At what point is Elias' job in jeopardy?

[forphase1]

His 'hot seat' is frigid right now.   Took over a mess of a team and franchise and to this point has done a great job of the rebuilding stage.   Sure the jury is out on this next stage of being competitive, but to this point I think he has,  and deserves, a very long leash.  Many of his decisions this off-season has been foolish, and my opinion of him has decreased because of it,  but overall that's still a very favorable opinion.

[HakunaSakata]

It's a fair question. I think Elias' job will be in jeopardy when John Angelos starts getting legitimate criticism from the national media and attendance starts to trend in the wrong direction. When that happens, I think he will probably be the fall guy, even if he was secretly operating under tight budget constraints (i.e., had one hand tied behind his back). I only say that because I think that trying to field a competitive team without occasionally supplementing home grown talent with free agents is an almost impossible MLB business model for success. Especially if Elias had been operating under the pretense that Angelos would let him "buy" the pitching and now that expectation has changed. The other wildcard is if the team is sold because I imagine new ownership might want to bring in their own guy. 

[Three Run Homer]

1 minute ago, Orioles0615 said:

If they don't make the playoffs this year or next year one of him or Hyde needs to be fired

If they don't make the playoffs this year or next, it's not likely to be Elias or Hyde's fault.  Ownership hasn't ponied up the resources necessary to make the Orioles a playoff team.  

[Es4M11]

Just now, Three Run Homer said:

Of course not--a winning team needs those prospects to become good MLB players, and it needs ownership that is willing to spend once the team shows signs of being competitive.  We won't know about the former for a few more years, and the latter is not under Elias' control.  

Well, I am not 100% certain that the lack of spending this offseason is 100% on the family - we just don't know that at this time. Obviously the dynamic in the family has changed dramatically over the past several years, but they have shown willingness to spend at various times throughout the years. Until we know for certain that they closed the purse strings, I think there is room to speculate that Elias is just extremely risk averse and decided not to spend. That or Elias couldn't close a deal prospective free agents. These are all fair things to speculate IMO.

[Spy Fox]

I think he has one of the safest GM jobs in MLB. 

[interloper]

Elias is more likely to leave of his own volition than he is to be fired. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by interloper

[Frobby]

I think he has at least two years.   Teams that make a big leap forward like the O’s did last year often stagnate the following year before taking the next step forward.  So, even if the O’s do take a small step backwards in 2023 (which I hope won’t happen but certainly could), I think Elias would be given 2024 to turn it around.  In any event, the relationship between Elias and John Angelos seems very solid.   

[Es4M11]

7 minutes ago, forphase1 said:

His 'hot seat' is frigid right now.   Took over a mess of a team and franchise and to this point has done a great job of the rebuilding stage.   Sure the jury is out on this next stage of being competitive, but to this point I think he has,  and deserves, a very long leash.  Many of his decisions this off-season has been foolish, and my opinion of him has decreased because of it,  but overall that's still a very favorable opinion.

This is kind of where I am at right now. Overall very impressed with the job he has done to this point. That said, this next phase is absolutely crucial, and I am of the opinion the proverbial leash should be a little shorter during this next phase.

[Tony-OH]

There's a better chance of Elias leaving for a better situation than being fired. 

 

[interloper]

6 minutes ago, interloper said:

Elias is more likely to leave of his own volition than he is to be fired. 

1 minute ago, Tony-OH said:

There's a better chance of Elias leaving for a better situation than being fired. 

 

Behold, agreement!

[SemperFi]

The length of his contract is not known, like most GM's it's not public knowledge but I would guess he was extended when Hyde was. If ownership is thinking about pursuing a sale they are certainly not eating existing contracts and then taking on new long term deals.  If Elias goes it's not just him-you would have to replace those positions with LT contracts.  I do not agree with those who say this affects 1 or 2 year deals given free agents but longer certainly.  I think Elias is very well thought of in the industry and would not have a problem finding another job.

[Es4M11]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I think he has at least two years.   Teams that make a big leap forward like the O’s did last year often stagnate the following year before taking the next step forward.  So, even if the O’s do take a small step backwards in 2023 (which I hope won’t happen but certainly could), I think Elias would be given 2024 to turn it around.  In any event, the relationship between Elias and John Angelos seems very solid.   

Yeah, I don't see any scenario in which Elias would be gone after next year, but two years seems reasonable to me as a fan. There must be positive results within these next few years, the time is now.

[RZNJ]

When the team is losing, the prospects have flopped, and the farm system is ranked 25th.

Or a new owner who wants his own guy.

[Es4M11]

7 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

There's a better chance of Elias leaving for a better situation than being fired. 

 

Certainly I could have worded this better . I guess I am asking more about fan opinion. Not necessarily what ownership might do.

[maybenxtyr]

As other's have said, I think his job is safe for the foreseeable future. 

 

I doubt there's a GM in any sport that doesn't spend pretty much all of the budget to improve their team. Elias is no different. We can certainly argue about how he's spent it this off season, but if he were told that he could spend 90 million on the team this year I'm certain he would have.