Orioles mailbag: What does Mike Elias’ secret promotion mean for 2026?

Baltimore Sun Orioles reporter Jacob Calvin Meyer will answer fan questions every Friday during baseball season.

Here are JCMs thoughts on several questions from readers:(Editors note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.

Email [email protected] with questions for next Fridays mailbag.)Why did the Orioles promote Mike Elias? What does that mean for 2026? @jfcatcher23 on XThere are three answers to this question.The first, of course, is that we dont know.

This promotion of Elias from executive vice president and general manager to president of baseball operations (POBO) was not announced when David Rubenstein gave it to Elias after the executives third straight winning season leading the Orioles.

Rubenstein and Elias havent spoken with the media about what this change could portend.The second answer is that it doesnt matter all that much.

Elias will still be leading baseball operations, just as he has been since November 2018 when he was hired.

If the Orioles win the World Series in 2026, hell get the credit.

If they miss the playoffs, hell get the blame.This title change and the hiring of a GM underneath Elias is becoming more common in Major League Baseball, and the timing of Elias promotion is in line with past ones.

The Houston Astros hired Jeff Luhnow as GM before the 2012 season.

Six seasons later, he was promoted to president of baseball operations.

The San Diego Padres hired A.J.

Preller as GM in 2014.

He was promoted to POBO in 2021.

The Seattle Mariners hired Jerry Dipoto after the 2015 season, and he was made POBO ahead of the 2022 campaign.If you had the same title at work for six years, put together one of your organizations best three-year stretches in four decades and get a new, wealthier boss, youd probably ask for a promotion, too.The third answer is that a hire like this is automatically significant, and perhaps it will fill a hole that Elias sees in his front office or free him up to narrow his focus.

Other changes will be coming to this front office, including the hiring of Danny Haas, and also a new manager will be hired.

If this person will essentially be Elias No.

2, he or she will have influence on decision-making.

And assuming it comes externally, that person could bring something to the organization thats been missing.Why did the Orioles keep Elias promotion quiet? @JonSolomon35 on XYour guess is as good as mine, Jon.

Honestly, its not all that important, aside from the fact that weve all been short-changing Elias title this season.

Sorry, Mike!It doesnt seem all-that worthwhile trying to figure out why they did it this way and whether it was a valid reason.

Perhaps Elias will tell us the reason for the secrecy at his end-of-season news conference.Related ArticlesOrioles sweep Pirates as Dylan Beavers caps another late rally in 3-2 winOrioles quietly promoted Mike Elias with plans to expand front office: SourceTony Mansolino wants Orioles to bounce back in 2026 with or without himOrioles Dylan Beavers delivers another walk-off win, 2-1 over PiratesOrioles Kyle Bradish is dominant again.

Mike Elias must build on it.

| COMMENTARYIt is worth noting the strange timing of this.

The 2025 season is one of the most disappointing in franchise history.

When the Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde in May, some thought Elias seat was heating up, too.

This news means that its probably several degrees cooler than once assumed.The 2026 season is still critical for Elias, but Rubenstein wouldnt have given Elias this promotion just to fire him a year later.The Orioles just swept the Pirates.

It is painfully clear that Pittsburgh is in desperate need of position players.

What would the Orioles have to give up to get Paul Skenes this offseason? Is it realistic? Martin D.Now this is a mailbag question.

Three claps for Marty.It shouldnt be realistic because it would be an embarrassment for the Pirates to trade Skenes.

But the Pirates owner is Bob Nutting, and if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then its probably a duck.The Orioles prospect depth is much better than it was before the draft and trade deadline.

They have four top 100 prospects Samuel Basallo, Nate George, Dylan Beavers and Esteban Mejia.

Youd have to assume Pirates would demand Basallo headline that package, and its hard to imagine the Orioles entertaining that after they gave the 21-year-old catcher an eight-year, $67 million extension.If Skenes is made available, it would be malpractice for the Orioles to not inquire.

But it took a top-five prospect in all of baseball and other prospects for the Padres to acquire Mason Miller in the trade deadlines splashiest move.

It would take at least double that for someone to trade for Skenes.Tyler Wells could be part of the 2026 rotation given his recent performances after returning from elbow surgery.

(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)Assuming health for Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, and Grayson Rodriguez, who do you see as Nos.

4 and 5 of the group? Im hoping a free agent signing slots in the top four.

@NTom35 on XTom seems to be an outlier among Orioles fans.

Most are demanding an ace or multiple starting pitchers who can slot into the front of Baltimores rotation.Well dive into those possibilities in the next question.

For the purposes of this question, lets operate under the parameters that the Orioles do not make any starting pitching additions this winter.Assuming health, Bradish would be the Orioles opening day starter.

There should be no more caveats about this.

Bradish is an ace, and hes pitched like it since July 2022.

Rogers would then be the No.

2 starter, and with the way hes been pitching, thats an excellent No.

2.

Despite his devastating 2025 campaign because of injuries, Rodriguezs ceiling is higher than anyone else on the Orioles rotation, so hed be seen as the clubs No.

3 starter.

It cant be forgotten that from July 2023 through July 2024, Rodriguezs 3.35 ERA ranked 10th among qualified MLB starters.

This is a high-level starter when healthy.Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells would easily slot into the Nos.

4 and 5 roles.

Kremer has established himself as a solid innings-eater this season, while Wells has looked like the pitcher he was in 2023 since coming back from elbow surgery.

Again, assuming health are the key words here.That would leave Albert Suarez, Cade Povich and Brandon Young as rotation depth, in addition to prospects Trey Gibson, Levi Wells, Cameron Weston and Nestor German at Triple-A Norfolk.Theres a strong argument that solely the internal options for Baltimores 2026 rotation make up a better starting corps than what the club went into 2025 with.

And thats why theres reason for optimism if additions are made this offseason.Is there reason to be optimistic about the 2026 rotation? @FargoOsFan on XThe Orioles rotation ERA ranks 25th in MLB this season.

But thats largely a result of the clubs awful start to the season.Since May 24 the date of the Trevor Rogers Game in Boston the Orioles rotation has posted a 4.04 ERA that ranks 14th in MLB.

In the second half, its ranked ninth.

Since Aug.

1, its sixth with a 3.76 ERA, a number boosted by the returns of Bradish and Wells.But theres significant potential for Elias to bolster this group and make it one of the best units in baseball.

That is within the Orioles range of outcomes for 2026.

It was not in 2025, virtually no matter what Elias did.

Thats not to dismiss the ineffectiveness of Elias strategy to piecemeal his rotation, but rather to recognize that Bradishs absence was always a massive hindrance in the potential for the 2025 Orioles.This winter, though, Elias should have even more money to spend than he did last offseason, and he has a much stronger farm system from which to trade.

Imagine what this rotation could look like if Elias acquires a front-of-the-rotation starter and another one that can slot somewhere in the heart of Baltimores starting corps? The two new arms plus Bradish and Rogers would make a dominant top four, and there would be enough depth with Kremer, Rodriguez, Wells, Povich and others to keep the Orioles afloat if there are injuries something the 2025 rotation wasnt able to do.All of this, of course, is easier said than done.

But the runway is there for Elias to build the best rotation the Orioles have had in a long time.Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer..

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