Say this for Mike Elias: When he overcompensates, he really overcompensates.
The Orioles general manager attempted to atone for the mess the current season has devolved into by nuking the lineup.
Over a two-week span, Elias traded away nine of the 26 players who were on the Birds roster. That’s more than a third, even for people like me who are mathematically challenged.
While many fans expected the last place Orioles to take a squeegee level of cleaning to a team that made the playoffs the previous two years, Elias instead pulled out the power washer to scrub the 2025 window clean at last Thursday’s trading deadline.
The club dealt relievers, starters, infielders and outfielders alike all over the Major League landscape.
There went Andrew Kittredge to the Cubs, and Ramon Urias to Houston. Seranthony Dominguez went to Toronto, while the Blue Jays were here in town between games of a doubleheader.
Ryan O’Hearn and Ramon Laureano are heading cross country to San Diego, while Charlie Morton was shipped to Detroit.
While all of them forged their way into the hearts of Orioles fans, especially O’Hearn, the most painful trade or at least for fans, by far, was the deal that sent centerfielder Cedric Mullins to the New York Mets.
Mullins was the longest tenured Oriole. He didn’t have the biggest personality, but Baltimoreans appreciated his work ethic and his defensive prowess. Even when he wasn’t hitting, which was often, Mullins seemingly always did something to make the Birds better.
But in the bottom-line, cost benefit analysis world that Mike Elias operates in, Cedric Mullins’ value as a fan favorite was trumped by what he meant as a chip to be traded for a younger minor leaguer who might help the Orioles down the road.
Indeed, in his seventh season at the helm, Elias has proven adept at stockpiling young players with potential. The jury is out on whether the approach works.
Shortstop Gunnar Henderson, the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year, has made Elias look like a genius, but he is one of a precious few players who have paid dividends, even as the Orioles made the playoffs in the previous two seasons.
Meanwhile, Elias has shown a particular skill in casting adrift veterans like Mullins and Adam Jones and Trey Mancini, as in still-productive players who have emotional ties for the Baltimore fanbase, but little value for someone appears to only want to win his way.
After the trading deadline had passed and the dealing was done, Elias apologized for the 2025 season, adding quote A lot had to go wrong and it has unquote.
There are no guarantees that 2026 will be any better. But Mike Elias could take a symbolic step towards making that apology real by bringing Cedric Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn back for next year.
Both will be free agents after the season and the move might be no more than figurative. But, at this point, the Orioles and Mike Elias owe fans more than overcompensation and an apology.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on BlueSky, Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening, and enjoy the games.
