Mike Elias is proving to Baltimore Orioles ownership and fans he officially has no idea what he’s doing. The plan going into this year’s trade deadline was to only deal away players on expiring contracts, giving this young core another chance to contend in 2026.
Yet, the last two players the Orioles parted with on Thursday still had years of team control left. So what exactly is Elias doing? It seems like he’s trying to trade his way out of a job. And if that’s the case, it’s working.
Elias has run this team into the ground this season. It started when they let Corbin Burnes walk and decided Charlie Morton was the best replacement.
And then he didn’t put any pieces around Jackson Holliday or Adley Rutschman to help this team be competitive. Now, he’s sending mixed messages when it comes to managing this team.
The Baltimore Orioles have Mike Elias to blame for poor roster management, miserable season
The Orioles weren’t supposed to be bad this season. Maybe not the best in the American League, but they weren’t supposed to, at the very least, be selling at the trade deadline. They were supposed to be putting the final pieces together at the deadline to prepare for the postseason. Now the Orioles have the future to look forward to, which is ominous when you consider Elias’ track record.
While they did offload a lot of experience at the deadline, they hauled in quite a bit of prospects, meaning Elias’ job is far from over to get this roster competitive again. A strong farm system only goes so far. He’ll need to add some big names this offseason to turn things around, and he’s already flopped once in that department.
If not, it could cost the Orioles two core players. Rutschman was already rumored to possibly land with a new team, though that hasn’t really materialized outside of rumors. Jackson Holliday is another player that could be out the door too if things don’t change.
That’s the type of pressure Elias is under after fumbling this season and the trade deadline. His approach at the deadline this year showed he doesn’t know what he’s doing. The fact that people are losing confidence in him is alarming as well.
Maybe he has something up his sleeve. Though it’s more likely he just continues to make questionable moves to continue running this team into the ground.
