GM Elias expresses remorse about '25 Orioles after flurry of Deadline trades

CHICAGO -- General manager Mike Elias understands how Orioles fans must have felt Thursday, when the team completed a Trade Deadline fire sale that featured nine big league players getting dealt during July. The group that left included popular presences such as Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano and others.

This wasn’t the way the 2025 season was supposed to go in Baltimore after the O’s reached the postseason each of the previous two years. Elias is aware of that, and on Friday, he apologized for it.

“We are sorry that 2025 has gone this way,” Elias said. “A lot had to go wrong, and it has. We’re addressing that. And part of it is doing the right thing by the talent in the organization with the Deadline. Between the Draft and the Deadline, we’ve had an enormous injection of talent into the organization. It’s going to benefit us short term, but also long term, and it needed to be done and we executed well in those constraints.”

On first glance, the moves made by the Orioles in recent weeks -- particularly on Thursday -- don’t appear to make the team better for 2026. Of the 15 prospects acquired in trades, only one has even played in Triple-A. Eight of them were ‘24 Draft picks. Many aren’t slated to reach the big leagues until 2027, ‘28 or later.

But Elias had stressed leading up to the Trade Deadline that his intention was for the O’s (50-59 entering Friday) to return to contention in 2026.

So why were these the types of moves that were made? And why did Baltimore trade not only players on expiring contracts, but ones that could be under team control next year, such as Laureano, infielder Ramón Urías and reliever Andrew Kittredge?

“It was only a possibility if the return was going to be more than commensurate, and we feel that was the case,” Elias said. “If you were to go to the market and say, ‘I only want players who are ready in 2025 or 2026,’ first of all, the teams you’re dealing with by nature are contending and worrying about their Major League depth, so they’re not going to want to put those players available as easily.

“And second of all, you’re going to get less talent, less value, in return with those confines.”

In Elias’ view, he restocked the farm system and set up the Orioles for sustained, long-term success, which has been his objective since he arrived in November 2018. It continues to be his goal despite the results in ‘25, which have come from a combination of injury troubles and overall underperformance.

Those who surround Elias in the organization still believe in him to get the team on track.

“I’m not a scout, and I’m not an analyst, so I have no idea what they brought back, but I do trust Mike Elias,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I trust Mike Elias and our front office a lot to procure talent from other teams. Mike is really, really good at that. As they make these trades, I 100 percent have faith in what they’re bringing in.”

Still, if the Orioles want to compete in 2026, they’re going to need to fill the big holes on their roster. Their bullpen was depleted by trades, and other key spots -- the rotation, center field and more -- no longer have as much depth nor star power.

There’s a strong core in place featuring catcher Adley Rutschman, shortstop Gunnar Henderson, infielders Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday and outfielder Colton Cowser, with more top prospects coming. But Baltimore will need to find the right complementary pieces.

“We’ve got to make good moves,” Elias said. “You look at the league, there’s 30 good teams. It’s a zero-sum competition, meaning that somebody’s winning and somebody’s losing. And everybody’s out there trying to win and you need to have moves that pan out better than the next guy.

“So we’re trying to be as smart as possible. We’ve got a few months to plan for 2026, and we’re going to take that time to take a look at the landscape and figure out Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and then try to execute it.”

Overall, the Orioles’ objective is clear: Move on from the Trade Deadline, learn from the mistakes (and misfortune) that got them here and ensure it doesn’t happen again, especially not in 2026.

“We are all disappointed with where we’re at,” Elias said. “But there’s a lot of determination to not have this happen again.”