October 27: The Orioles officially announced Albernaz as the club’s new manager this morning. He will be introduced at a press conference on November 4. Both Elias and Albernaz offered statements in the aftermath of the hiring:
“We are elated to welcome Craig Albernaz as the next manager of the Orioles and our leader on the field,” Elias’s statement reads. “Craig has built an exemplary career across multiple successful organizations and brings a tremendous amount of experience, knowledge, and talent to our organization and to this new challenge. We believe he is the right person at the right time to elevate our baseball operations and guide our team back to the playoffs and a World Series Championship.”
“I am deeply honored and humbled to join the storied Baltimore Orioles organization,” Albernaz’s statement reads. “This is a tremendous honor, and I’m grateful to Mike Elias and the entire Orioles team for entrusting me with the responsibility of leading this talented club.”
October 26: The Orioles are in the final stages of negotiations with Craig Albernaz about a deal to become the team’s next manager, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Moments before Passan’s report, Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote that Albernaz was the “frontrunner” in the Orioles’ search.
It’s quite an early birthday present for Albernaz, who turns 43 later this week. Albernaz worked as the Guardians’ associate manager this year after acting as the team’s bench coach in 2024, and four seasons on the Giants’ coaching staff as a bullpen and catching coach. Prior to his work on big league staffs, Albernaz spent four years in the Rays’ farm system, including managerial stints at the high-A and low-A levels. Albernaz is a former player, suiting up primarily as a catcher in the Rays’ and Tigers’ farm systems from 2006-14.
Albernaz’s job with the Guardians developed after Cleveland interviewed him about their last managerial vacancy, and Stephen Vogt then hired Albernaz to his own coaching staff. Albernaz was a finalist for both the White Sox and Marlins in their managerial searches last offseason, and he was linked to the Giants’ vacancy this year and also interviewed with the Nationals. There hadn’t been any public indication that Albernaz was in the running for Baltimore’s job, but it isn’t surprising that the O’s were eyeing someone who has been such a popular candidate in recent years.
Like previous Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, Albernaz is becoming a full-time MLB manager for the first time, and is coming to the job at a relatively young age (Hyde was 45 when hired in December 2018.) The circumstances of this hiring for O’s president of baseball operations Mike Elias are much different this time around — Hyde was hired to oversee an Orioles team embarking on a rebuild, while Albernaz will be tasked with getting a contender back on track.
It seemed like Baltimore’s rebuild had paid off when the team had a winning season in 2022, and when the O’s then reached the playoffs in both 2023 and 2024. However, a bunch of pitching injuries and a near team-wide set of offensive struggles essentially sunk this year’s Orioles right out of the gate, as Hyde was fired in May when the team had a 15-28 record.
Tony Mansolino posted a winning 60-59 record after being promoted from third base coach to interim manager, which made Mansolino a candidate for the full-time position this offseason. The Orioles were also linked to former Mariners manager Scott Servais, former Mets manager Luis Rojas, and superstar Albert Pujols in their managerial search, plus Cubs bench coach and ex-O’s player Ryan Flaherty was reportedly under consideration.
Albernaz doesn’t have the experience or the name value as the other candidates, yet he’ll become the latest in a long line of skippers with past ties to the Guardians and/or Rays organizations. Those two teams have made a habit of staying in contention while focusing on player development, which is key for an O’s team that will need several of its young building blocks to rebound from underwhelming 2025 seasons. How the Orioles will augment their young core with offseason additions is now the next goal for Elias with the managerial search concluded.
This has been a busy offseason for managerial hirings and firings, and we’re still not even halfway through the list of teams looking for new skippers in 2026. The Orioles join the Angels (Kurt Suzuki), Giants (Tony Vitello), and Rangers (Skip Schumaker) as teams who have hired new managers, while the Nationals, Padres, Twins, Braves, and Rockies remain searching.
Inset photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale — Imagn Images
Who?
First base.
That was Hu
Heh hweh you old
Poor Cade Horton having to hear “Who?” so much!
So long as his maw didn’t name him after Cade McKnown
Craig Albernaz
Who?
The guy on first.
I thought what was on first and who was on second.
I dunno
who’s on first and what’s on second
You’re right, dang dyslexia!
Craig Albernaz
who?
The guy who picks up the first baseman’s check.
What?
What is the name of the player on second base.
Who’s on 1st?
I don’t know
Third base
The guy who is playing second is now on third.
Who is on first.
Craig Albernaz
Probably the cheapest candidate available.
mikedickinson: How do you know that?
Rubenstein is better than that…
Pujols would have been the highest paid Oriole had he been hired.
when the only tool on your tool belt is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. we don’t know anything about this hire and that comment is unfounded with Rubenstein ownership. but let’s not let facts get in the way of your hot take.
Macgromit looks like we have some very uptight people here.
he just needs an enema, no big deal ok
Idiotic statement. News flash – Peter Angelos no longer owns the Orioles.
This is one of, if not THE most sought after young talent in the business. But of course nothing was to going to satisfy the haters.
Albernaz looks like a good hire to me. He has a good resume.
He seemed to be well respected by the Giants while he was there. He’ll do well in Baltimore.
So the guy has some experience, hes not a household name for sure. He must have really killed it in the interview with his preparation. Lol wikipedia jumping the gun though. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Albernaz
We definitely need more guys who know how to prevent stolen bases and hold runners though lol.
So much for new ownership spending.
Why because they didn’t go after a big name? The guy is qualified and interviewed with at least one other team for the gig.
Prefer this over a move to an old dinosaur like Bob Melvin.
The Bomelsaurus Rex ?
Baltimore_44
So ‘Supersaurus’ Melvin has a 1678-1588 record for .514, and he’s “old” and a “dinosaur”. That ‘supersaurus’ that you refer to managed some teams within that win/loss record that did not have budgets like the eg Dodgers or Phillies, but here you are talking with utter disrespect and contempt for him, along with ageism as well. What an utter disgrace indeed.
I believe he’s interviewed with Giants after Kapler left and also this year before they signed Vitello.
You are so right – they should have hired a really expensive retread that has been fired 4 times already for having lost 100 more games than he’s won. Who exactly is the dream manager ?
Everyone saying “who” like this guy hasn’t been a candidate and expected to get a shot at one point considering he’s been a finalist before.
For my part, I hadn’t heard his name floated out there for this particular job. But that may be modus operandi for this particular front office for better or worse. Assuming it does go through and he’s the new manager, hes got his work cut out for him. Plenty of talent in general, but not quite enough reliably healthy talent on either side of the ball. Here’s hoping the front office will support him if he is indeed the guy.
The willfully ignorant are a proud subset of MLBTR users. Simply ignore (mute) them.
@jobu – They are a majority subset, unfortunately and it is painful to wade through the nonsense. However the really solid posters on here are quite excellent at times and are the only reason to put up with the rest of the drivel.
Not just MLBTR. The willfully ignorant are a large subset of the population at large.
No doubt ln13, no doubt. I was simply speaking to what goes on in this particular venue. If we raise the stakes to the rest of the country and the world, it is incredibly depressing and most alarming.
Lowest common denominator.
Jobu’s Rum
The conceited and know it alls are also a “proud subset” of MLBTR contributors and the worldwide population at large.
However, I wouldn’t mute any of the conceited and know it alls on this site, as that would spoil the ‘fun’. The majority of the conceited and know it alls are incapable of arguing or debating, and the reason for that is that they know it all already, in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they could give you the winning lotto numbers for the next draw, or who was going to start the next world war.
He’s been a mover and a shaker everywhere he’s been hired at. Ray’s, Giants and Guardians. He’s been a rapid riser behind the scenes. No doubt that he’s been talked out and around MLB executive suites -they all seem to know who and what he brings to the table.
Either that or he sold his soul for all the fast career jumps and he been on one helluve barnstorming promotion program.
They don’t need to be mutually exclusive.
Ray’s? As in the BBQ sauce?
Theo’s comment is actually more helpful than Dickinson’s. At least it was attempt at some humor. @MikeDickinson’s was a joke.
Great hire for the O’s. I’m a little jealous because I hoped the Nats would get him.
I actually think Brandon Hyde would be perfect for the Nats at the stage they’re in
Would have preferred someone with experience getting teams over the hump. But since so many other teams have been linked to him, ill assume he was a good candidate. Ill reserve judgement until after i see if he can get adley, gunnar back on track.
Like drunk sleepy hall of fame baseball guy Tony?
Former catchers are gaining control of the game, in front office positions and as managers and coaches and in key development roles. This is all to the good of the game, as they are always the smartest and best-looking players in the game and every team should pay attention to this trend of intelligent hiring decisions.
They are wresting control back from the saberdudes that have been chipping away at the fabric of the game for over two decades now… ; )
Amen brotha
You had me until “best looking”. Some catchers don’t look as good as their catcher’s mitt. And I was a catcher so I know.
Who is this slappy?
the red Sox should be looking for a new skipper also, cora needs to get the boot
Cora is a cheater. If that’s not enough of a red flag, then the Red Sox don’t have any red flags. They deserve him.
Cora meets John Henry’s criteria. Therefore, the Sox could go 67-95 next year and Cora will still either be the manager or actually get a promotion.
Varitek is next in line. As soon as Cora is forced–I mean leaves.
As an O’s fan, I *hope* they saved big money by hiring him.
That $5M/yr will go a lot further when invested in players than the manager.
“They saved big money here” – sincerely, Menard
So do the Orioles still have eyes on competing or is that window closing as quick as it opened?
Alley Rustchman more like Alley Pushed out the window man, amirite?
I think that window is closing rapidly.
The Orioles are absolutely planning to compete next year, the core is still young and extremely talented. Just need some solid additions this offseason to supplement it and we should be right back in it next year.
Substantial financial flexibility and there’s still a ton of young talent. Elias has to do a lot of work this offseason but there’s absolutely a path.
As rough as his offseason was last year, he didn’t stick us with a bunch of bad cash. O’Neill is the only regrettable contract on the ledger. If a 2/32MM is your worst deal on the books—you aren’t in a bad spot. Even w/ that O’Neill could wind up producing this year. But I’m certainly not counting on it.
With the amount of holes on their roster, and the wholesale offensive regression, I’m no longer a believer. Feels like 2017’s offseason headed in 2018.
Not even close unless you consider 20’s is new 30’s.
75 to sub 50 wins? This is a far different situation.
This team is good enough to win 75 games if we don’t spend another dime on the roster. There’s question marks as to whether Holliday, Mayo, and Basallo take a step and become real impactful pieces but even with them giving what we got last year —this team is so much better than 2018.
Things going wrong and winning 75 games again is a possibility but I’d set that as the floor with a ceiling of getting back to the 90-95 win club that we were.
Offensive regression was a result of injuries if you pay attention to the team. Pitching somewhat the same except for Morton losing his curveball for 2 different teams…Tomorrow was OK and a 1 year stopgap for those returning from surgery. They need some rh outfield help, a starter, and a few spots at the end of the bullpen. Their record post Hyde firing would have them in 4th with a 9 player sell-off at the deadline. Cancel the sell-off and over 162 that post may team would have made the playoffs
I think the ALE is wide open. The Rays winning the division would be the biggest surprise to me but they’re known to surprise you with rosters that don’t look like division winners.
Every team in this division should have a shot at winning it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Toronto go from the WS to missing the playoffs.
Not really. Cowser had time to get back on track, but didn’t. Gunnar regressed. Adley regressed. Then when things started looking good, he got hurt. Mayo disappointed. Holliday improved, but not enough to make a huge difference. Westburg was the only one whose performance was good EXCEPT for when he was hurt. Mounty, even after his typical post-return hot streak, was awful.
The regression was across the board and was not tied to injuries.
I agree the post-May team by record played, at times, like a wild card team. But they lucked into wins. Their ABs were horrible. Boom or bust. Usually bust. Had they gotten into the playoffs, they’d have been swept out just like last year.
I don’t follow your team so I really don’t know but do they have any team leader type players. IMHO good teams usually have a couple well respected leaders.
No, they don’t. James McCann was a leader, and they let him walk. Santander was a leader, and they let him walk. O’Hearn grew somewhat into a leader, but that was out of necessity. The leadership they expected from Adley has yet to materialize. In past years they’ve gotten veteran leadership from Kyle Gibson, Robinson Chirinos, etc. This year they did not sign strong leaders and let the ones they had walk.
WadeBoggs: Thanks for the reply. I believe that the better teams need leaders on the field/clubhouse. Especially young teams with a young new manager. Examples to follow work ethic and professionalism. I would hope over the winter they add a couple guys to help with that. My Giants, even though they didn’t finish with a great record, have a few strong leaders in Webb, Chapman, Adames and Flores. They have a great clubhouse and young guys watch how the leaders carry themselves on and off the field. Underrated and very important.
If your players under perform it doesn’t matter who the manager is. They just fired a former manager of the year. So until these players play to their “potential it’s going to be more of the same because there are too many holes to fill in one off-season and spending money isn’t their thing.
If they wanted to make a difference they would’ve fired the GM instead of promoting him. But he’s got the same golden boy status as the ravens gm so he’s not going anywhere and neither are both teams.
Uh, wot?
I think we found Jason La Canfora’s MLBTR account.
I’m not a Ravens or Lamar Jackson fan by any means but I think the Ravens need a healthy Lamar. I don’t believe they contend without that happening. As for the O’s, I know Brandon Hyde was there for most of the rough years, so I was a little surprised he was fired. He is now getting mentioned in lots of manager searches. Hope he gets hired for an opening. But most importantly it’s what you said. They need many players playing up to their expectations. Maybe a new voice and some players taking more leadership will do the trick.
Nice to attend my first Raven game and see a nice little rebound. Now do Miami
I was hoping for Joi, with Officer K as Bench Coach. Strong with AI analytics…
They already play in the Joi Division, so this tracks
Guess Elias is saving the big bucks for free agents.
Many posters here don’t follow baseball.
Your posters talk to you? At night? Which ones? The 85 bears poster? Or Farah Fawcett? What do they say to you *
You, man. You talk so much, we can all hear you.
Farrah Fawcett poster! Hell yeah. 70’s standard issue for red-blooded American young men.
The Os, if they squint and look in the distance, can see Fifth Place, the way Sarah Palin can see Russia from her picket fence
Good callback reference
True to form, a rookie who can take orders from above. I’m still laughing over the Bruce Bochy speculation. After all, it’s the Orioles! 🤣
Sweet! Let’s Go O’s!!
This is so Elias, a pick from nowhere. Knew the names that were floated publicly were not the ones under consideration. The only real question is whether the O’s leaked those names intentionally to throw everyone off, or whether the rumors just organically developed on their own.
A pick from nowhere. So four other teams hadn’t interviewed him over the last 2 years? Fans who actually follow baseball know who he is.
Hi, Mr. Troll.
‘From nowhere’ means zero coverage in the press, which should be obvious from the rest of the text. But it’s fun to throw criticism everywhere, makes a person feel good.
Well respected by all, including players when he was with the Giants
A lot of casual fans spouting off on a guy because he’s not a big name. “If I’ve never heard of him he can’t be qualified.” Take two minutes and look at the guy’s credentials. He also interviewed for at least one other team’s managerial spot. Just because you haven’t heard of him doesn’t make it a “pick out of nowhere” or a “cheap hire.”
Their ignorance only surpasses their arrogance.
sign of the times
Mac: Should be a capital S with a period on the end. There you have it.
I have found that whenever people just post ‘who?’ it says a lot more about the person posting and a lot less about what they are commenting on.
Heard the same thing about Toronto one year ago.
lol no
Need to pick a new handle, buddy.
I can’t say I’m an expert on the guy. If he’s great at getting the best out of young players he’s at the right place as as turning around several who have backtracked would make the biggest difference of all between 2025 and 2026.
I also want to see a different approach. More patience at the plate and less swinging from the heels. Better #’s with RISP and versus lefties. Less questionable lineup decisions- putting the best team out there. Better deployment of pitchers/bullpen sequence game to game. Knowing when to yank the starter rather than an inning too late.
It would be like Elias to pick a prospect rather than a recent track record as manager, so you can’t go into the season on any precedent.
Therefore, I will play wait and see and I don’t want to see more of the same.
BTW those talking about the window, this is year 5 (they earned an extra year in 2022 but Elias sold at the deadline anyway). Zero playoff wins after 4 seasons.
Mellon: With all that said I think you got the right manager.
Great hire. Not the big name or widely known guy but among the industry he’s highly regarded and coveted, as mentioned. Definitely a better option over Flaherty or Mansolino in my opinion.
It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff rounds out. Hopefully he can bring his own guys in if he wants. Would hate to see some current coaching go, especially ones like Britton, hopefully they can find a role to keep him if not on coaching staff.
Lea hope this isn’t the biggest signing of the Orioles offseason.
.376 team career OBP on rosters containing nearly look-alike-white dudes with shoulder length surfer dude travel ball hair styles? Let’s get to the analytics that REALLY matter!
Only 5 teams left with managerial openings and only 2 I could realistically see hiring Bud Black.
LFGS: I really think Bud Black might retire. He’s really probably only an interview for a team that’s ready to be a contender or team that’s already a contender. He’s very particular I think. Which two teams were you thinking?
He has said he would like to continue managing and his fanboys on here say that if he ever becomes available all 30 GMs will be pushing and shoving each other out of the way to get to him.
Well it certainly isn’t the Padres (already fired him + no respected manager wants to work under A. J. Preller), Rockies (just fired him) or Nationals (originally hired him 10 years ago but lowballed him in contract talks and then went with Dusty Baker instead) so do the math.
I’ve been to many ballparks and Camden is my favorite.
Have you been to Oracle Park in San Francisco? It’s my favorite even if my Giants weren’t playing their. Camden yards was my favorite until the Giants built there’s.
I haven’t been but I’ve heard good things. I also like the Nationals ballpark in DC. I’ve been to Dodgers, old Rangers, old Comisky, Wrigley, and a few others including almost every version of Angels Stadium with the “Edison Field” years being my favorite.
@mab
their/there/there’s. these are different words and cannot be used interchangeably.
there you have it.
Says the guy who doesn’t use capital letters at the start of sentences.
Good for Craig. Baltimore had one of the most appealing managerial vacancies, in my opinion. Glad Craig got a managerial opportunity without having to resort to taking a job with the Angels, Twins or Rockies..
how do you make chicken salad using the ingredients in LA, MN or CO?
Who dat!
I know who he is, but I haven’t heard any particular reason that he is better than having just kept Hyde.
Uninspiring. A bunch of underachieving kids are supposed to listen to a rookie manager who has never won anything? After quitting on a vet manager who never won anything.
The guy who has control of their playing time? They’ll respect him. The young players play up to their potential or they’ll grab some pine. I will say players don’t get fired like managers do, so it’ll be something to watch. End result is the Orioles will be happy with this hiring and so will the players.
A lot of owls in the comments, not a one was wise.