Job of Orioles Boss 'Could Be in Jeopardy' Depending on How Trade Deadline Goes

Mike Elias has done a tremendous job of getting the Baltimore Orioles to this current point.

Taking over in November of 2018 leading into the 2019 campaign, his teardown rebuild approach landed the organization multiple star prospects who have turned into cornerstones for this franchise.

The ability of him and his baseball operations staff to identify and develop talent has been second to none during this stretch, and that ability created the opportunity for the Orioles to shock everyone in 2023 when they won 101 games and the AL East division after winning less than 55 contests in two out of the three full seasons prior to that year.

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However, getting to the next step that features playoff success is something he's struggled with.

In 2023, it was the rotation that wasn't ready for October, with the staff getting shelled to the point where they were easily discarded by the Texas Rangers in a three-game sweep.

In 2024, after landing Corbin Burnes in an offseason trade to be their ace, it was limited offensive upside that came back to bite them.

With Baltimore in the midst of a lost year, a lot of the blame has been placed on Elias.

It's not hard to understand why that's the case, either, with him having a rough trade deadline in 2024 before following that up with a winter that was beyond underwhelming.

Now, there is real pressure on Elias to have a great deadline, with Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) stating he is under the most pressure out of any executive across Major League Baseball.

"No executive is under more pressure at this trade deadline than Elias, with many in the business believing his job could be in jeopardy," the former general manager wrote.

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The Orioles have a new ownership group in charge, so it would not be surprising to see them search for someone else if they feel like Elias isn't the guy for the job.

He'll have plenty of opportunities to show off his savvy, with many impending free agents on the trade block in a seller's market that should generate Baltimore a nice return.

Their first two trades -- Bryan Baker to the Tampa Bay Rays and Gregory Soto to the New York Mets -- landed them what turned into a prep star in the 2025 MLB draft from the Rays deal and two minor league pitchers from the Mets, one of whom has a high upside.

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The Orioles will be busy.

Ryan O'Hearn, Cedric Mullins, Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin and Seranthony Dominguez are all expected to be dealt, and they could even widen that to including Ramon Laureano, who has a club option for 2026.

With that many players on the trade block, a transformative deadline is needed.

"A strong deadline could save Elias' job. A lackluster one could result in the Orioles bringing in someone new to the front office to work under Elias or maybe even showing him the door," Bowden added.

Time will tell what happens, but Elias can do himself a ton of favors by having a good week.

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