Orioles ownership group prepared to expand payroll, GM Mike Elias says

It’s been a topic for years, ever since executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias arrived to oversee a rebuild that included slashing the payroll for the major league team.

Until this season, Baltimore sat in the bottom three of MLB payroll each year from 2019 to 2023. Even now, as the Orioles compete for another American League East championship, their payroll is 25th out of 30 organizations — a sign of growth that corresponds with the winning percentage but not a sign of wholesale changes.

Elias was tactful Saturday when he sat in the dugout at Camden Yards not to commit one way or another, but he emphasized the “ownership support” felt within the Orioles’ front office ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.

As such, Elias said the payroll could expand. The ownership group, led by billionaire and philanthropist David Rubenstein, is “entertaining” the option of “expanding payroll,” Elias said.

“They’re prepared to support our pursuits in that area,” Elias said. “It doesn’t mean it’s definitely 100% going to happen, but I view our ownership situation as being a positive. As we’ve seen, they’re very passionate, very robust group. And they see the talent on the team and they want to support that, but they also understand that, you know, baseball ops, there’s discipline involved. We don’t want to be emotional actors. So I think the type of support that we’re going to get from them both on this deadline and going forward is going to be the right kind of support.”

This will be the first major test of Rubenstein’s ownership group, which agreed to purchase a controlling stake from the Angelos family over the winter and was confirmed by MLB on the eve of opening day. Since then, Rubenstein’s ownership group — which includes Michael Arougheti and Cal Ripken Jr., among others — has expanded its stake to 97% of the organization.

The Orioles’ needs are clear. They lost right-handers Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells and left-hander John Means to season-ending elbow injuries, which battered a rotation that was viewed as a major strength when at full health. The bullpen also lost left-hander Danny Coulombe to elbow surgery, although he could return before the end of the season.

Without those mainstays, Baltimore’s pitching staff has wavered. Since the start of June, the Orioles’ team ERA is 4.21, which is 15th best in the majors. They optioned left-hander Cade Povich on Saturday because the All-Star break — and post-break schedule — allows for Baltimore to work without a fifth starter for a time.

Still, the rotation — and pitching staff as a whole — could use help. Elias knows it.

“I think my impression of the strengths and weaknesses of our roster are probably not different than any of yours or anyone who’s been following the team, so we understand where maybe the easiest areas to bolster the team would be, if we’re able to add,” Elias said. “There’s a whole market forming. It’s going to be very competitive. It’s probably going to be tough to line up on things.”

With the addition of a third wild-card spot in 2022, there are more teams in the hunt for the postseason, which alters the trade market. There are more buyers and more teams holding on to their players, and the market can take longer to form.

“The new owners are very supportive of the efforts that we’re going to put forth, and I think we’re going to be well equipped to go on and look,” Elias said. “But the market just hasn’t revealed itself yet and the distraction of the draft is still here, and maybe things will pick up right after the All-Star break.”

There are options out there, however, from the teams who are well out of contention. The Chicago White Sox could move left-hander Garrett Crochet and right-hander Erick Fedde; the Los Angeles Angels could deal left-hander Tyler Anderson; the Miami Marlins could part with left-hander Jesús Luzardo.

Some of those players are under team control beyond 2024, which would likely increase the asking price. With a lack of locked-in pitching for 2025, Elias said, pitchers with additional team control would be a positive, although not a requirement.

“I think that we’ll be approaching this deadline with 2024 front and center, and anything beyond that, we’re going to get another bite at the apple for addressing it over the winter,” Elias said. “So it’ll be valued and it’ll be a big bonus, but I think first and foremost the concern will be the second half of the season and the playoffs that hopefully we’re going to be playing in.”

Baltimore could make late moves. Last year, Elias’ first as a trade-deadline buyer, saw the Orioles acquire right-hander Jack Flaherty.

When the July 30 deadline comes, though, Elias anticipates Rubenstein and the ownership group being onboard.

“I’m really confident that we’re going to be really well prepared and that we’re going to have the tools and the chips necessary — and the ownership support necessary — at our disposal to explore this deadline to the fullest, with the intention of bringing in help for the team, for the 2024 team.”

Another prospect push

Coby Mayo, Baseball America’s 12th-best prospect in the minors, has a strong case for a promotion to Baltimore. He entered Saturday with a .297 average and .987 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for Triple-A Norfolk.

Elias said Mayo is “very close; he’s going to help us this year.”

But when that breakthrough might occur is murkier.

“We’ve got a lot of players, but him basically at the top of the list, who are producing really well in Triple-A, and we’re really mindful of that,” Elias said. “And, just like we’ve done with a lot of players up here, we’re very careful to not let someone who’s playing as well as he is in Triple-A stay there too much longer. But there’s also a major league team here that’s playing games every night that has 13 really good position players on the roster and a lot of guys with different defensive profiles and defensive abilities. And a player’s got to fit into that in order to get into the lineup.”

Mayo primarily plays third base, and he’s made strides at that position. But he also can play first and his bat is good enough to command a designated hitter role.

“He’s put himself in a position with his offensive production in Triple-A where he’s kind of ready for the next challenge, and if there was another minor league level above Triple-A — which there isn’t — we’d move him up to that,” Elias said. “But the next level is the major leagues, and it’s got to fit into what’s going on in the major leagues, because we’re playing games and trying to win the games at the same time. All of that to say, the fact I’m talking about him at a press conference right now, he’s right there, we’re thinking about it, we’re working on it, I’m sure it’s coming very soon.”