Mike Elias at Winter Meetings | Baltimore Orioles

Mike Elias at Winter Meetings | Baltimore Orioles

So, what have you been able to accomplish so far day one? Uh, kind of the usual of a lot of communication and meetings and information. You know, obviously we um haven’t made any moves today yet at this hour, but um a lot of furtherance of a lot of really important conversations for us. When you when you think of openings for a hitter, you mentioned outfield is a potential area for impact that you got together already. Do you see any possibility in the infield to add there specifically at first base or are you mostly focused on outfield? We’re talking to a whole bunch of hitters and we just view it as do they improve the team? Do they improve the roster? Do they raise the ceiling of the team? Do they have an impact? And um you know if the players good enough, we can figure out ways to accommodate them. So, we have a lot of conversations going on um mostly in free agency, but also some in trades on on guys that we view as impact bats. Is there space payroll-wise for for you guys to sign both an impact bat and a front line starting pitcher? Yes, I think so. I mean, you know, you look at our our payroll as it stands right now and it’s still well below where we were at last year and um we’ll just consider opportunities as they come up and have those conversations with ownership, but we do have room for more moves, multiple more moves. Do you think that you need to add multiple starting pitchers? I think that that’s a possibility um that that we have multiple starting pitchers on major league contracts. Um but um there’s a possibility that it’s just one. I think it’s just gonna kind of depend on the on the personnel. Last year’s rotation velocity wise was one of the lower averages in the league. Are you looking to infuse more velocity? Is that something that you took away from this season at all as far as how hard the rotation through? I mean obviously Kyle Bradish being here for season will help pump that up, but just generally as you’re looking on the market is VO an important factor. Yeah, if we can. Um it’s in today’s game with all the injuries going on, it’s really hard to throw really really hard for six, seven innings and um the number of guys that can do that well is not huge. So they’re hard to get your hands on and we’re trying. What made Hellley the right guy to bring in his closer and how confident are you that he can bounce back from that tough second half you had in New York last year? Yeah, we’re um really tickled that we’ve added him. I think uh I think he will have a bounceback season. his track record leading into 2025 and then specifically that Mets part of 2025 um was sterling and so you know we view this as a little bit of a blip and um I know he’s got the right attitude and I think he’s just going to fit in really well with us and he was really excited about joining our team. So um really glad we have that in place. Do you feel like you need a utility type guy like in the Bereas mold that can move all around even if there aren’t a lot of starts out there or is that guy already on the roster? I mean it he could already be on the roster. We’ve definitely got internal options and um you know people like um Jeremiah and um you know there’s other guys in the organization that could fill that role, but that’s also something that we’re talking about and looking at externally and um is on the the shopping list. What was your take away from Jeremiah’s pretty impressive finish to the season and do you view him specifically to a position long term? Yeah, it was great to see. Um, and uh, you know, just he’s he’s always been uh, such a promising young hitter as a prospect. Um, I like his swing. I like his power. He seemed to adapt well to being in the major leagues. Um, the defensive versatility is good. the exact best home is still kind of TBD, but I thought he um picked up the outfield pretty well and so we’re going to keep developing him as like a multi-positional guy. So, you’ve you’ve added added Helley, you’ve brought back Andrew Kitri. How close to how close are you to being satisfied with the arms that you have in the bullpen? Um, you know, I I I think it’s in a better spot than it was before the offseason began with those additions. Um, we’re still looking to add and still looking to tinker, but we do I think we have a really interesting group aside from the guys that you mentioned, some of the younger guys that um were optionable last year and uh kind of auditioned and debuted a little bit. There’s some interesting arms in there, too. So, we want to leave some room for for those guys to compete and pop and help the team, but we’re still looking at external bullpen additions. To that note, what kind of impact do you anticipate the guys you added to the roster in the last couple months and you guys and Foster might be able to make in the near term? Um, yeah, they both threw great for us after the trade deadline and um we’re going to have them in camp and they’ll have a chance to make the team. I haven’t seen them in person yet, but watch what they did um on video in Norfol and we’re excited about them. Is it going to be hard to carry a third catcher with the way the roster could be constructed? Um maybe. You know, it’s something that uh we, you know, haven’t exactly finalized our plan there yet. We’re looking at what’s available over the winter and we’re going to have to figure out the the plan before spring training. But, um, you know, we’re going to need catching depth. Obviously, I think we of all teams demonstrated that last year and uh um I don’t know exactly what that picture is going to look like. Um we’ve got some guys on the 40man roster now and um you know some other players in the organization, but I’m sure there’ll be some external catching additions and you know whether we carry a third catcher all year continuously or not, I don’t know the answer to that right now. What impact does it will it potentially have to have the number of former catchers on the coaching staff? Obviously, you know, Brand former catcher, you know, as well, but it seems like you guys have a, you know, three of them off the top of my head on on the coaching staff. Will that be a benefit to a young catcher like as he learns position more and Adley as he bounces back? Yeah, I think so. Um, you know, I think it’s natural for catchers to turn into great coaches and managers just because you have to know both sides of the ball. all you have to know pitching and also life as a position player and they’re always thinking and strategizing and you’re kind of managing the game all along so it makes sense. When adding a impact bat, would you consider getting somebody who is mostly viewed as a designated hitter given that you have so many bats to to hand around to and anybody else who would use that spot? Yeah, we we would. I mean, you weigh it in your roster construction decisions, but like I said, if we view somebody as impacting the team and making the team better, we’ll figure out how to fit them in. You have 40 guys on the 40 men right now. Are you planning on participating in the real five draft? Um, it’s looking maybe a little less likely this year, but we haven’t had our formal meeting about it yet. You guys have spoken about you know the not having financial constraints. Um just how how much does it factor into when you discuss with probably free agent starters mostly but the the years that you know are required often times to land a guy of that caliber. Um is this team willing to dole out a long-term contract to a starting pitcher on the free agent market? Yeah, I mean, uh, we’ve, trust me, um, we’ve offered them a lot and, you know, we’re absolutely willing to do that. I was going to ask something along those lines. You’ve now kind of been in this top of the starting pitching market for a couple off seasons. How how, if at all, have the prices surprised you this winter? Like, what have you kind of seen from the market? Is it about what you expected? Yeah, I wouldn’t I wouldn’t say, you know, it’s been surprising. I mean, we’ve we’ve been experiencing, I guess, growth in those prices for the last few years, and like I was saying, you know, um, healthy, durable, hard throwing, effective starting pitching is harder and harder to come by. So, it makes sense. On the hitting front, you’ve in the last couple offseasons targeted roles that the team needed in terms of this time last year adding Tyler O’Neal and Gary Sanchez for target roles. Is the process or the experience any different changing that to any hitter who can impact the team in terms of your pursuits or how you’re going about that? Um yeah, I think that we had a couple more vacancies this year going into the um the on the position player front. Obviously Taylor Ward was a big addition to to plug one of those. Um but you know, our our lineup underperformed their talent level last year. Um, and so just kind of injecting more hitting talent into the batting lineup is kind of item number one. And the positional aspect of it is something that like I was saying, we can adjust to after IDing the hitter that we want to bring in. Is that like an easy thought to give yourself now to say we’ll figure this out later or do you are you the type of person who likes to have that more like neatly envisioned as you’re planning out the season? Yeah, I mean it’s a little bit of a blend of both in this job. Like, you know, so there’s stuff that you have to forecast whether you’re going to be able to um do something down the line and um you know, it it requires a little understanding of the landscape. The Blue Jays are obviously kind of going for it this offseason after a good year and Yankees are always sort of all in and the Red Sox are up and coming. Does that increase pressure? I don’t want to use the word pressure, but that does that increase the urgency at all that that you approach this offseason considering the other teams in your division seem to be really calling for? Yeah, I I don’t know if there’s much more I can say about the American League East. Um, you know, we we uh pride ourselves in competing in that division and it’s uh invigorating to to be in the American League East and it’s, you know, um I think ultimately it’s a good thing for us and our players to um you know have those stakes constantly being raised and we got to figure out a way to emerge. The Blue Jays run obviously shaped kind of really changed their perception around baseball among fans among executives players. Do you feel like that’s happened here with you over the last few years with the team coming out of the rebuild? Do you feel like free agents have looked and maybe considered you guys in a way that they weren’t before? You know, maybe your offers are different now as well, but do you feel like that perception is changing? Well, what Orioles baseball means to the rest of the league? Yeah, I think there’s a lot of um optimism. I mean, I know we coming off of a rough overall win loss record last year, but everybody sees the talent that we have. Um the ownership change is an enormous deal and um you know that’s that’s noticed and um I think people really believe in our operation. So um I I think our reputation is good with the talent that you had under a lot of them underperformed what they done in previous years. Do you think that Alber and his coaching staff or what do you see in them that will bring out the talent to to return to the level that maybe you saw in 23 and early 24? Yeah, I mean, um, very impressed with him and his staff and, um, I, as as you probably heard him talk, um, I think really they’re his core philosophies of individualism with the with the players, um, and the types of information that he and his coaches like to use and um, the way that they’re going to create kind of a a player centric environment, I think it’s going to be a big positive. And um but I think the players themselves, excuse me, the players themselves, you know, they’re they’re they’ve got chips on their shoulder, too. And um you know, I think a lot of that improvement is going to come from within them. He said earlier today that this would be a big focus on fundamentals and spring training after he’s had these conversations with the players. I mean, do you think that’s the right approach to have? Do you think that is something that could maybe help get some of these guys back on track a little bit? Yeah, I mean, look, everybody talks about that topic all the time. Everybody’s trying to get better at it. Um, and you know, we do want to emphasize that. I think it’s hugely important. Um, you have to like keep your foot on the gas pedal when it comes to fundamentals. Um, I think his staff and some of the guys um that we’ve got working on this topic in the minor leagues now, including uh Mike Schult. Um, you know, it’s going to be a big focus for us. He had mentioned that the feedback he got from some of the players was and I don’t have the exact words but that the team that the players told him that they felt like they lost sight of the ability to do things to help the team win games consistently. Um what is your take on that feedback from the players and in terms of how last year went and how they move forward? I think there’s been a lot of good just self-awareness and self-evaluation all around from all of us and it’s encouraging to you know hear that from the players too. They’re not pointing fingers. They’re not making excuses. They’re talking about things that they individually could have done better. And that’s what we want to hear. You mentioned Mike Sch. What what went into the decision to hire him in in that role? Um well, fundamentals was a a part of it is just you know, we we wanted more roving instructors in the minor leagues, helping um polish them to prepare them for Major League Baseball. and um you know getting an instructor with his track record but also he’s always been a passionate and accomplished guy in this space and he’s in a place in his career where he wanted to go back and teach in the minors. I think it was perfect fit [Music]

President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Elias spoke with the media at Winter Meetings to discuss his offseason strategy and how the roster is shaping up for the 2026 season.

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