What is your grade for Elias after his 4th year?

[emmett16]

Today is Elias’ four year anniversary.  How do you think he has done to date all things considered?

I give him a B+
 

-has achieved some mlb success 

-has created a strong talent pipeline 

-has implemented data stream systems and analysis at all levels & hired coaches positioned to translate and use the new data 

-still working on the international pipeline 

-still waiting for a playoff berth 

-team moral seems to be at an all time high 

-positive national press stories 

-hasn’t shown ability to make a difference making trade

-hasn’t signed a noteworthy FA

 

What is your grade for what he has done through 4 years on the job?

Edited November 18, 2022 by emmett16

[Sports Guy]

Some things he gets an A+..others a C.

Overall, a solid B for me.  

[Frobby]

I’ll go with B as well.   I think he misjudged his own team’s readiness to compete in 2022, and in hindsight, if he’d judged them more accurately he might have done more last winter to put the team in position to make the playoffs.  At the same time, he’s put the team in a really good long term position. This year, he’ll be judged on a different standard.  Playoffs or bust!

[Jim'sKid26]

We were having discussions about possible playoff games in 2022.

We have had 2 #1 prospects in all of baseball and the #1 pitching prospect in all of baseball (yes I realize Elias did not draft him but his player development system has to get some credit.

Our overall farm system is the best in baseball.

We actually have an international presence and a Dominican Republic academy.

Adley was seriously in the conversation for RoY.

Hyde was seriously in the conversation for MoY.

They have money to spend on free agents this year.

 

What is not to like? I give him an A.

[Jim'sKid26]

12 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’ll go with B as well.   I think he misjudged his own team’s readiness to compete in 2022, and in hindsight, if he’d judged them more accurately he might have done more last winter to put the team in position to make the playoffs.  At the same time, he’s put the team in a really good long term position. This year, he’ll be judged on a different standard.  Playoffs or bust!

I would respectfully submit to you that everyone in baseball misjudged the O's readiness to compete in 2022. How can you realistically hold that against Elias?

[Aristotelian]

10 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’ll go with B as well.   I think he misjudged his own team’s readiness to compete in 2022, and in hindsight, if he’d judged them more accurately he might have done more last winter to put the team in position to make the playoffs.  At the same time, he’s put the team in a really good long term position. This year, he’ll be judged on a different standard.  Playoffs or bust!

I think that is fair analysis but I would give him an A-. Putting us in a position to compete is worth much, much more than misjudging the opening of the window. Building up the system we have and winning 83 games on <$50M is an incredible achievement. It was a painful rebuild but exactly what the organization needed. Yes, we all wanted better players than Odor and Lyles last year, but those mistakes will have zero lasting repercussions when going too far in the opposite direction could have. 

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, Jim&#x27;sKid26 said:

I would respectfully submit to you that everyone in baseball misjudged the O's readiness to compete in 2022. How can you realistically hold that against Elias?

I’m not “holding it against him.”   I’m not giving him the highest possible grade.  I agree nobody really saw it coming that fast, but I expect the GM to be a better judge of his team than I am.  

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

I think that is fair analysis but I would give him an A-. Putting us in a position to compete is worth much, much more than misjudging the opening of the window. Building up the system we have and winning 83 games on <$50M is an incredible achievement. It was a painful rebuild but exactly what the organization needed. Yes, we all wanted better players than Odor and Lyles last year, but those mistakes will have zero lasting repercussions when going too far in the opposite direction could have. 

I agree with all that.  If I was grading everything Elias has done over 4 years to get the team to this point, I’d probably give a better grade than for 2022 alone, which is kind of ironic since 2022 was the year that the O’s shocked everyone by contending well into September.  

[Sports Guy]

7 minutes ago, Jim&#x27;sKid26 said:

I would respectfully submit to you that everyone in baseball misjudged the O's readiness to compete in 2022. How can you realistically hold that against Elias?

And my response to that is that in 2021, he should have been thinking of having a 500 or better team in 2022.  
 

That would be the reason he drops for me.  Adley should have been up in 2021.  More should have been done last offseason.

Now, the result ended up being what I wanted 2022 to be anyway but maybe if they did more in the offseason, they get those extra 4 wins and end up in the playoffs.

[tabletop]

A+

The major league team is a winning team and the farm system is one of the best in baseball. They're setup for sustained success over a long period of time which is what he has said was the goal since day one.

[clapdiddy]

I like the B+ grade, myself.   The Orioles are in a very nice spot right now and I think he and his team have done a very nice job of looking at the current team and the future.  

[Aristotelian]

3 minutes ago, Jim&#x27;sKid26 said:

I would respectfully submit to you that everyone in baseball misjudged the O's readiness to compete in 2022. How can you realistically hold that against Elias?

Most on this board wanted better fill ins than Odor and Lyles. I think that is a fair critique. Of course, I had been hoping for something like Desclafiini and Harrison, and that may have actually been worse than Lyles/Odor. It is very hard to find quality guys who don't need a long term contract, and I get why Elias did not want to get into anything long term.

I really wanted Ray, and he might have gotten us a Wild Card but is looking like an overpay. I also like Stroman (as did others). He did not pitch the innings we wanted but may have pitched well enough to get us a couple more wins. 

[Aristotelian]

8 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I agree with all that.  If I was grading everything Elias has done over 4 years to get the team to this point, I’d probably give a better grade than for 2022 alone, which is kind of ironic since 2022 was the year that the O’s shocked everyone by contending well into September.  

OP's question is grade for "everything he has done to date, all things considered." 

[ScGO's]

A, no doubt

I think we forget the train wreck this organization had become, top to bottom by 2018. Everything I had ever hoped for in a Front Office arrived with Elias: analytics, differentiated player development, international plan/pipeline, well-timed trades of players at peak value (at least their peak from the point that Elias arrived), revitalizing the ball park, changing the dimensions of the Yard, improving our reputation as a well run organization, creating a #1 Farm System, drafting smart, etc. All the while NOT committing to the free agents to soon. I am glad that he didn't spend significant money on anyone outside of Lyles, which isn't really all that significant compared to what I believe they are getting ready to spend this year and/or next year on free agents. However, I think its important that we understand how free agency will be an easier market to participate in now that the reputation of the club has improved. The prospects of attracting a free agent in 2023 vs 2018 is a drastic change in environments. He's done an amazing job to bring the O's into the same conversations as the Rays, Astros, Indians, etc when it comes to running a strong player development system. To think what this organization was 4 years ago compared to now gives me fever dreams.

Any unforeseen failures in the next few years are probably going to come from Ownership before it comes from Mike.

[emmett16]

42 minutes ago, Jim&#x27;sKid26 said:

I would respectfully submit to you that everyone in baseball misjudged the O's readiness to compete in 2022. How can you realistically hold that against Elias?

I Think it’s the GMs job to accurately access your talent vs. the league and he missed just a bit.  That’s why I gave him the B+.  Had he:

1. Pulled off a trade 

2. signed a solid FA 

we’d likely have made the playoffs.  In that scenario it’s an obvious A and likely an A+.  Not holding it against him…..well maybe a little   I’m pretty satisfied with where we are and even more so with the direction the team is heading, so I’m not going to complain too much.