The Orioles walked out of 2026 with another losing record, another October spent at home and a front office ready to reconsider how it is built. Baltimore finished 79-82, missing the postseason for a second straight season after entering the year believing it had the pieces to rebound from a disappointing 2025.
At Camden Yards on Monday, president of baseball operations Mike Elias and manager Craig Albernaz faced the reality of a season that never found enough traction. The club spent much of the year trying to erase an early deficit, only to see each push stall before it could become a sustained run.
“We need better results, and the results have to improve,” Elias said. “It has now happened two years in a row at this level, and we are tired of it.”
The setting was familiar, even if the mood was not. On Nov. 4, Elias sat beside Albernaz inside the Camden Yards warehouse as Baltimore introduced its new manager with optimism about both the immediate roster and the organization’s longer view. Less than a year later, they returned to the podium after a season that left more frustration than forward momentum.
Execution remains the central issue
Albernaz said the daily conversations among the manager, his staff and Elias have consistently returned to one issue: finishing the job in the moments that decide games.
“There is one word that keeps coming up when I speak with players and coaches: execution,” Albernaz said. “That is the biggest thing. We have to execute.”
The Orioles are not far removed from back-to-back playoff berths in 2023 and 2024, including an American League East title in 2023. But the club has not won a postseason game since Game 3 of the 2014 American League Division Series, and consecutive misses have added urgency to an offseason that figures to bring changes beyond the playing roster.
Elias considers adding front-office help
Baltimore has already begun reshaping parts of its baseball operations department. Elias said he wants outside perspectives in the organization and could add an executive who would serve as a general manager beneath him in the club’s hierarchy.
He did not identify specific roles or departments targeted for changes, but indicated that the Orioles expect to expand their operation as the sport evolves and as ownership becomes more involved.
“The answer is good people,” Elias said of the type of hires he is pursuing. “It is individual and case by case, as every hire is. Baseball operations have grown quickly in recent years with the way the game is changing. With our ownership group, we have an opportunity to participate in that growth more than we have before.”
Elias added that certain areas could benefit more than others from different ideas and new voices, saying the direction of the hires should become clearer once they are made.
David Rubenstein’s ownership group, which purchased the club in March 2024, will be involved in those decisions. Elias said he is working through potential staffing changes now, while acknowledging that the final structure of the department remains unsettled.
“They are very involved,” Elias said.
The roster still offers a path back
For all the disappointment around the record, Baltimore is not starting from scratch. Pete Alonso, signed last offseason to a five-year, $155 million contract, emerged as a clubhouse leader while leading the American League with 43 home runs and 113 RBIs.
The Orioles also retain a young foundation headed by shortstop Gunnar Henderson, infielders Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo, and outfielder Colton Cowser. The club believes its starting rotation remains a strength, and the expectation is that several players who did not meet their standards in 2026 can still take another step.
Elias did not dismiss those uneven performances as a permanent concern. He pointed instead to the difficult work of sustaining major league production and staying available through a long season.
“When players have not performed as well as they did earlier in their big league careers, that is part of the game,” Elias said. “It is difficult to remain at the top of your game, and it is difficult to stay healthy now, too. They are working at it, and we are working on how to support them better in that area.”
Baltimore’s 2027 outlook will depend on more than internal improvement. The Orioles will need the offseason to deliver useful roster additions, sharper organizational support and a cleaner brand of baseball from a club that repeatedly fell short of its own expectations.
The young core is still in place. Alonso has supplied middle-of-the-order thump and leadership. The next task is making sure those ingredients finally produce the kind of season Baltimore expected when Albernaz first took the job.
