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Latest On Orioles’ GM Search

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It’s a time of change for the Orioles. Most notably, John and Lou Angelos have taken over regular operations from their father, Peter Angelos. The club has been without a manager since dismissing Buck Showalter, though that post figures to remain open for the time being. That’s because there’s an even more important hire in the works for the Angelos brothers, who are working to identify the person who’ll head up their baseball operations department.

In the interim, there is a small group of executives left over from Dan Duquette’s regime who are currently responsible for overseeing the roster moves in Baltimore this offseason. Brian Graham, the director of player development, is said to be handling the day-to-day operations as the interim GM. VP of baseball ops Brady Anderson and amateur scouting director Gary Rajsich are also present to weigh in on the offseason’s earliest action.

To this point, the Baltimore organization hasn’t settled on a job title for whomever becomes the organization’s top baseball decisionmaker. In and of itself this doesn’t mean much, but as the Athletic’s Dan Connolly pointed out in early October, there is a perplexing lack of clarity regarding division of labor moving forward. Brady Anderson, for one, has had significant negotiating responsibilities in the past, so his continued involvement is certainly notable, despite ownership’s claim that the new hire will have “final determination on all baseball matters”.

Here are the latest on the Orioles search:

Latest Updates – 11/10/18

  • UPDATE: The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal now tweets that Tigers AGM David Chadd is no longer under consideration for the position in Baltimore. This coming on the heels of Chadd supposedly being a finalist for the position as of two days ago. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale had named Chadd as a finalist for the top spot in Baltimore (via Twitter), but that appears to no longer be the case.
  • The Orioles are keeping most of the details regarding their GM search close to the vest, but Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reminds us (via Twitter) that their first priority is identifying the executive to head their baseball ops – that hire will have the prerogative to name their top assistant. The original plan was for the top hire to be given the title of President, but the exact nomenclature (more than the responsibilities) remains TBD. Presumably, this will depend upon who they bring aboard and what kind of title bump that individual requires.
  • Regardless, there will be two eventual new hires to head up the O’s front office, and some names are starting to emerge. The oft-mentioned AGM of the Houston Astros Mike Elias remains in consideration, per the Athletic’s Dan Connolly, but two new names have entered the field as well: Phillies assistant GM Ned Rice and MLB Diversity Pipeline Director Tyrone Brooks. Before moving to the Phils front office in 2016, Ned Rice was an official with the Orioles for 11 years. Tyrone Brooks, for his part, took on the responsibility of driving diversity hires throughout MLB’s administrative levels in 2016 after Commissioner Rob Manfred created the role. He does has front office experience as well: he was a scout in the Indians organization before serving as an assistant GM with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2009-2016.
  • Also of note, vice president Brady Anderson did not represent the Orioles at last week’s GM meetings, despite his home being only an hour away. Connolly wonders if this might have been a signal from ownership that the runway is, in fact, clear for the next hire to run things without demonstrative input from incumbent front office holdovers like Anderson.

Click to review the potential names under consideration and prior updates to the process:

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Latest On The Orioles’ Ownership/Front Office Dynamic

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“Virtually every level of the [Orioles] organization is in flux,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes in his latest subscription-only piece, as he describes how John and Lou Angelos (the sons of owner Peter Angelos) are taking an increasingly larger role in the team’s regular operations.  The elder Angelos “is less involved than at any point in his” 25 years of owning the team, Rosenthal notes, and it could mark significant changes in how the O’s do business in the coming seasons.  Most directly, the changes could impact executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter, both of whom are in the final years of their contracts.

Despite the Orioles’ success in Duquette’s tenure, there has long been speculation surrounding his future in Baltimore, particularly after the Blue Jays made a strong push to lure Duquette away in the 2014-15 offseason.  Duquette “is frustrated by his loss of power,” Rosenthal writes, as Lou Angelos, Showalter, and VP of baseball ops Brady Anderson also have significant voices within the team’s front office.  Anderson, in fact, “was the point man” in Baltimore’s signings of Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner, and Chris Tillman this offseason.

It isn’t clear what direction the Orioles will take if Duquette did leave after the season.  Anderson may prefer to remain in his somewhat undefined role (which hasn’t always pleased some past players and coaches) rather than become an official general manager, while it’s also possible Showalter could move into a front office role rather than continue in the dugout.  Sources within the organization aren’t sure if Showalter would prefer to keep managing or shift to a baseball operations position, though he could conceivably do both in some capacity — a GM would be hired to handle day-to-day business while Showalter acted as the de facto front office head while still managing the team.

Of course, much could also depend on the direction of the Orioles’ season, as the team could look to trade one or more of its prominent free agents (i.e. Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Zach Britton, Brad Brach) if it falls out of contention.  A total rebuild seems unlikely, as Cobb just signed for four seasons and the O’s would still have a core group that includes Jonathan Schoop, Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, Trey Mancini, and older veterans like Chris Davis.

Though John and Lou Angelos have been involved in a wide variety of the Orioles’ operations, “concerns exist in the industry about their ability to run a franchise” since Peter Angelos carried such a dominant role in the team’s business, Rosenthal writes. There are some indications, however, that the Angelos brothers’ influence is helping the franchise act in a more efficient way.  For instance, since the owner’s approval is no longer constantly required, some of the decision-making process has gone from “painstakingly slow” to “more streamlined.”  Some in the front office feel that the new direction will lead to the Orioles spending more on young talent pipelines such as the international signing process, which the O’s have (somewhat notoriously) almost entirely avoided in recent years — sources tell Rosenthal that “Peter Angelos never found anyone he trusted to run the international department.”

More Reactions To And Effects Of The Chris Davis Deal

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Earlier today, we collected a series of reactions to the Orioles’ big re-signing of Chris Davis to a franchise record seven-year, $161MM contract. Here are a few more takes that have piled up throughout the day.

  • The re-signing of Davis is a huge boost to the O’s lineup, writes Richard Justice of MLB.com. It’s about more than his ability to bash 40 to 50 home runs. Davis is among the leaders in hard hit rate as measured by FanGraphs. That was also true in his highly effective 2013 campaign. Hard hit rate not only improves a hitter’s chance to hit a home run, it also help other balls in play to fall. Justice would like the club to find another bat – perhaps Yoenis Cespedes – to support the middle of the lineup. The Orioles were also tied to the Rockies glut of left-handed outfielders. Either Charlie Blackmon or Corey Dickerson would represent a monetarily affordable alternative to add lineup depth.
  • Re-signing Davis was about continuity too, writes Eduardo A Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The O’s have built a good clubhouse culture under manager Buck Showalter. He said, “I think the other thing that [this signing] represents is the continuity we’ve established with our coaching staff and players.” The front office did grow frustrated in their negotiations and nearly walked away as recently as last Thursday. Angelos made one final offer on Friday night, and talks quickly gained momentum. Encina goes on to say Baltimore’s pursuit of Cespedes is over now unless he’s willing to take a two-year deal.
  • Give owner Peter Angelos credit, writes Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. As has long been reported, he was the driving force in keeping negotiations with Davis alive. While the lineup looks better with Davis, the club still has work to do before finalizing the roster. In particular, Dan Duquette may need to chase pitching on the trade market. Few teams are marketing starters at the moment, with the Rays as the most vocal sellers.
  • Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs wonders if Angelos was willing to accept a higher team budget if Davis re-signed. We often assume teams have relatively fixed budgets, but the reality of the matter is that they can be player dependent. In Angelos’ mind, a team with Davis on the roster might be worth a larger investment than a team with another slugger. It’s tempting to say that the Orioles could have signed X, Y, and Z with that $161MM, but maybe the alternative only involved $90MM to spend.

Heyman’s Latest: Davis, Zobrist, Zunino

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports takes a look at Pete Rose’s chances for reinstatement in his latest Inside Baseball column. The short version: he has no chance. Heyman has a lot to say on the topic, but it all boils down to a conservative mindset among baseball’s decision makers. While Rose, 74, is relatively harmless, the commissioner’s office won’t take the tiny risk associated with reinstatement. Commissioner Rob Manfred granted Rose a hearing in September and is expected to issue a ruling before the end of the year.

Here’s more from the column:

  • Orioles owner Peter Angelos is making a push to re-sign first baseman Chris Davis. The slugger is entering his age 30 season after posting 13 WAR and 126 home runs over the last three seasons. Davis hit .262/.361/.562 last year with 47 home runs. However, he’s sandwiched two superstar campaigns around a replacement level 2014, making him a high risk, high reward target in free agency. Heyman does not expect Davis to sign before talking with other clubs.
  • The Royals are unlikely to re-sign Ben Zobrist. The club acquired him to fill in for the injured Alex Gordon, then used him to replace injured Omar Infante. The club’s former second baseman will be back and presumably healthy next season. Zobrist’s defensive profile at second base also leaves something to be desired.
  • Marlins manager Don Mattingly hopes to bring pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and coach Tim Wallach with him from the Dodgers. However, L.A. hopes to keep both coaches. Honeycutt is a long standing member of the Dodgers’ coaching staff, but Wallach may search for a new job if he’s passed over for the open manager job.
  • Scouts are worried that Mike Zunino may have to overcome a psychological hurdle. He was widely viewed as unready for a promotion to the majors in 2013, and the Mariners have allowed him to scuffle through the last three campaigns. His biggest issue is a 32 percent strikeout rate which has led to a .193/.252/.353 triple-slash.

Cafardo On Duquette, Showalter, Hunter, Howard

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe caught up with ex-Red Sox GM Ben Cherington.  Cherington reflected on some of the decisions he regrets but he also recognizes that he left Boston with a solid core of young talent to build upon going forward.  Many of those young players remain in Boston because Cherington resisted the urge to put together a package for Cole Hamels.

“We had a lot of conversations with [the Phillies]. I just didn’t want to give up our core and we couldn’t find another way to get it done,” Cherington said of the ace, who ultimately went to the Rangers.

Here’s more from today’s column..

  • There’s tension over Orioles owner Peter Angelos not allowing GM Dan Duquette to pursue a higher-profile and higher-paying job with the Blue Jays, major league sources tell Cafardo.  Sources also tell The Boston Globe scribe that Angelos has not compensated Duquette for the lost opportunity.  All in all, it’s a slight that baseball execs Duquette to be “bush league,” Cafardo writes.
  • There’s also been talk of friction between Duquette and manager Buck Showalter, Cafardo writes, although both men are signed through 2018.  Meanwhile, there’s fear that the Orioles will not spend the money necessary to retain free agents like Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, and Wei-Yin Chen.
  • The Twins want Torii Hunter back for at least one more season, according to a team official who spoke with Cafardo.  For his part, the veteran says that he’s going year to year. In 516 plate appearances this season, Hunter has posted a batting line of .245/.298/.414 which isn’t really in line with his career offering of .277/.332/.462.  However, he has played well in right field and the Twins like his veteran leadership.
  • The Phillies had a scout watching the Orioles last week in the event that the O’s lose Davis in free agency and gain interest in Ryan Howard.  Howard is not be expected to replicate Davis’ production, of course, but Cafardo notes that he still has power and would be better suited as a DH.
  • There’s “continued interest” in Red Sox utilityman Brock Holt, Cafardo writes.  Holt’s opportunities in the Red Sox’s outfield may be limited and new team president Dave Dombrowski should get a fair amount of offers this winter for him.

AL East Notes: Bowden, Angelos, Jones

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Four of the five AL East teams — the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles — appear to have some interest in Cuban outfield prospect Jorge Soler. Here are the latest links from the division…

  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com explains that the future of out-of-options right-hander Michael Bowden may be closely linked to his Spring Training performance. For MLBTR's complete list of out of options players on the Red Sox and around the league click here.
  • An Orioles official tells Childs Walker of the Baltimore Sun that there's "absolutely no truth" to rumors owner Peter Angelos is considering selling the team.
  • The Orioles would have to offer Adam Jones an extension of at least five years for him to sign long-term, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Rosenthal explores the timeline for a possible Jones trade, pointing out that the Braves were among the teams that inquired on the center fielder this offseason. Jones avoided arbitration with the Orioles last night, agreeing to a $6.15MM contract for 2012. He’s under team control through 2013.

Angelos Gives MacPhail Permission To Move Roberts

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This morning it was reported that the Cubs had two scouts at the Orioles’ spring game yesterday to watch Brian Roberts.

Now, several people have written in to let us now that Bruce Levine of ESPN 1000 is reporting that Peter Angelos has given Andy MacPhail the green light to trade Roberts. It has long been rumored that Angelos might have been holding up the trade to the Cubs because of his personal affection for Roberts. With Angelos’ blessing, this deal may finally happen in the next few days.

Of course, if this deal doesn’t get done soon, Tim is going to have to change the name of this site to BrianRobertsTradeRumors.com.

By Cork Gaines

Angelos To Nix Roberts Trade?

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Some owners make headlines by talking to the press or releasing statements. This is best exemplified in New York, where the Steinbrenners aren’t strangers to reporters. Some owners, though, like to make headlines in other ways. Take Peter Angelos for example. People know him not because he speaks to the press, but rather because he’s always about to kill a certain move — a free agent signing or a trade. Yes, despite dealing Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada this off-season, Angelos still isn’t keen on dishing Brian Robers.

Jon Heyman is hearing that the haul for Roberts might not be enough for Angelos’s liking. The reported package includes pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, and infielder Ronny Cedeno. This isn’t the first deal for Roberts that Angelos has reportedly killed.

Heyman has an interesting bit on Angelos:

There is also a sense that Angelos has an unreasonable attachment to Roberts, who may well remind the owner of himself: a little guy who’s scrapped his way to the top of his profession (no, not baseball; Angelos is at the top of the legal profession, at least in terms of dollars earned).

Of course, there is no way to verify that this is the case. But if Angelos is holding back a possible Roberts deal, he might be doing a disservice to his team. They stand to benefit more in the future from the young talent they’d receive than they would from Roberts, who is 30 this year.

– Joe

Peter Angelos, Mark Prior, and Medical History

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It’s well known that Baltimore Orioles CEO Peter Angelos is very mindful of players’ health records, moreso than any other GM.  It could have something to do with Angelos’s past as a personal injury lawyer.  Or it could be two massive free agent blunders made in the past by the Orioles: Scott Erickson and Albert Belle.  The Orioles wasted many millions as the two players deteriorated. 

The Angelos mindset is center stage at the moment, as the health of Cubs starter Mark Prior is far from spotless.  As I mentioned earlier, here’s what Buster Olney had to say on the issue:

"Executives with other teams are assuming, by the way, that Baltimore owner Peter Angelos would likely kill any proposal once club doctors review Prior’s recent medical history."


I dug around a bit and got a little more from a source close to the Orioles.  He told me that he knows of at least three free agents that the Orioles backed away from this winter after reviewing their medical records.  He wouldn’t name names, but I have to think Kevin Millwood was one.

However, the source told me Prior’s medical records would only pose a slight dilemma for the Orioles. He thinks the true obstacle is simply the Cubs meeting the Orioles’ asking price.  If that happens, the deal will get done quickly.

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