Many people want to know why Orioles GM Mike Elias will get another rebuild chance after trade deadline fire sale

Mike Elias took over as the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles in November 2018. In his first draft as the general manager, Elias took Adley Rutschman with the first overall selection of the 2019 MLB Draft. He was supposed to be the building block of a rebuild for the Orioles, but now Rutschman is a member of the Boston Red Sox after the Orioles’ firesale at the trade deadline.

Elias took the Orioles from a 47-115 team in 2018, but made them a playoff team in 2023, as the O’s won 101 games. They made the playoffs again in 2024, but missed out in 2025. Now, Elias will be in charge of another rebuild, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is wondering why.

“Except the goal is to capture a World Series title, not the Surplus Value Sweepstakes. The Orioles failed to win a single playoff game during Rutschman’s tenure. They haven’t won one since Elias since took over in Nov. 2018. And now, to some extent, they’re starting over again,” Rosenthal wrote.

Rosenthal is not the only one wondering why Elias is getting another chance to rebuild the team. Nathan Skidmore of BirdsWatcher.com is wondering the game.

“Wouldn’t that be nice. Certainly, Elias would like to have the slate wiped clean and get a fresh start with the full backing of a fanbase. This quote is a plea. It says, ‘Please don’t judge me for the last eight years’; let’s start over and keep track of the wins and losses starting next year,” Skidmore wrote. “It’s like playing a round of golf with a friend who, for the first nine holes, shoots terribly and then, on hole 10, they drive the green and turn to you and say, “Should we keep score on the back nine?” No! The whole round counts. The missed putts count, the bunkers you landed in count, everything counts. That’s the way it is with Elias. The last eight years cannot be waved away just by saying, ‘the future starts now.’ If the Orioles were to fire Mike Elias and replace him with a new GM, that person could get away with saying the future starts now. Elias and his near decade of futility do not get a reset. His rebuild failed.”

The rebuild did fail. The Orioles won the AL East just once, and went 0-5 in the playoffs. They are also 582-724 with Elias at the helm. At the same time, a team like the Chicago White Sox has broken down their roster after winning the AL Central in 2021. They then went 81-81 the next season before three straight years of losing 100 or more games. Now, the White Sox are leading the AL Central and are on the verge of the playoffs.

The Orioles are 54-58 on the year, sitting in fourth place in the AL East. They begin a series with the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.

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