like it will be for the 5 years.
3) Every baseball GM knows these huge money deals for pitchers rarely work out. For every great Gerritt Cole deal, there are 5 terrible ones (Patrick Corbin, Strasburg, deGrom, Price, Bumgartner, etc). We’ll probably sign Walker Buehler to a shorter term deal with an option and he’ll be great.
People forget the damage the Chris Davis deal did to the team. Those were the real dark days. Whoever the source is for this article needs to relax a bit and be patient.
Nothing like a lil single source drama.
I saw an article with Scot Boras saying the Os have been aggressive.
In Elias I trust. Don’t spend just to spend. Steady as she goes.
Mike Elias is a draft genius
As a trader 🤔🤔 shaky
This is the first article I’ve read from this guy. And the last.
Some people are rightly, imo, drawing attention to the fact this article is fed by a single source. I think it’s also pertinent that the source is described as “close to the front office.” Not IN the front office, but CLOSE. What does that even mean? They work in sales? They’re neighbors of a front office employee?
Can we trade Jason La Confora back to the Red Sox? Real O’s fans know he’s a clown who doesn’t know ball. There’s literally a Twitter dedicated to his L takes. This is no different. Elias we are BEHIND YOU- stick to the script. Double down. TRIPLE DOWN.
This is journalistic garbage. Sources don’t seem to be verified or corroborated. Just one person saying X, from a journalist on a random blog, without a track record of good news reports. We just have to take their word on it.
On the Internet, it just takes one random blog post, which gets picked up by another and another, until it seems like a fact in the echo chamber.
This reporter is obviously trying to get clicks. Trying to piggyback on some Corbin Burnes hype.
Article is moot. If the Orioles want to win a ring, you compete. It’s not rocket science. Sit Burnes et Al down and ask if they want to be here. If yes, ask what they need. Then pay it. Play ball!
Agreed totally
Totally agree on topics the internet is not news, reliable media source, or that the fact we are not spending money on image but instead a plan. Lastly I love crockett but the fact he demanded NO use at stopper is a deal breaker.
Elias is all about vaneer. He has made some profoundly suspect trades; ie Trevor Rogers, Dominguez and Soto. He’s a hole-patcher rather than a roster whiz! He can draft. Maybe time to move on from this guy who grew up with the Astros front office mentality. Getting to two straight playoffs isn’t what O’s fans are after. I agree about not spending on big contracts which end up looking ridiculous in 3 years, but some more craftiness with roster would be welcomed. Crochet would have been nice. Just not another one and done pitcher heading into free agency. He’s got to find a top of rotation guy and pay him good money! Come on O’s. Figure it out
See a lot of people bashing this writer and article, but recent events seem to corroborate what he is claiming. The Yankees and Red Sox are getting better by the day and now I am hearing that Boston is in serious contention to sign Burnes for $218M. That is a crazy high contract, but Burnes is the kind of guy you give that money to. Especially to keep from a division rival.
I have always had Elias’s back, but it is getting harder with each passing year and especially this offseason as we are wasting this young core. Our minor league system has no pitching prospects knocking on the door and guys like Kremer, Rogers, and Povich are not going to get it done.
Elias seems to be a whiz at the drafting and scouting game, but we need a GM that will spend some money to compliment the younger players. Signing journeymen every year at a discount price hoping they may relive the one good season they had 3-5 years ago is not going to win a World Series.
This is a pretty big credibility hit for your outlet. An absurd claim that would need far more evidence to get anyone to believe.
This article is total crap. A “source” i am sure Jason La Con Fraud was the source. All he does is bash the O’s and Ravens on his garbage show. The dude thinks he could run both franchises better. I wouldn’t let that ASSCLOWN run a lemonade stand. BTW, when he had Elias on his show, he kissed his ass and acted like his friend.
The owner is responsible for everything Elias should be gone period end of story stop the bs gaslighting we didn’t do one thing to get better this off-season!
Oh I forgot we moved the wall in my bad
The buck stops with the owner the Yankees and Red Sox made moves we didn’t they want to ride the youth movement to make money they have no interest in winning. When Bradisch went down they did nothing for that Elias should be fired and the idiot Hyde