Amid a disappointing last-place season, the Baltimore Orioles are bolstering their front office operations.
General manager Mike Elias was promoted to president of baseball operations prior to the 2025 season, The Athletic reported. And last week, the team hired Danny Haas, previously the scouting director for the Washington Nationals, as a special assistant to the GM.
Who Haas will be special assistant to is the next question for the Orioles’ overhauled front office. Elias is planning to hire a GM who will work under him.
In 2025, Baltimore has arguably been the most disappointing team in MLB. After a 15-28 start that left them 10 games out of first place in the AL East, the team fired manager Brandon Hyde (who won AL Manager of the Year in 2023). At the time, Elias said the Orioles’ performance was “ultimately my responsibility” and perhaps these changes are an acknowledgement that he needs help in returning the team to contention and keeping it competitive.
Elias’ worst failing has been building the team’s pitching staff, which doesn’t have an ace in the starting rotation. Corbin Burnes filled that role last season, going 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA, but left in free agency. Adding stopgap arms including Charlie Morton (8.35 ERA) and Kyle Gibson (13.11) didn’t improve the staff, nor did injuries to Kyle Bradish, Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez.
The Orioles’ 4.58 team ERA is 24th in MLB and fourth-worst in the American League. (The starters’ 4.73 ERA is third-worst in the AL.)
Baltimore has also been affected by injuries to top young players including catcher Adley Rutschman (.227, .684 OPS in 85 games), left fielder Colton Cowser (.207, .664 OPS in 77 games) and third baseman Jordan Westburg. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson’s .784 OPS is the worst of his four MLB seasons and his 16 home runs are a sharp drop from the 37 he hit last year (and 28 in 2023).
However, the Orioles hope they have another young star in catcher Samuel Basallo, who was signed to an eight-year, $67 million contract extension after hitting 23 homers with a .987 OPS in Triple-A.
Under Elias, who joined the Orioles after seven years as an assistant GM with the Houston Astros, Baltimore built a young, talented roster that won 101 games in 2023 and appeared to be a new power in the AL East that could challenge the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for division supremacy.
However, the team hasn’t followed through on those expectations. Last season, the Orioles won 91 games and finishing three games behind the Yankees. That earned them a wild-card playoff berth, but they were swept in the first round by the Kansas City Royals.
Baltimore showed slight improvement under interim manager Tony Mansolino, going a combined 29-23 in June and July. But the Orioles slid with an 11-17 August. With an 8-1 record thus far in September, including a 5-1 mark versus the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, there may be reason for optimism during the offseason with more executives helping Elias build the roster.
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