Court filing reveals the SF Giants tried to hire Orioles GM Mike Elias
The SF Giants hired Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations in November of 2018, but according to a recent court filing Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias "was also being courted aggressively by the San Francisco Giants" that offseason. Per the filing, Elias only chose to join the Orioles because Baltimore "codified" several things in his contract that gave him the power to make staffing decisions without ownership involvement.
The Orioles are in the middle of a power struggle in the ownership's family. Louis Angelos, the son of current owner Peter Angelos, filed a lawsuit against his brother and mother that accused them of manipulating Peter in his aging state to limit Louis' involvement in the estate. Peter has taken a back seat to his wife and son over the past few years as he has dealt with health issues. Louis and his mother, Georgia, deny any wrongdoing and argue that they have managed the estate well, citing Baltimore's recent on-field success.
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The added detail that Elias chose Baltimore because the ownership group agreed to make concessions in his contract adds another layer to questions about San Francisco's ownership. Were they unwilling to make the same concessions?
It's worth noting that the Orioles are an exceptional organization. They rarely invested in international free agency under Peter Angelos' ownership because of his personal opinions of the practice. Angelos was also known to get involved in front office decision-making. Elias could have preferred Baltimore to San Francisco and just needed confirmation that ownership would stay out of his way.
Elias had worked as a scout for several years with the Cardinals before he became the director of amateur scouting in 2011. In that role, he led Houston's drafts that added players like Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers Jr., J.D. Davis, Ramon Laureano, Alex Bregman, and Kyle Tucker. He was promoted to assistant general manager in 2016. As the Astros became one of the best teams in MLB, Elias became a candidate to become a top decision-maker elsewhere.
While the Astros were excellent on the field, the front office (and Elias) had been tied to several red flags in the organization. Houston traded for relief-pitcher Roberto Osuna while he was suspended for violating the league's domestic violence policy. Osuna had been arrested and charged with assaulting the mother of his then three-year-old son. The victim agreed to drop charges only after Osuna agreed to a peace bond, which mandated he had no contact with her for a year.
Since Elias left, several other controversies have emerged from his Houston tenure. Brandon Taubman, one of Elias' top colleagues in Houston, had a clubhouse outburst in the face of a woman reporter celebrating their decision to trade for Osuna during the 2019 postseason. Then, later, it was revealed that the Astros had devised a sign-stealing operation that netted several coaches and front office members suspensions.
Elias also followed the strategy of his boss in Houston, running a complete teardown with the Orioles. It seems very likely that Giants stars like Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, and Brandon Belt would have all been traded if Elias had been hired. Granted, the Orioles are also in the middle of the AL playoff picture and have one of the best farm systems in MLB.
Still, the fact that the Giants were still so heavily interested in Elias after he had been involved in trading for Osuna raises questions about ownership's willingness to address domestic violence.
Obviously, no one knows how things would have turned out if Mike Elias had become the SF Giants president of baseball operations instead of the Orioles general manager. However, this revelation ensures that Farhan Zaidi will be compared to Elias for the rest of their tenures.
