LAS VEGAS—While there’ll be some new players for the Orioles in 2027, manager Craig Albernaz’s coaching staff is likely to return intact.
“Our plan is for the entirety of the staff to come back,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said at Tuesday’s General Managers Meetings.
Albernaz’s 11 coaches are Donnie Ecker (bench), Dustin Lind (hitting), Brady North (assistant hitting), Jason Bourgeois (first base), Buck Britton (third base), Hank Conger (bullpen), Miguel Cairo (infield), Drew French (pitching), Mitch Plassmeyer (assistant pitching), Ryan Klimek (pitching strategy) and Joe Singley (catching).
“We’re still at the point in the year where other teams could hire from our staff,” Elias said. “We have arrangements to bring everyone back, and we’re happy about that continuity.”
Britton, French, Plassmeyer and Klimek were inherited by Albernaz, and the other seven were hired after he was.
Mike Shildt, a former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres, will stay with the organization as director of on-field instructionm according to new general manager Jared Banner. Shildt worked with players from Triple-A Norfolk, Double-A Bowie and High-A Frederick in an instructional role in 2026.
Elias is expecting more hires in the next week or two.
Injury update on Westburg, Holliday George
Infielder Jordan Westburg, who had Tommy John surgery in May, continues to make progress, and Elias thinks he’ll be ready for the start of spring training.
“He’s on track, knock on wood,” Elias said. “Everything’s moving along as expected, and he should be a totally normal citizen, for lack of a better word come the first day of spring training.”
Second baseman Jackson Holliday, who had left wrist surgery in late September, also will be ready to start spring training, Elias said.
Outfielder Nate George, who was named the organization’s minor league player of the year in 2025, played only 20 games for High-A Frederick before his season ended because an undisclosed medical condition.
Elias said he’ll be ready for 2027.
“He’s hitting. He’s doing great,” Elias said. “I think he’s on the other end of the malady that held him out the last couple of months, and he should be totally back to a normal citizen when spring training kicks off.”
Elias on moving infielders to the outfield
Assuming Westburg comes back healthy, the Orioles will have a surplus of third basemen. Elias implied that some infielders might see outfield time in 2027.
“I’d rather not get into the details of it right now,” Elias said. “We’ve talked to some guys about, not a full position change, but flexing into the outfield a little bit next spring, having those conversations. Alby’s been having them.
“I guess you could call it a surplus. I guess you could call it depth, but to really it’s just a really strong infield group. I think we’re fine numbers-wise, but it is something we’re talking to some guys about flexing out to the outfield so that they can have more playing time.”
40-man decision time
Despite the likelihood of a lockout on December 1st at 11:59 p.m., Elias believes that there will still be a Rule 5 draft, and the Orioles will protect players from that possibility.
“I don’t think the decisions will be particularly difficult, but we do have a really large class,” Elias said. “We’re going to be adding a lot of people and that creates challenges with managing the 40-man roster. It’s pretty clear to us that we want to protect as many of these people as possible.”
Outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., infielder/outfielder Aron Estrada and pitchers Michael Forret, Nestor German, Patrick Reilly, Levi Wells and Braxton Bragg are among those who have the best chances of being added to the 40-man roster.
“The fortunate thing is a lot of them are somewhat big league ready or close to big league ready,” Elias said. “They have enough experience in the minors where they should be what I would call functional citizens of the roster, guys we can call up when we need them.”
Elias on Akin, Mountcastle
The Orioles declined first baseman/designated hitter Ryan Mountcastle’s $7.5 million option. They also allowed left-hander Keegan Akin, who had Tommy John surgery in July, to leave via free agency.
Both Akin and Mountcastle are among the few players who were in the organization when Elias arrived eight years ago.
“Mounty’s been in the organization for [11] years. He’s a great guy,” Elias said. “We loved having him. Really sucked last year that he was hurt so much. We have a really good relationship with him, so we’ll continue to explore what that looks like.”
Akin would probably require a two-year contract since he’s likely to miss the ’27 season.
“He’s going to be rehabbing, very talented pitcher,” Elias said. “Any time somebody blows out, you wonder how that affected their performance leading into it. He’s going to get fully healthy here, and he’s got a lot left in the tank.”
Elias on negotiations
Elias said that he doesn’t think the negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement are going to change the way the Orioles will conduct business this month.
“For us, it’s irrelevant,” he said. “It’s over our heads, those discussions. I expect both sides are going to work on it really hard. I don’t think it’s going to impact the Baltimore Orioles’ decision making in any way. Obviously when the CBA comes out, we’ll study it and see how that might modify strategy, but at this point there’s nothing that would change any of our activities.
Notes: Elias said that the team would continue to look for additional left-handed relievers. … Elias thinks outfielder Rece Hinds, who was signed to a major league contract, has potential. “He’s a nice player. He was really good in Triple-A last year,” Elias said. “Right-handed outfielder some prospect pedigree and really good tools. I think he’s really quality depth.” … Elias is looking for a bounce-back season from catcher Carlos Narváez. “He’s going to be part of our catching setup this year. His defense, his game-planning, his experience. His track record at the plate is a lot better than what he did this season, especially in the second half. I know he’s working on that. I think we’ll get a better version of him.”
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