Mike Elias has been the Orioles’ executive vice president/general manager since November 2018. In this interview, which was conducted on Sunday, he spoke about the team’s disappointing start, the trade deadline, the team’s interim manager, Tony Mansolino, and the future of starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez. This interview has been edited for clarity.
Question: A year ago, the team was leading the sport, both the majors and minors. Is there anything you can pinpoint beyond the injuries?
Elias: “I think you dial back one year ago from when we’re talking right now. We had a really good record, and the major league team was really clicking. A lot of positive stuff happening all around the organization. To be in this spot right now has been, obviously, very surprising and very sudden. This is something we’re working on and talking about as an organization behind the scenes.
“The fact that this has happened this year in such a short amount of time from where we were is really unusual. I’ve had other teams comment on it too, that they’re just as surprised. We’ve got to take it as an organization, as a message to look inward and look around the organization and re-right the ship, and we’re working in real time to do that as well and as quickly as we can, but in the meantime, our players are fighting out on the field.
“They’re navigating the injuries around the roster, and I do think things are moving in the right direction with this group of players, but it’s been a really tough stretch.”
Q: You’re going to have the opportunity to change things in the next month with the trade deadline. Are you looking forward to maybe having the opportunity to remake the team because you have so many players on expiring contracts?
Elias: “You never want to sell. We came into the year with high hopes and playoff aspirations, and to be in the position where I’m answering this question is a terrible outcome. I hope we improve our record in the next few weeks where we can avoid that, but there is a calendar ticking off, and I’ve got to look at the standings, look at the odds and assess the situation.
“In baseball, one of the byproducts, if you’re out at the break is you do get the opportunity to strengthen your team for the next season and for the future in general, and even for the second half, so we’ll weigh that as the time comes, but it is approaching in the next several weeks. As much as we were hoping to be in a better position than this, we’re going to have to reassess things realistically.”
Q: You have an enormous number of players who are on expiring contracts. You can drastically remake the team for 2026 while keeping your core together. Is that something that could be appealing to you?
Elias: “I don’t think I’m ready to talk about what they might look like yet. We’re still in the focus of clawing back in the standings right now with this group. I’ll say this, we’re playing the Rays right now. Last year, they had a season that didn’t go their way, and they did things that put them in a better position now, and that’s part of baseball.”
Q: Are you comfortable with the players who are under club control for 2026. Is that enough to work with?
Elias: “I think this is a great core. A lot of them have been injured, or they’ve been underperforming for a stretch. That’s going to continue to be the backbone of this team for the next several seasons, so they’re very much a part of any strategy.”
Q: How big is 2026 for you personally and for the team?
Elias: “They’re all big. Ever since we got into a winning mode, second half of 2022, these have all been big seasons and ’23 and to a lesser degree, ’24, went really well in the regular season, but the playoffs were a huge disappointment, we had a bad start to the regular season, so that’s been really rough, so I think all of these seasons are enormous.”
Q: What kind of a job is Tony Mansolino doing?
Elias: “I’ve been really impressed with how he’s handled this. This is a tough spot to be put in. It’s real sudden. You don’t get any preparation. It’s the middle of the season, and I think that he’s kept the coaching and player operation running smoothly.
“We’ve seen some improvement in the team’s play, not all the way where we want to be, but we’ve played better, and he’s providing a fresh perspective on what our issues might be this season that I find valuable, so I think he’s done a really nice job with a really tough assignment.”
Q: When you were hired in 2018, you were hired late in the hiring cycle. All the other managerial jobs had been filled. Regardless of what happens, are you going to conduct a managerial search because you’ve never had the opportunity to have a full offseason to choose a manager?
Elias: “That’s a topic I’m obviously thinking about it and talking about it and preparing, but it’s a topic I’m not ready to talk publicly about, what our approach is about. I’ll do it at a more appropriate time.”
Q: Regardless of what happens, is Mansolino a candidate to manage the team in 2026 and beyond?
‘Elias: “I think it’s too soon to comment on that subject. We’ve started out with a punch in the face this season, and we’re trying to recover, and we’re real focused on the night-to-night right now, and we’re entering the month of July right now where there’s going to be a lot going on around the organization. I’m just keeping the focus on that, but when the time comes, we’ll broach the topic of how we’re approaching the permanent manager decision.”
Q: What is the latest on Grayson Rodriguez? Are you confident he’ll pitch for the team in the second half of the season?
Elias: “I am confident. He’s feeling really good. The process to get him back out for a rehab assignment, we’re taking it very, very carefully, and it’s a slow process, but it is coming. I hope that in the month of August there’s a chance that we can get him out there because having him finish well and pitching in the big leagues to finish the year, that would be really nice to see for everybody, I think, obviously including him, but for all of us as we look to next year.”
Q: Is that also the case for Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells, even if they only return briefly?
Elias: “I think it’s going to be really helpful in 2025, but it’s also going to be really informative to what their roles will be in the 2026 season, but all of those guys, I think we’re hoping to see them pitch in August and September.”
Q: You’ve made references to making sweeping changes in The Warehouse. Have you made any? Have you made any major hires?
Elias: “We haven’t added anyone of note, and that’s just because of the calendar because this is baseball, the sort-of hiring structural season is towards the end of the season, October-kind of time period.
“We are reviewing everything that we do. I mention that publicly, and that continues to be the case. As I was saying at the beginning, this has been really difficult and sudden because we were doing so well at everything as recently as last year that now we’re experiencing shortcomings and failures.
“We have to decide how much to draw conclusions and where to draw conclusions from those, so that’s all happening. It’s not something that we’re hiding from and I’m not ready to explain exactly where things are going or what we’re going to do, but we will evolve and adapt from this and come out smarter.”
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