Orioles’ Elias on his job: ‘I always feel a lot of pressure’; Bassitt has surgery to remove bone spurs in back

BALTIMORE—The Orioles begin Saturday with a 39-44 record, and 1 ½ games back of the third wild-card spot. For the last two calendar years, the Orioles have a losing record, and president of baseball operations Mike Elias acknowledges he feels pressure.

“I always feel a lot of pressure in this position,” Elias said to Saturday in his first group interview since May 15^th. “I think I’m in my 20^th season and every single year, I’ve felt pressure, and you worry about your job in this business. Absolutely. I think we have a really good chance to do what we want to do and we’re all working very hard, and we’re very optimistic about it.

“Regardless of how we got here, we’re a game-and-a-half out right now. We’ve got everything in front of us, so I think we’re gonna be good.”

With the August 3^rd trade deadline still more than a month away, Elias said it’s too early to decide on a strategy.

“I know our record’s backwards, but apparently this is infecting a whole bunch of other teams, too,” he said. “I can’t explain it. I wish we were arriving at that at a much different way, and the context around that’s unusual. But we’re right there. So, like I said, we’re going for it. I’ll let you know if that changes.”

Injury update

Starter Chris Bassitt, who has been on the 15-day injured list since June 5^th, had surgery to remove bone spurs from his back by Dr. Brandon Rebholz in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“He’s feeling great, he’s acting great,” Elias said. “He’s in there walking around. You wouldn’t know anything happened. So it’s a pretty minor procedure and we’ll see where he’s at in a couple weeks and see like if and when he can start throwing, but we’re feeling pretty good about things right there and I think there’s still a very strong possibility we get him back and we get him back in better condition before the end of the season.”

Closer Félix Bautista, who had rotator cuff and labrum surgery on his right shoulder in August 2025, began throwing bullpen sessions this week in Sarasota.

“I gotta keep my fingers really crossed with Félix because of the nature of the surgery he had and how difficult that is,” Elias said. “But he’s throwing really, really well and we’re pretty excited about where he’s at.”

Elias said that both outfielder Dylan Beavers, who was in the clubhouse on Saturday, and starter Dean Kremer are close to returning. Beavers is on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique muscle, and Kremer is on the 60-day IL with a strained right quadriceps muscle.

Catcher Adley Rutschman should be returning soon, as well. Rutschman is on the 7-day concussion injured list.

“Adley’s doing well,” Elias said. “It’s improved a lot the last couple days. I think we’re getting close there, too, so we feel good that he’s in a good spot coming out of the concussion.”

Reliever Yaramil Hiraldo, who’s on the 60-day IL with right shoulder inflammation, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Sunday.

First baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who’s on the 60-day injured list with a fractured left foot, isn’t close to a rehab assignment.

“Ryan’s still plugging along,” Elias said. “He just started running and we’re getting to the point where we can see if we can like weave that into his baseball activities. I still don’t have a timeline, but you know, he’s coming back from a broken bone and making his way back.”

Nor is reliever Colin Selby, who is also on the 60-day IL with right shoulder inflammation.

“Colin’s still having some shoulder issues,” Elias said. “We’re working with him and trying to figure out what the best course of action is, but unfortunately that doesn’t seem like he’s close to getting back up and running.”

Outfielder Nate George, the Orioles’ No. 1 prospect, hasn’t played since May 3^rd, and Elias didn’t share any new information.

“He happened to have a medical condition that’s nothing to do with athletics or baseball,” he said. “We’re still totally confident that he’s gonna be fine, but this is the type of thing that takes a long time to come back out of and play professional sports from, so it’s gonna be a while. I don’t have much more beyond that, but he’s in good shape.”

Orioles-Nationals lineups

Orioles

Taylor Ward-LF

Gunnar Henderson-SS

Pete Alonso-1B

Coby Mayo-DH

Tyler O’Neill-RF

Blaze Alexander-3B

Leody Taveras-CF

Jeremiah Jackson-2B

Chadwick Tromp-C

Brandon Young-RHP

Nationals

James Wood-RF

Luis Garcia, Jr.-1B

José Tena-DH

CJ Abrams-SS

Dylan Crews-CF

Daylen Lile-LF

Jorbit Vivas-3B

Nasim Nuñez-2B

Drew Millias-C

Foster Griffin-LHP

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com