Baltimore Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias acknowledged Saturday that the roster he assembled did not meet expectations in 2026 and made clear the club must improve next season.

The Orioles enter Saturday 75-79 after dropping Friday's opener of a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5 in 10 innings. The 3-hour, 43-minute loss left the Orioles last in the American League East, 18.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays with just eight games remaining in the season.

The Baltimore Sun's Jacob Calvin Meyer took to X, formerly Twitter, relaying Elias' comments from his media availability as the organization begins turning its attention toward 2027.

“I thought we put together a really good team this year. A lot of people did externally. We've just come short… The bottom line is: We need to put together a better team next year.”

Elias has led Baltimore's baseball operations since late 2018, overseeing a rebuild that produced 101 wins in 2023 and 91 in 2024. The Orioles then slipped to 75-87 in 2025, when the club fired manager Brandon Hyde during the season.

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New ownership led by David Rubenstein authorized a larger payroll entering 2026, including the signing of first baseman Pete Alonso. The roster still featured a young core headlined by Gunnar Henderson, Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo, but Baltimore again struggled to keep pace in a competitive AL East.

The club also made a significant deadline move by trading former cornerstone catcher Adley Rutschman in August. Recent organizational changes have included a role shift for longtime analytics executive Sig Mejdal and the departure of player-development official Matt Blood.

Elias also indicated Saturday that he expects to remain in charge through 2027, while first-year manager Craig Albernaz is expected back. He discussed plans to expand a baseball-operations department he described as one of MLB's smallest.

With the season nearly complete, Baltimore's leadership is signaling continuity at the top while acknowledging that the roster and front office need meaningful improvement before 2027.