Elias offers the Orioles a blend of both scouting and analytics expertiseGETTY IMAGES
New Orioles Exec VP & GM Mike Elias during his intro to the Baltimore media "proceeded to outline his vision for an O’s franchise that had gone from renaissance to rudderless over the past two years," according to Peter Schmuck of the BALTIMORE SUN. It was "understandable that he was not long on specifics after spending only a long weekend on the job, but he made it pretty clear what the emphasis will be over the next few years." Elias "fielded questions about every aspect of the organization," including the issue of the ongoing MASN dispute with the Nationals and whether it "might affect the ability to do everything" he might want to do. Orioles Exec VP John Angelos said, "We don’t envision that it will have an impact on anything we’re talking about today. The focus of ownership’s resources in the recent past in an effort to win in the most recent five- or six-year period was very much on investing, perhaps overinvesting in the major league player payroll, relatively. Mike has all the same resources today that we’ve had for baseball ops in the past and he’ll have in the future to do with them as he sees fit" (BALTIMORE SUN, 11/20).
IF THE SHOE FITS: MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli wrote based on the presser, it was "clear how Elias charmed the Angelos brothers." Elias "talked about how excited he is to restore 'The Oriole Way' to a historic franchise." He "offers a unique blend of scouting and analytics expertise, two areas that the O's have vowed to overhaul." The "full baseball autonomy" that Elias will have includes how he will work with VP/Baseball Operations Brady Anderson (MLB.com, 11/19). The SUN's Schmuck writes, "It’s definitely the start of a new era for a team that lost its mojo over the past couple of seasons and Elias appears to be the right guy to modernize the front office and oversee a multi-year rebuilding program that will not be without some serious growing pains." It "would be hard to fault the renewed commitment of ownership and the dynamic decision to hand full authority over the baseball operation to a 35-year-old new-age exec who just might be able to bring some of that Astros magic to Baltimore" (BALTIMORE SUN, 11/20).
