Orioles hire Mike Elias as Executive Vice President and GM

[Greg Pappas]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I think your question is fair enough.   People underestimate the degree to which the Astros were built on trades and some sharp FA signings.    I am happy with the choice of Elias, but I’m certainly not going to assume he’s some miracle-worker.    

Agreed. Elias is a good/very good choice, but...  Time will tell, it always does. If, on a scale of 1-10, he gets a fair 7+, I'll take it. 

[Luke-OH]

3 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I think your question is fair enough.   People underestimate the degree to which the Astros were built on trades and some sharp FA signings.    I am happy with the choice of Elias, but I’m certainly not going to assume he’s some miracle-worker.    

Yeah, I agree, we shouldn't put overwhelming expectations on anyone. If building a baseball team was an exact science, it wouldn't be any fun. The Astros did trade Hader, Brett Phillips, Domingo Santana, and Adrian Houser for Fiers and Carlos Gomez under the Luhnow/Elias regime.

[jerios55]

12 minutes ago, Luke-OH said:

Yeah, I agree, we shouldn't put overwhelming expectations on anyone. If building a baseball team was an exact science, it wouldn't be any fun. The Astros did trade Hader, Brett Phillips, Domingo Santana, and Adrian Houser for Fiers and Carlos Gomez under the Luhnow/Elias regime.

Even if they got it to a science, they trade/draft/sign humans.  We all change over time, and no one can predict those changes.

[atomic]

14 minutes ago, Greg Pappas said:

Agreed. Elias is a good/very good choice, but...  Time will tell, it always does. If, on a scale of 1-10, he gets a fair 7+, I'll take it. 

I like the choice as well.   But even just having one person in charge will be a great improvement.  With the current team we don't even know who is to blame for the mess we are in.  

[weams]

2 hours ago, Dark Helmet said:

His password was 1-2-3-4....5. The same password some idiot uses on their luggage.

Epstein  123

[Dark Helmet]

It's all going to come down to ownership in the end. Will the Angelos sons let Elias do his job or will they meddle like their dad. Also, Brady Anderson needs to go or his role be made so it's less intrusive.  I prefer he goes.

[MikeAD]

We're going to pay the man too.  I am so happy this seems to be working out.  I know theres skepticism and most of that skepticism is deserved but we have a lot to look forward to.  Outside of the awful contracts its a pretty clean slate and we are bringing in what seems to be the most competent crew possible.  Heres hoping the younger Angelosesesesss have learned from what held back MacPhail and Duquette and Elias gets to make moves independently.  

[NCRaven]

3 minutes ago, MikeAD said:

We're going to pay the man too.  I am so happy this seems to be working out.  I know theres skepticism and most of that skepticism is deserved but we have a lot to look forward to.  Outside of the awful contracts its a pretty clean slate and we are bringing in what seems to be the most competent crew possible.  Heres hoping the younger Angelosesesesss have learned from what held back MacPhail and Duquette and Elias gets to make moves independently.  

There's really only one "awful" contract.  Cobb is expensive, but he will certainly provide value much closer to his cost than Davis (an obvious overstatement).  Trumbo and Cashner only have one year left and either or both could be flipped at the trade deadline - just need to pull a Schoop and have a few hot weeks in July!  Other than Davis, there are no outrageous, long-term commitments.

[weams]

13 minutes ago, MikeAD said:

We're going to pay the man too.  I am so happy this seems to be working out.  I know theres skepticism and most of that skepticism is deserved but we have a lot to look forward to.  Outside of the awful contracts its a pretty clean slate and we are bringing in what seems to be the most competent crew possible.  Heres hoping the younger Angelosesesesss have learned from what held back MacPhail and Duquette and Elias gets to make moves independently.  

The Davis contract will haunt the small market Orioles for decades as an  off the books expense that will truly limit how much does get invested in payroll. I don't ever expect to see $150 million spent in Baltimore again. 

[weams]

https://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2018/11/16/diner-question-elias-priorities/

[MikeAD]

15 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

There's really only one "awful" contract.  Cobb is expensive, but he will certainly provide value much closer to his cost than Davis (an obvious overstatement).  Trumbo and Cashner only have one year left and either or both could be flipped at the trade deadline - just need to pull a Schoop and have a few hot weeks in July!  Other than Davis, there are no outrageous, long-term commitments.

I had forgotten/Didn't realize Trumbo was out soon.  Cobb deal is fine.  

[Going Underground]

6 minutes ago, weams said:

The Davis contract will haunt the small market Orioles for decades as an  off the books expense that will truly limit how much does get invested in payroll. I don't ever expect to see $150 million spent in Baltimore again. 

Does Elias have experience negotiating contracts?

[NCRaven]

9 minutes ago, weams said:

The Davis contract will haunt the small market Orioles for decades as an  off the books expense that will truly limit how much does get invested in payroll. I don't ever expect to see $150 million spent in Baltimore again. 

Davis has four years left.  After that the lion's share of his contract will be gone, although there will still be some decent sized deferral payments, none of that will be debilitating.  So, most of the Davis money will be off the book's just as the Orioles should be ready to compete and spend on a key free agent or two.  And, if the new team "fixes" the amateur pipeline, we'd also have a more reliable flow of less expensive players when we lose some to free agency in the future.

[weams]

2 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

Davis has four years left.  After that the lion's share of his contract will be gone, although there will still be some decent sized deferral payments, none of that will be debilitating.  So, most of the Davis money will be off the book's just as the Orioles should be ready to compete and spend on a key free agent or two.  And, if the new team "fixes" the amateur pipeline, we'd also have a more reliable flow of less expensive players when we lose some to free agency in the future.

A ton of the money has been deferred. 

[ThomasTomasz]

24 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

There's really only one "awful" contract.  Cobb is expensive, but he will certainly provide value much closer to his cost than Davis (an obvious overstatement).  Trumbo and Cashner only have one year left and either or both could be flipped at the trade deadline - just need to pull a Schoop and have a few hot weeks in July!  Other than Davis, there are no outrageous, long-term commitments.

And if Cobb opens with how he pitched in the second half last year- 2.56 ERA, .229 opp BA, 4.28 FIP- he can easily be moved, and for a decent return if we eat a little bit of salary.  

However, even rebuilding teams need a veteran starting pitcher or two to eat innings and not burn out the bullpen, so Cobb should be someone we consider holding onto.