Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Anthony Volpe Playing Through Partial Labrum Tear

By | at

Anthony Volpe has been the Yankees’ regular shortstop for close to three years now. Lately, he has struggled enough that José Caballero has taken some playing time. It’s possible that health is playing a role in Volpe’s downturn. He injured his left shoulder back in early May. Today, Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that the shoulder discomfort has lingered since then and Volpe received a cortisone shot in that shoulder yesterday.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke to the media before tonight’s game and provided more details, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Boone confirmed the report of the cortisone shot and said Volpe has a small labrum tear in his shoulder. When the injury was discovered in May, they believed it was an old injury that he could play through. He has since aggravated it multiple times, including on Sunday. He also had a cortisone shot during the All-Star break, per Kuty. The Yanks don’t believe he needs an IL stint now. He will have another MRI after the season.

At the time of that injury, Volpe said he heard a “pop” in his shoulder but quickly felt better. “It happened quick and it was scary, but after that, I felt OK and I felt like I had my strength,” Volpe said at the time. “I’ve never really had anything else pop or dislocate or anything like that, so I have nothing to compare it to.”

Greg Joyce of The New York Post writes that the Yankees have consistently downplayed the shoulder injury even though Volpe is usually wrapped up in ice after most games. Just yesterday, Boone brushed off the problem, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

“I think early on after that, maybe a little bit,” the skipper said, when asked if Volpe’s shoulder has been impacting his performance. “I think it’s something that’s also improved over the course of the year. I feel like, even lately, it’s been in as good of a place as it’s been. I don’t necessarily think that’s the case, but he’s also a very tough kid and a gamer. I don’t think so, but I guess shouldn’t rule it out.”

As noted by Sherman, there’s a stark contrast between Volpe’s pre- and post-injury numbers. On May 4th, he had a .233/.326/.442 batting line. That translated to a 114 wRC+, indicating he was 14% better than league average at that point in the season. Since then, he has a .197/.248/.378 line and 70 wRC+.

It’s also possible that the injury is impacting Volpe defensively. He was credited with 15 Defensive Runs Saved in 2023 and six last year but is at just one here in 2025. Outs Above Average is even more notable. That metric gave Volpe a +1 grade in 2023 and +14 last year but has dropped him all the way to -9 here in 2025. Volpe made eight throwing errors in 2023 and nine last year but already has 13 in 2025, in a smaller sample of playing time.

Despite the declining numbers, Boone has stuck by Volpe. A couple of weeks ago, the skipper said that he still considered Volpe to be the club’s shortstop while Caballero was considered a “10th man” who could bounce around to various positions in a utility capacity.

More recently, it’s possible there’s been a shift. Caballero has started in place of Volpe in two of the past five games. It’s possible the cortisone shot leads to Volpe missing some more time, as players usually require a few days’ rest after receiving such injections.

On the one hand, it’s somewhat encouraging that Volpe’s struggles have a possible explanation. On the other hand, it’s a less than ideal situation at this time of year when every game is meaningful. The Yanks currently hold a Wild Card spot but they are in a tight battle with clubs like the Red Sox, Mariners, Rangers, Guardians, Royals and Rays. The Yanks are also surely hoping to chase down the Blue Jays for the division lead, currently trailing by just three games.

Sending Volpe to the injured list or simply sitting him for a few games could perhaps help his shoulder woes a bit but that would leave the club a bit thinner at shortstop as they play meaningful games. There would also be the risk of Volpe getting rusty after a layoff and not having time to get into a better groove.

For now, it seems Caballero could benefit from a bit more playing time. He has a solid .239/.345/.413 line since being acquired at the deadline but he has a career .226/.313/.335 slash and 89 wRC+. Even if his hitting is subpar, his glovework is good and he’s one of the top base stealers in the majors. If Volpe does require a stint on the IL, the Yanks could perhaps recall Braden Shewmake to serve as a glove-first backup to Caballero.

Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images

Mets Outright Wander Suero

By | at

The Mets announced earlier today that they’ve assigned right-hander Wander Suero outright to Triple-A. The move comes after he was designated for assignment earlier this week to accommodate the return of outfielder Jose Siri.

Suero, 33, has pitched in parts of seven MLB seasons but departs the Mets’ roster without making an appearance. The righty made his big league debut with the Nationals during the 2018 season and enjoyed a solid three-year run where he pitched to a 4.10 ERA (108 ERA+) with a 3.20 FIP and a 26.1% strikeout rate across 142 2/3 innings of work from 2018 to 2020. That stretch included the franchise’s 2019 World Series championship, which saw Suero make the postseason roster and post three scoreless appearances during the World Series against the Astros.

Unfortunately, the good times came to an abrupt halt in 2021. Suero turned in a brutal 6.33 ERA with a FIP of 5.80 in 45 appearances that year. While his 23.2% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate were hardly disastrous, he allowed a ridiculous 11 home runs in 42 2/3 innings as 19.3% of his fly balls left the yard. Between that massive spike in home runs and the fact that he stranded just 59.7% of the base runners he allowed, Suero racked up runs in a hurry and was non-tendered by the Nationals during the 2021-22 offseason.

In the years since he departed the nation’s capital, Suero has bounced around the league as a journeyman. A minor league deal with the Angels in 2022 didn’t lead Suero back to the majors, as he struggled to a 6.08 ERA at Triple-A thanks in part to the Pacific Coast League’s inflated offensive environment. He seemingly mastered the level after his first season in the PCL, however, as subsequent stints with the Dodgers and Astros yielded much better results. Posting ERAs of 3.26 and 2.66 at Triple-A for each of those clubs earned call-ups to their respective big league teams, though between the 2023 and ’24 seasons Suero posted a brutal 7.88 ERA in eight innings of work for Los Angeles and Houston.

Entering 2025, Suero signed a minor league deal with the Braves and got called up to the big leagues in July after posting a 1.50 ERA with a 33.6% strikeout rate for Triple-A Gwinnett. Suero surrendered eight runs on ten hits (three homers) and four walks while striking out seven in 6 1/3 innings of work for Atlanta before being designated for assignment earlier this month. The Mets claimed him off waivers to offer some bullpen depth, but optioned him to Triple-A before he could make an MLB appearance and designated him for assignment shortly thereafter.

Assuming Suero accepts his outright assignment, he’ll finish the year at Triple-A for the Mets and have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency this offseason if not added back to the 40-man roster. In free agency, the right-hander figures to continue getting attention on minor league deals given his dominant results at Triple-A in recent years, and he’ll continue to search for an organization that can help him get back to effectiveness at the big league level. Suero has a previous outright on his resume and could also choose to elect free agency early and get a head start on the open market, if he so chooses.

Angels Outright Chad Stevens

By | at

The Angels have assigned infielder Chad Stevens outright to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to the transactions tracker on Stevens’s MLB.com profile page. Stevens was previously designated for assignment by the Angels over the weekend.

Stevens, 26, was an 11th-round pick by the Astros in the 2021 draft. He steadily climbed the minor league ladder in Houston until he reached the Double-A level in 2023. He hit a middling .220/.333/.397 in 122 games with Corpus Christi that year, and made a return to the level in 2024. Repeating a level for the first time in his career did not go especially well, as Stevens hit just .153/.242/.235 in 95 plate appearances before the Astros decided to release him in May of last year. Stevens didn’t linger on the market long after being cut by Houston, however, as he was signed to a minor league deal by the Angels later that same month.

Upon joining the Angels organization, Stevens went back to High-A in order to regain his footing after his struggles at Double-A. After putting up fantastic numbers in 44 games, Stevens was promoted and hit a much stronger .316/.359/.491 in just 17 games with Double-A Rocket City. That small sample was enough to convince Angels brass to promote Stevens to Triple-A Salt Lake, though he did end up scuffling to finish the year with a .238/.289/.345 slash line at the highest level of the minors.

Fortunately for both Stevens and the Angels, he returned to Salt Lake at the start of the 2025 and quickly proved he was up to the challenge Triple-A had to offer. In his first 72 games at the level this year, Stevens hit .302 with a .389 on-base percentage and slugged .542. That was enough, in the organization’s mind, to earn the 26-year-old his first big league call-up. He arrived in Anaheim on July 3 and made it into five games, though he went 2-13 with a 50% strikeout rate in his limited time in the majors before being sent back down the minors. After returning to Triple-A, Stevens’s hot start to the 2025 season had faded. He hit a more pedestrian .258/.348/.403 in 44 games down the stretch before he was designated for assignment last week in a move that made room for left-hander Sammy Peralta on the 40-man roster.

Because Stevens does not have the requisite service time or prior outright on his record to reject the assignment, he’ll return to Triple-A and serve as non-roster depth for the Angels through the end of the season. If not added back to the 40-man roster before the start of the offseason, however, he’ll have the opportunity to head back into minor league free agency and test the open market this winter. Stevens has experience all over the infield but has overwhelmingly played shortstop and third base during his time as a professional, and players like Zach Neto, Kyren Paris, Christian Moore, and even Oswald Peraza all figure to be prioritized on the Anaheim depth chart over someone like Stevens. That could mean he’d be better off looking for a role elsewhere, perhaps in an organization with less controllable infield depth on the roster.

Craig Breslow, Red Sox Plan To Hire GM This Offseason

By | at

With the 2025 season nearing its conclusion, teams around the league are beginning to turn their attention towards staffing changes during the offseason. The Orioles are known to be looking for a second-in-command for president of baseball operations Mike Elias, while the Nationals are looking for the successor to Mike Rizzo and have already begun contacting possible candidates. It seems the Red Sox will also be joining the fray looking for front office talent, as Rob Bradford of Audacy Sports writes that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will “prioritize” finding a GM to serve as his second-in-command in the Red Sox front office this year after going the first two years of his tenure in Boston without one.

It’s hardly a surprise that Breslow would be looking for a number two. Breslow conducted an audit of the Red Sox front office early in his tenure with the organization, a decision which postponed his search for a second-in-command as it would necessarily involve evaluating the work of in-house candidates. That audit concluded last year, however, and the Red Sox still entered the 2025 campaign without hiring a GM. The Red Sox did hire Taylor Smith away from the Rays for an assistant GM role last winter, but that made Smith one of several assistant GMs already in the organization. At the time of Smith’s hire, there was some speculation that perhaps Smith was being brought into the fold to take over the responsibilities of assistant GM Paul Toboni, who was at the time viewed as the top internal candidate for the GM role.

No such promotion ultimately came to pass for Toboni, however, and now that Breslow is gearing up to hire a GM this winter it’s unclear if he (or any other internal Red Sox personnel, for that matter) will be considered as candidates for the job or not. At the time, Toboni was viewed as a candidate for a handful of vacancies around the game and promoting him could have served as a way to keep him in the organization. He ultimately remained in the organization with his same title, but now could once again be a hot commodity on the market for other clubs looking to add to their front offices.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com writes that Toboni is a candidate for the Nationals’ vacant GM job, where he would replace former head of baseball operations Mike Rizzo. While the Red Sox would be able to offer Toboni that same title, it would come with significantly more responsibility in Washington given that the GM of the Nationals is the club’s top baseball operations position. Of course, it must be noted that it’s unclear whether Toboni has been asked to interview for the position or if he’s even been contacted at this point. Even so, the fact that Toboni is even under consideration to lead an organization’s baseball operations department, in conjunction with his name coming up in various other GM searches around the league in previous years, suggests that he’s well-regarded within the industry and could once again be a candidate for various opportunities around the game.

It should be noted that Breslow’s pool of talent from which he can draw from in his GM search will naturally be smaller given that the candidate he hires will not be given the top job in baseball operations. While the Nats have been connected to names such as Cubs GM Carter Hawkins, other organizations will typically block their executives from jumping ship for a lateral move. That means anyone who is currently the #2 of an organization with a president of baseball operations, such as Hawkins, would be unlikely to even be permitted to interview for the job as Breslow’s right-hand man.

Still, there are plenty of executives around the game in assistant GM roles and other lower-level positions who Breslow would be able to consider without much issue if he would like to hire from outside the Red Sox organization. Dodgers senior VP Josh Byrnes and Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye are two other names reportedly connected to the Nationals’ GM search, and while they haven’t been connected to Boston’s GM job at this point they’re both examples of executives who currently hold positions that would not necessarily preclude them from being interviewed for the role.

Blue Jays Designate Orelvis Martinez For Assignment

By | at

The Blue Jays announced this evening that they’ve designated infielder Orelvis Martinez for assignment. The move allowed the club to activate Alek Manoah from the 60-day injured list and option him to Triple-A Buffalo. Manoah has previously been on a rehab assignment as he worked his way back from UCL surgery he underwent in June 2024.

Martinez, 24 in November, was a consensus top-100 prospect as recently as the 2024 season. He made his big league debut in June of last year but was given an 80-game suspension after testing positive for Clomiphene, a banned performance-enhancing substance, just one week later. Martinez had only appeared in one MLB game at the time of his suspension and hasn’t returned to the majors since as the Blue Jays kept him at Triple-A for the end of the 2024 season and all throughout 2025.

While Toronto’s decision not to bring Martinez back to the majors for the final weeks of the 2024 campaign could at least conceivably have been related to his suspension, it’s hard to view him not returning to the big leagues this year as anything other than performance based. Martinez struggled badly at Triple-A during is age-23 campaign, slashing just .176/.288/.348 across 394 plate appearances in 99 games. He struck out at an elevated 28.4% clip and managed just 13 homers, a massive decline in power relative to what he had shown in previous seasons, including his 28 homers in 129 Triple-A games between 2023 and ’24.

While Martinez looked utterly lost at the plate this year, his relative youth in conjunction with his former top prospect status may well be enough to get him attention from other organizations. He has experience at second base, third base, and shortstop across his minor league career, though he’s mostly moved off of shortstop in recent years. An infielder who will spend all of next year at 24 years old and has flashed the potential to be a quality hitter in the past seems likely to be an attractive candidate to join a number of rebuilding clubs, who could afford to be patient with Martinez and give him ample time to get things back on track and prove himself capable of handling major league pitching.

The Blue Jays will have one week to put Martinez through waivers, where any club will have the ability to claim him. If he goes unclaimed, Toronto can then outright him to Triple-A for the remainder of the season. If not claimed off waivers or added back to the Jays’ 40-man roster by the start of the offseason, Martinez will have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency and look for an opportunity elsewhere on the open market.

As for Manoah, the right-hander’s activation from the injured list is purely procedural. Manoah has already made five starts at the Triple-A level this year while rehabbing, and while he sports a 3.09 ERA in 23 1/3 innings of work at that level, that figure is heavily propped up by eight unearned runs allowed. Manoah has been teed off against by opposing hitters at Triple-A this year to the tune of a .239/.346/.457 slash line, has surrendered five home runs and hit three batters, and is walking opponents at a 13.0% clip. Much of that is surely rust from a lengthy layoff following UCL surgery, but it hardly seems likely that the Blue Jays would entrust starts to Manoah as they look to fend off the Yankees and Red Sox in the AL East and head towards the postseason barring a massive turnaround or a rash of injuries that tests the club’s pitching depth.

Looking ahead to 2026, Manoah is ticketed for his second trip through arbitration this winter after getting a $2.2MM contract for the 2025 season from the Jays last offseason. Given his past success in the majors and remaining team control, keeping the 27-year-old in the fold for the 2026 season and seeing if he can return to form once further removed from Tommy John surgery seems like the likeliest course of action for the Jays. With that being said, a non-tender or trade this winter isn’t completely implausible given his lack of production since his All-Star 2022 campaign and his ugly performance at Triple-A since returning from injury.

Dodgers Release Matt Sauer

By | at

The Dodgers released right-hander Matt Sauer yesterday, according to the transactions tracker on Sauer’s MLB.com profile page. He had been designated for assignment by Los Angeles last week.

Sauer, 26, was a second-round pick by the Yankees back in 2017 but didn’t make his major league debut until last year as a member of the Royals after being plucked from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. He made 14 appearances for Kansas City last year but struggled to a 7.71 ERA in that time. He walked (11) more opponents than he struck out (9) and surrendered three homers in just 16 1/3 innings of work. That lackluster work led the Royals to return Sauer to the Yankees in May of last year, and he split the remainder of the season between the Double- and Triple-A levels before electing free agency during the offseason.

That led him to join the Dodgers on a minor league deal back in December, and despite long odds to make the Opening Day roster given Los Angeles’s crowded bullpen mix, he actually managed to grab a seat on the plane to Tokyo for the club’s opening series against the Cubs after striking out eight batters during Spring Training against just one walk. Sauer did not appear in the Tokyo Series but went on to serve in an up-and-down role with the Dodgers this year, shuttling between the majors and Triple-A Oklahoma City when the Dodgers were in need of an extra arm.

He looked quite good in that role through the end of May, with a 3.05 ERA and 4.21 FIP in 20 2/3 innings of work across seven appearances, but things took a turn for the worse when he rejoined the club in June. Sauer was shelled to the tune of nine runs on 13 hits and three walks while striking out six in 4 2/3 innings of work against the Padres on June 10. That disastrous outing ballooned his ERA to 5.68, and he’s gone on to pitch just two more times for the Dodgers this year after that as he allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. In 29 2/3 innings of work across ten games total in the majors this year, he posted a 6.32 ERA despite solid enough peripheral numbers, including a 4.24 xFIP and a 4.02 SIERA.

Sauer’s lackluster strikeout rate in the majors this year and tendency to allow home runs limited his effectiveness in the majors, but he did show the ability to be a competent long reliever with three-, four-, and even five-inning relief appearances where he was generally effective. Given that Sauer has options remaining and has shown the ability to pitch in all sorts of roles over the years, perhaps another team will give him a chance and see if they can help him unlock the sort of consistency he wasn’t able to find with the Royals, Yankees, or Dodgers.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. To Miss 9-10 Months Following ACL Surgery

By | at

Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was diagnosed with a torn ACL just over a week ago, and Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reports that he underwent surgery today with 9-10 month recovery timetable.

In other words, Gurriel figures to miss the first half and could be back at some point in June or July, barring any setbacks or other changes to that timeline. Gurriel, 32 next month, is in the second year of the three-year, $42MM deal with Arizona that he agreed to during the 2023-24 offseason. That contract gives Gurriel the opportunity to opt out after the 2025 season, although he’s all but guaranteed to decline that opportunity given that he’ll miss half of next year. Assuming he doesn’t opt out, Gurriel will make $13MM next year and the Diamondbacks will hold a $14MM option with a $5MM buyout for the 2027 campaign.

The ACL tear was a bitter ending to what was a disappointing year at the plate for Gurriel. While he’s a limited defender who has never put up the gaudy numbers necessary to get much attention as a corner bat, the one-time All-Star has been incredibly consistent throughout his career in the majors. He’s settled in as a player who posts a wRC+ in the 105-115 range on an annual basis, with a 109 wRC+ overall for his career. This year was the exception, however, as he hit just .248/.295/.418 in 546 plate appearances. While he hit 19 homers, stole ten bases, and posted a career-low 13.9% strikeout rate, Gurriel’s .254 BABIP this year was more than 60 points below his career norm entering this season.

Given that unfortunate luck on batted balls, it’s perhaps not a shock that Gurriel under-performed his expected numbers this year for the first time since 2021. His .307 wOBA this year was in line with middling production from hitters like Xavier Edwards and Cedric Mullins, but his .320 xwOBA suggests his underlying performance was more in line with the performances of slightly above average offensive contributors like Mookie Betts, Nico Hoerner, and Carlos Correa. It’s also more or less in line with the sort of production Arizona has come to expect from Gurriel, and while those expected numbers didn’t help much this year they offer optimism that he can get back to his usual self once he returns from surgery next year.

Losing around half a season from Gurriel in 2026 is sure to a be a blow to the Diamondbacks, but a silver lining for the club is their deep group of outfield options. Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, and Alek Thomas are all under team control for 2026 and beyond, while youngster Blaze Alexander and utility man Tim Tawa have both also gotten reps in the outfield in recent weeks and could help provide depth behind that group. Tawa and Alexander are both right-handed hitters who could help complement the otherwise left-handed outfield, but with Gurriel’s righty bat out of commission it might make sense for Arizona to explore adding a right-handed outfielder to the mix this winter. That’s especially true given the fact that Randal Grichuk was dealt away to the Royals at this year’s trade deadline, leaving plenty of room for another righty bat on Arizona’s roster. Tommy Pham, Austin Hays, and Austin Slater are among the options who could make some sense aside from Grichuk himself.

Justin Garza Elects Free Agency

By | at

Right-hander Justin Garza has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Mets had sent him outright to Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the week but he had a previous career outright and therefore had the right to reject the assignment and head to the open market.

Garza, 31, still has a fairly limited big league track record. He has thrown 53 2/3 innings in the majors, but spread out over multiple seasons, having debuted back in 2021. That includes just 6 2/3 innings in 2025. On the whole, he has a 5.70 earned run average, 19.8% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate.

His minor league track record is naturally greater in quality and quantity, though he has struggled on the farm this year. From 2021 to 2024, he logged 157 2/3 innings in the minors with a 3.82 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate. Here in 2025, he has thrown 44 Triple-A innings with a 7.16 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. There’s surely some bad luck in there, as his .315 batting average on balls in play and 57.3% strand rate are both to the unlucky side. His 5.47 FIP suggests he has deserved better than that ERA but even that adjusted figure isn’t great.

Teams are clearly intrigued by his arsenal, which includes an upper-90s fastball as well as a cutter, splitter and slider. Over the past few years, he has bounced from the Guardians to the Angels, Red Sox, Giants and Mets via free agency, trade or the waiver wire. He was with the Giants on a minor league deal when the Mets acquired him in a cash trade in June and added him to the roster. He spent a few months as an up-and-down depth arm for the Mets until losing his roster spot in recent days.

Garza will head out to free agency and see what opportunities await him. The fact that he cleared waivers suggests he’ll be limited to minor league offers. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any signing club at this point, so it’s possible he just gets a headstart on his offseason. Going forward, he will still have one option season remaining and he only has about a year of service time, meaning he can provide roster flexibility and affordability.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

Marlins Designate Seth Martinez For Assignment

By | at

The Marlins announced that left-hander Ryan Weathers has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move which was previously reported. In a corresponding move, right-hander Seth Martinez has been designated for assignment.

Martinez, 31, had some decent run with the Astros earlier in his career. Over 2022 and 2023, he gave Houston 81 2/3 innings, allowing 3.75 earned runs per nine. His 23.7% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate were both close to league average. But last year, his strikeout rate dropped to 16.2%. He was sent to the minors a few times, exhausting his final option season.

He was therefore out of options heading into 2025, which gave him a tenuous hold on a roster spot. But given his past success, he still had enough appeal to bounce around the league. In the offseason, he went to the Diamondbacks, Marlins, Mariners and Marlins again via a series of waiver claims. The Fish put him on waivers again around Opening Day, when he finally cleared.

He has therefore spent most of this year pitching in Triple-A. He logged 43 2/3 innings for Jacksonville with a 3.71 ERA, 28.9% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. He was called back up to the big leagues about two weeks ago. Between then and now, he tossed 6 2/3 innings for the Marlins, allowing four earned runs via four hits and three walks while striking out four. It appears that wasn’t enough to get him beyond the fringes of the roster, so he’s been bumped off today.

With the trade deadline having passed, Martinez will have to be on waivers yet again in the coming days. He won’t have much short-term appeal to clubs, since he wouldn’t be postseason eligible for any claiming team. But he can be controlled for four seasons beyond this one since he has less than three years of service time. Given the notable interest he garnered in the offseason and his recent uptick in strikeouts in the minors, perhaps there’s a team intrigued enough to make a claim. If such a team exists, they could get a close-up look at Martinez in the final few weeks of the season as they decide about putting him in their 2026 plans.

Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images

Orioles Promoted Mike Elias Prior To 2025 Season

By | at

Mike Elias quietly received a promotion in the offseason, per reporting from Ken Rosenthal and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic. His previous title with the Orioles was general manager but he was promoted to president of baseball operations before the 2025 campaign began. No announcement was made and the development wasn’t publicly reported until today. Today’s report adds that the O’s plan to hire a GM to work under Elias.

The title change is largely ceremonial. Elias was already the leader in the Baltimore front office. Bumping his title presumably came with some kind of pay increase and contract extension but his job duties should be essentially the same.

He was originally hired by the O’s in November of 2018. The club had just seen their competitive window slam shut. They were a good team for most of the decade up until that point but many of their biggest investments had fallen flat as key players aged.

The early years of the Elias tenure saw the club clearly in rebuilding mode. They spent almost nothing in free agency for many years. Established major league players were traded for prospects. The club lost at least 108 games in each full season from 2018 to 2021.

The consequence of all that losing was the ability to build up a strong farm system. MLB had not yet implemented a draft lottery and the associated rules around teams getting strong draft picks in consecutive years. From 2019 to 2022, the O’s had one of the top five picks in the draft. They took Adley Rutschman first overall in 2019, followed by Heston Kjerstad second overall, Colton Cowser fifth and Jackson Holliday first in the following years. They were also able to grab Gunnar Henderson with a second-round pick in 2019 and Jordan Westburg with a competitive balance round pick in 2020.

The roots of that system eventually blossomed in the majors. The O’s went 83-79 in 2022. They didn’t make the playoffs but that was a huge step forward from their 110-loss campaign in the prior season. More progress followed, as they won 101 and 91 games in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The former campaign saw them win the American League East, while the latter led to a Wild Card spot.

The O’s were swept out of the postseason in both of those years but the trend lines appeared to be fairly good. The club was winning and a lot of the core players were still young, controllable and affordable.

During that span, there had been a change in ownership. The Angelos family sold the club to a group led by David Rubenstein. That sale became official in March of 2024. The 2024-2025 offseason was therefore the first of the Rubenstein era. It seems the new owner was pleased with the way the front office was being run, based on the news of this promotion.

There was plenty of optimism around the club as of last winter, though a lot of that has dissipated since. Many expected Rubenstein to take the O’s to a greater level of spending on the player payroll. The O’s did sign a few guys but didn’t do anything really bold. Their three-year, $49.5MM deal for Tyler O’Neill was a bit bigger than anything they had done in recent memory but not by too much. They also made a few one-year investments in older pitchers like Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Andrew Kittredge.

Those investments largely didn’t work out. Many of the club’s core players got injured and/or underperformed this year. Put together, that resulted in a dreary first half, which led to a deadline sell-off. The O’s traded away Morton, Kittredge and plenty of other players ahead of the deadline. They are now 68-77 and 9.5 games back of a playoff spot. They will certainly miss the postseason and will likely finish with a losing record as well.

Elias received his promotion prior to all of that happening but it will naturally lead to more pressure to turn things around. The O’s still have a lot of talent on the roster but they traded away a lot of their bullpen and might be without Félix Bautista for all of 2026. The rotation is also a big question mark with Morton gone, Sugano an impending free agent and Grayson Rodriguez having missed the entire 2025 season.

It’s possible the club can be better next year simply by getting healthier seasons from their controllable core but the front office might also want to increase the margin for error by more aggressively making offseason upgrades. Time will tell what kind of approach they take. As for the GM search, it’s unclear what sort of timeline they have in mind but they will likely want to make a hire by the early part of the offseason, if not sooner.

Photo courtesy of Tim Heitman, Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top