The clock is ticking for Orioles’ Mike Elias

Brandon Hyde took the fall for the Orioles’ miserable start this season, but executive vice-president/general manager Mike Elias has taken the heat.

His critics, and Oriole fans, will be watching every move he makes between now and Thursday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline.

In a season described as the most disappointing in franchise history, faith in Elias has been as shaky as the foundation he built after tearing down what existed when he arrived in 2018. The rebuild was painful with 100-plus loss seasons bookending a Covid-shortened 25-35 in 2020. In 2022, the Orioles surprised with an 83-79 record, followed by an even more surprising 101-win season and a playoff berth in 2023. They secured a second consecutive playoff berth after 91 wins in 2024, but cracks in the new foundation started to show. The Orioles had a losing record in the second half and didn’t win a playoff game either year. And Elias’ first draft choice, catcher Adley Rutschman, stopped hitting.

Still, no one expected them to be 47-58 and in last place on July 28th. It has put Elias in a precarious position, one in which he might have only a season to right the ship.

I wrote that it was time for some kind of move when Hyde was fired, but I thought Elias was more to blame for the precipitous decline. With a deadline approaching for a substantive makeover, I’ve been giving more thought to the moves Elias made last year, and those he made during the offseason.

Lately, they’ve been looking better.

At the trade deadline in 2024, he acquired starting pitchers Trevor Rogers and Zach Eflin, and relievers Gregory Soto and Seranthony Domínguez. Rogers, after an awful debut with the Orioles, has a 1.49 ERA in eight starts this year. Kyle Stowers went to Miami in the deal, but the Orioles desperately needed a quality left-hander, and he is fulfilling that role. Eflin isn’t dazzling, but he’s dependable and couldn’t wait to get off the injured list to help the club.

Domínguez has developed a splitter that has made him more effective and attractive, and Soto, before he was traded, showcased the natural skills that were often obscured by his lack of command. He got his first save, striking out two on perfectly placed sliders, and throwing 98 mph.

In the offseason, the Orioles couldn’t prevent ace Corbin Burnes from wanting to go home to Arizona, and didn’t match Toronto’s bid for Anthony Santander. Burnes was placed on the 60-day injured list on Saturday and is scheduled to have Tommy John surgery that will keep him out for the 2026 season. Santander has appeared in just 50 games, is hitting .179 with six home runs and has been out with left shoulder inflammation.

Until recently, Tyler O’Neill appeared to be a bust, but he is finally healthy and has hit home runs in his last three games. Ramón Laureano has been the team’s best all-around player, and Dylan Carlson has been a valuable addition.

Elias seemed to swing and miss when he signed 41-year-old Charlie Morton and 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano, but Morton has had a comeback season within a season, and Sugano just gave up one run in six innings against the Rockies to help the Orioles win a series they should have swept.

The Orioles’ future still needs the core Elias is counting on — Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday — to come through, but Coby Mayo is improving, and Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers are on the way.

A return to form for Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells would make the pitching staff significantly stronger. The health of Rodriguez is the most worrisome, but the Orioles appear as though they’re proceeding with caution after getting slammed by injuries this season.

Elias has had his share of misses — keeping Cionel Pérez instead of Danny Coulombe is one — but his track record is better than projected, just as the Orioles are a better team than they’ve shown this season. He’s on the clock, and what he does could determine his future and the team’s.