Sunday Notes: Mike Elias on the Evolving Orioles, and Offerings From Orlando

The Baltimore Orioles will be different in 2026, and not just because of roster additions that already include Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward, with more almost certain to follow. They’ve hired a new manager (Craig Albernaz), replaced a few coaches, and done some reshuffling at the executive level. In a sport where remaining stagnant can be deleterious, the O’s are moving forward on the heels of a disappointing 2025 season.

A precipitous dip in the win column — 91 in 2024, just 75 last year — accentuated the need for changes, but that isn’t the only reason. According to Mike Elias, progress is an ongoing endeavor.

“We’re constantly evolving, having to respond to other teams’ getting better in areas,” Baltimore’s president of baseball operations told me during last month’s GM Meetings. “We make changes every year. We’re actually undergoing quite an overhaul at the major league level right now with our staff. We’ve done some reformatting in the front office, although certainly not to the degree we did when we came in.”

Things changed markedly after Elias arrived in November 2018 and began rebuilding the organization. Analytics — an area in which the Orioles had been well behind the times —- was of course a major focus. But while giant strides have been made, there is no finish line to reach. Moreover, an old Satchel Paige adage applies: “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.”

“Even in 2019, a number of teams still hadn’t fully reconfigured the way they do amateur scouting, pro scouting, and mainly player development, to reflect the technological environment,” Elias explained. “I feel like, especially across COVID — 2020, 2021, 2022 — a lot of them made a lot of changes. Now a vast majority of teams are set up to leverage the information that can be applied to areas like player development. At one time the Orioles maybe enjoyed a little bit of an advantage, but now a lot of teams are doing things in similar ways. We’re trying to figure out how to get ahead in some areas.”

Getting ahead doesn’t mean the total abandonment of all long-established methods. For the Yale University grad, what works works, be it new-school or new-school. That includes aspects of player evaluation, with Elias approximating that the club has as many, if not more, scouts as they did five years ago.

“You experiment with new information and technology, but very often the lived experience is more direction-correct,” Elias said. “Your experimentation can fail and lead you back to more conventional wisdom. It’s important to have a balance. You have to check your balances.

“Our front office and our new staff will work together to do better in areas where we weren’t doing as good a job as we could have,” added Elias. “I don’t want to go into detail there, but we’ve got a new manager who is coming from a very successful organization with some fresh ideas. I’m very optimistic that we’re going to have a well-orchestrated operation at the major league level.”

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Sticking with the Orioles, new manager Craig Albernaz was asked what he has learned from watching video of the team’s games from this past season. His response centered on what isn’t learnable from afar.

“When you’re not in the dugout, you don’t know what’s being said, what’s before the game, what’s being worked on,” stated Albernaz, who was Cleveland’s bench coach in 2024, then promoted to associate manager for 2025. “You’re pretty much seeing how the guys move, how they swing, their body language, But as far as taking a lot of context out of just watching video and looking at the numbers, it’s extremely difficult. That’s why, for us as a staff, it’s kind of a foundation as we move forward.”

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Blake Butera will be another first year manager in 2026, and I offered both a question and a followup zinger during his media session in Orlando. When it comes to in-game decisions, to what extent does he see himself deviating from what data and probability suggest?

“The information is so good right now,” replied Butera, who was in the Tampa Bay organization for a decade, most recently as director of player development. “A big part of it is making sure, as we build our R&D and analytics departments, that we feel really good about how the information is coming together and then trusting those decisions and that information.

“Coming from the Rays, [Kevin Cash] does a tremendous job of that,” continued Butera. “That’s something that he and I have talked about for a long time. A lot of it is making sure that your staff understands how this information is coming together and why we’re going to behave a certain way, But there is a gut instinct to it as well, for sure.”

Having a congenial relationship with Butera, I felt comfortable in countering: “So, you wouldn’t have pulled Blake Snell?”

His response to my tongue-in-cheek rejoinder was snappy and concise:

“C’mon.”

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Derek Bell went 11 for 22 against Al Leiter.

Derek Jeter went 12 for 20 against Hideo Nomo.

Hideki Matsui went 12 for 22 against Derek Lowe.

B.J. Upton went 10 for 22 against Derek Holland.

Todd Benzinger went 11 for 16 against Derek Lilliquist.

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Derek Falvey and Jeremy Zoll met with members of the Minnesota media during the Winter Meetings — they were gracious enough to allow me to join in — and trade discussions was among the subjects broached. My interest pertained to the process itself, specifically which individuals are making and receiving the inquiries that could potentially lead to transactions.

“There are so may people involved,” said Falvey, the Twins’ president of baseball and business operations (Zoll is the GM). “It can be people that report three or four rungs down from the two of us that are connecting with somebody on another team. [Director of Baseball Operations] Nick Beauchamp is in our group, and say we got an outreach from the Red Sox on “This is someone we might move” and it’s a bottom of the roster conversation. That’s an example — I’m not saying that specifically happened — but then, OK, if we want in, we should ping back to say we have interest.”

Boston had recently traded Vaughn Grissom to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for a lower-level prospect, so I used him as an example in asking how the Twins would (or perhaps did) go about assessing his level of desirability.

“We would go through our player personnel process,” Falvey replied. “Where would he fit on our roster? What is his option status? We go through this whole checklist. Then we might get back to them to hear what the ask is.”

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The question I asked Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro was about identity. In the past, the Royals have typically been known as a speed team and/or a pitching-and-defense team. What are they at the present time?

“Both of those things,” answered Quatraro, who like Albernaz and Butera has a background that includes working with the Rays. “Pitching, defense, speed, contact, play hard, force the issue, situationally hit. I think we want that to be our identity. Now, it’s not all 13 position players having the same skill set. We’re not looking for the speed and base running out of Salvy [Salvador Perez] and Vinnie [Pasquantino] like we are out of Maikel [Garcia]. But the contact, the competitiveness, the relentlessness… those are things we’re looking for.

“I don’t know how far back you want to go, but the first thing that comes to mind is the Royals with Willie Wilson [668 career steals] and those guys,” added Quatraro, referring to the 1980s squads that twice reached the World Series, winning once and falling short in the other. “But you also had guys like Steve Balboni that could hit homers and do other things. I don’t think you ever had just one type of player top to bottom. You want a diverse way to beat other teams.”
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A quiz:

Henry Aaron obviously has the most career home runs (755) among players whose last name begins with the first letter of the alphabet. Which letter “A” player has hit the second-most home runs? (A hint: he ranks just outside the top 10 for most hits by a letter “A.”

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NEWS NOTES

Paul Hoynes was honored with this year’s BBWAA Career Excellence Award, which is presented annually to a sportswriter “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.” The longtime Cleveland Plain Dealer scribe has covered more than 6,000 MLB games over five-plus decades.

San Francisco Giants VP of Media Relations Matt Chisholm was named the recipient of the 2025 Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence. Chisholm has been with the NL West club for the past 18 seasons.

Eric Kubota is Baseball America’s 2025 Tony Gwynn Award winner. The longest-tenured scouting director in MLB, Kubota has been with the Athletics since 1984, and in his current role since 2002. He was interviewed here at FanGraphs in February 2024.

Minor League Baseball announced the selection of longtime baseball executive, manager, and coach Dick Scott as the 17th winner of the Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award, and Cincinnati Reds Minor League Manager Pat Kelly as the recipient of the 17th annual Mike Coolbaugh Award.

Steve Hertz, a third baseman who appeared in five games for the Houston Colt .45s in 1964, died on December 4 at age 80. Born in Ohio at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Hertz went hitless in four at-bats, although he did motor around the bases to score a pair of runs. He was just 19 years old when he got his cup of coffee.

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The answer to the quiz is Nolan Arenado, with 353 home runs. If you guessed Dick Allen, he’s next on the list with 351.

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Jeff Kent was the lone player voted into the Hall of Fame by the contemporary baseball era committee, a decision that has drawn mixed reviews from fans and pundits alike. That’s understandable. Who merits a plaque in Cooperstown is inherently subjective.

The “If X IS in the Hall, Y deserves to be in the Hall” isn’t my point in bringing up Lou Whitaker here. Rather, I am using this space to present a question that came to mind after Kent was announced:

Would Whitaker have been elected had it been he, and not Kent, on the ballot along with this year’s seven other candidates?

Both were second basemen, neither was connected to PEDs, and they received a similar number of awards and honors (including four Silver Sluggers and five All-Star berths apiece). Each had his bona fides statistically. If you want to factor “fame” into the equation, there isn’t much separating them there either.

Might it have happened? I informally queried a handful of people whose opinions I value while at the Winter Meetings, with some opining that it was plausible, while others were skeptical. Either way, Whitaker deserves to be on a forthcoming era committee ballot.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The KBO’s Lotte Giants have signed former MLB pitchers Jeremy Beasley and Elvin Rodríguez. Beasley has spent the last three years in NPB. Rodríguez saw action with both the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers this past season.

Junior Lake is slashing .284/.368/.388 with two home runs in 155 plate appearances for the Dominican Winter League’s Leones del Escogido. The 35-year-old former Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder last saw MLB action in 2016. He played in the Mexican League this past summer.

Case Matter has fanned 19 batters and allowed just five hits and one run over 12-and-two-thirds innings for the Puerto Rican Winter League’s Cangrejeros de Santurce. The 23-year-old right-hander in the Texas Rangers system made six appearances this season for the High-A Hub City Spartanburgers after returning from injury.

Jagger Beck has fanned 20 batters and allowed just nine hits and five runs (but also 12 walks and seven runs) over 18 innings for the Australian Baseball League’s Sydney Blue Sox. The 19-year-old right-hander from Yuma, California played for the Houston Astros’ Florida Complex League affiliate this summer.

Yusei Ishizuka is 24-for-70 with three home runs and a .959 OPS for the ABL’s Adelaide Giants. The 19-year-old middle infielder from Yachiyo, Chiba, Japan made his NPB debut with the Yomiuri Giants earlier this year.

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A random obscure former player(s) snapshot:

Ron Wright appeared in one MLB game, and it was both unforgettable and something he would like to forget. Serving as a DH for the Seattle Mariners on April 14, 2002, the Delta, Utah native came to the plate three times and was responsible for six outs. In his first at-bat, he went down on strikes. In his second at-bat, he hit into a triple play. In his third at-bat, he hit into a double play.

Wright isn’t unique in having hit into a triple play in his only big-league game. New York Giants southpaw Larry Hesterfer did so on September 5, 1901 — in his first time at the plate, no less. He had a rough day overall. Hesterfer pitched six innings and surrendered 15 runs.

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Jay Jaffe’s recent profile of Hall of Fame candidate Dustin Pedroia had me looking back at the handful of interviews I’ve done with the erstwhile Boston Red Sox infielder, one of which ran here at FanGraphs in November 2012. It focused on defense and included this exchange:

You’ve committed 50 errors in nine professional seasons. What does that mean to you?

“Is that a lot?”

Derek Jeter had over 50 in his second professional season.

“Oh, nice, I guess it’s not a lot.”

Pedroia had won two Gold Gloves at the time of that conversation, and would go on to win two more. I put a checkmark next to his name on last year’s Hall of Fame ballot and will be doing so again.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

The Colorado Rockies are “reimagining” their pitching philosophy amid a coaching overhaul, and Thomas Harding wrote about it at MLB.com.

Who were MLB’s most overachieving starting pitchers in 2025? Mark Simon addressed that question at Sports Info Solutions.

An appeals court in the Dominican Republic has ordered a new trial in Wander Franco’s sexual abuse case. Alex Andrejev has the story at The Athletic.

Also at The Athletic, Sahadev Sharma wrote about the Chicago Cubs’ promoting Tyler Zombro, whom the Washington Nationals had hoped to interview, to vice president of pitching.

Five were honored during the Winter Meetings’ Scout of the Year festivities. Jim Callis has the story at MLB.com.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Tampa Bay pitchers have combined to throw three complete games over the past 10 seasons, the fewest in the majors. Cleveland pitchers have combined to throw 28 complete games over the past 10 seasons, the most in the majors.

Gaylord Perry had 28 complete games for the Cleveland Indians in 1974, and 29 complete games in both 1972 and 1973.

Warren Spahn led NL pitchers in complete games every year from 1957-1963, accumulating 145 across that seven-season stretch. The Milwaukee Braves southpaw did so in his age 36-42 seasons.

Robin Roberts logged 300 or more innings and 20 or more wins every year from 1950-1955 The Philadelphia Phillies right-hander then threw 297-and-a-third innings and had 19 wins in 1956.

Kenley Jansen has finished 700 games, the seventh-highest total in MLB history. He needs 10 more to move past Billy Wagner (703) and Rollie Fingers (709) on the all-time list.

The Los Angeles Angels selected 18-year-old infielder Jim Fregosi in the 1960 expansion draft on today’s date. Originally in the Boston Red Sox organization, Fregosi went on to make his MLB debut with the Angels in September 1961, then earned AL All-Star honors six times before being traded to the New York Mets as part of the five-player Nolan Ryan deal in December 1971.

The Brooklyn Dodgers signed 18-year southpaw Sandy Koufax as an amateur free agent on today’s date in 1954.

On today’s date in 2007, the St. Louis Cardinals acquired 24-year-old infield prospect David Freese from the San Diego Padres in exchange for 37-year-old outfielder Jim Edmonds. The Padres proceeded to release Edmonds the following May. Freese went on to play four-plus seasons in St. Louis, making an All-Star team and capturing MVP honors in both the 2011 NLCS and 2011 World Series.

Players born on today’s date include Dave Nilsson, who has the most games played (837), hits (789) and home runs (105) by an Australian-born player in the modern era. The Brisbane native notched those numbers with the Milwaukee Brewers from 1992-1999, making one All-Star team along the way. Joe Quinn, who was born in Ipswich, Queensland, played in more games and had more hits while suiting up for multiple teams from 1884-1901.

Also born on today’s date was Greg Goossen, a catcher/first baseman whose mostly nondescript career included a good 1969 season with the expansion Seattle Pilots. Acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for Jim Gosger prior to spring training, Goossen logged a .309 batting average, 10 home runs, and a 172 wRC+ over 157 plate appearances. According to his SABR bio, he later became a boxing trainer and an actor, playing film roles that included “Bartender at Rosatti’s” and “Prison Cell Lunatic.”