Biggest Mistakes Orioles Made At The Deadline

Of course Mike Elias couldn't execute a clear vision at the trade deadline, because he runs an unserious baseball operations department

Nov 4, 2025; Baltimore, MD, USA; President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias introduces Craig Albernaz as the Baltimore Orioles new Manager at Warehouse Bar. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I have to hand it to baseball failure Mike Elias, he almost had me.

For about 90 minutes there I thought he might actually be on the way to a solid trade deadline. For a spell, I gave him the benefit of the doubt that the Adley Rutschman trade would be the precursor to much more.

Shame on me.

And, for the record, this has nothing to do with what he got for Rutschman. The baseball czar or whatever he wants his underlings to call him, got a solid haul for his fallen and overrated former first-overall pick. Good on him there. Will his fugazi player development apparatus turn many (any?) of them into actual winning MLB players – yeah that could be a problem.

But honestly, none of that has me running all that hot. Even the most cynical things he does, I have baked into the equation because I long ago realized the billionaires he works for don’t really care about winning big. But it’s his innate cowardice -the intrinsically half-assed, laissez faire nature of everything he does - that’s truly sickening.

His lack of conviction is actually gross. His duplicitous nature and belief he could talk his way out of anything and spin a fanbase that should despite him by now is ludicrous. The fact he's been empowered this long is a joke too cruel on baseball fans in this region.

Elias can’t even just embrace the fact that he already crapped on his chances to win this season, out loud, last week ("we can't sink all of our attention and chips into 2026" is now up there with "liftoff'). He can't just admit that he’s clearly selling, and so move pending free agent starter Trevor Rogers, too, while he’s on a heater. Nope.

This fraud with zero feel for in-season roster managing and who plays word games and wants to help his bosses hit their attendance thresholds by any means necessary, thinks by keeping Rogers and, a few other veterans, he can pretend he really wants that third Wild Card spot after all.

He thinks you are so naive that after selling off the very face of his failed eight-year rebuild, but not taking somebody’s top 10th best prospect for Rogers, who had two long stints in AAA since being acquired to help allegedly put the 2024 Orioles over the top, you’ll keep stuffing money in his bosses pockets and showing up for bobbleheads.

It’s a shameful game, but it’s how they operate. They think you are dense enough that they can be this shallow and get away with it.

And so even when he may have maximized the return for Rutschman, he failed to maximize his chances for putting the organization in the best position possible with assets heading into 2027. Because that’s who he is.

Here’s where he screwed up:

Rogers Had To Go

Elias has sympathetic ears in the media talking up the Qualifying Offer and draft pick they can get for Rogers if he leaves as a free agent. But how do we know that will still exist on the other side of labor Armageddon? And what if Rogers, who has talked about losing his confidence numerous times before, goes into another slump?

He’s had years to extend this guy on the cheap if he wanted to. Tarik Skubal was dealt back on Saturday, leaving this as the best lefty arm out there. But Elias is terrible working under pressure and he can’t multitask – hell, he can’t task – and keeping Rogers for a handful of starts in a lost season is silly.

Blew It With The Bullpen

More cynical stuff here. He gets Yennier Cano to talk a no-frills deal at his price, so then deals his best and most versatile reliever instead, in Tyler Wells. A guy who actually has closed and is closing and who can also eat multiple innings. But Wells can help him get back an arm he gave up for Shane Baz – and we know this grifter insider out and told you this was coming – so he moves him anyway.

And Andrew Kittredge is another IL stint waiting to happen at age 36, and he’s been good for six weeks and he’s on an expiring contract. But he, like Rogers is still here. Along with Rico Garcia, who is 32 and has been imploding but was great for his first 21 innings this season.

A bullpen everyone thought would fall part is great for six weeks, but he keeps almost all of them and trades the most interesting one who had another year of cheap control left to the team that always fleeces him in trades. What a sucker.

Make this make sense.

Why Is Tyler O’Neill Still Here?

Hey Mike, instead of playing games like above, want people to take you quasi-seriously as anything more than a shill for your private equity overlords? Then you could talked them into eating a chunk of this $19M/year travesty contract to get O’Neill out of here.

Of course, you never heard a word about that. Wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the media. Because he wants to keep shoving this guy down your throat hoping he does something to make Mikey look smart, rather than just admit defeat and open up a roster spot for a young outfielder and do what he could to get something for him.

This is an unserious organization. They had yet another unserious season. And this was another unserious trade deadline, in its totality.

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