"Baltimore's baseball ops leader candidly acknowledged this week that he's hopeful of adding a starter who can give his team "innings and front-half-of-the-rotation stuff" as well as a reliever "who has closer experience" (links via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner and Jake Rill of MLB.com. Just as notably, Elias voiced that he is "fully prepared" to forfeit draft pick(s) to sign free agents who have rejected a qualifying offer."
"Ultimately, Elias & Co. handed out almost exclusively one-year deals, signing Charlie Morton ($15MM), Tomoyuki Sugano ($13MM), Andrew Kittredge ($10MM), Gary Sanchez ($8.5MM), Ramon Laureano ($4MM) and Dylan Carlson ($975K) for the 2025 season. Outfielder Tyler O'Neill was the lone recipient of a multi-year guarantee, landing three years and $49.5MM. Even that deal came with an opt-out opportunity following the 2025 season."
"O'Neill was not only the lone multi-year free agent signing for the Orioles last winter - he's the only free agent Elias has signed to a multi-year deal in seven offseasons leading Baltimore's baseball operations. For much of that time, the team has been rebuilding, which helps to explain the lack of a multi-year investment. Elias told Darragh McDonald in a recent guest appearance on the MLBTR Podcast that there's no organizational aversion to multi-year free agent deals, they simply haven't lined up on one during his tenure."
Mike Elias is striking a more aggressive offseason tone and signaling a push for higher-end talent. Elias is hopeful of adding a starter who can provide innings and front-half-of-the-rotation stuff and a reliever who has closer experience. Elias is fully prepared to forfeit draft pick compensation to sign free agents who rejected qualifying offers. The 2025 roster additions were mostly one-year deals, including Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano, Andrew Kittredge, Gary Sanchez, Ramon Laureano and Dylan Carlson. Tyler O'Neill was the lone multi-year signing, and Elias has only secured one multi-year free agent in seven offseasons.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]