BALTIMORE -- Over the past nearly two decades, Jared Banner has been employed by some of the most storied franchises in MLB. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native has spent time working in the front offices of the Red Sox, Mets and Cubs.
Hired as the new general manager of the Orioles on Oct. 19, Banner is now in Baltimore. What made this an attractive destination for the longtime executive?
“I’ve worked at Fenway Park, I’ve worked at Wrigley Field. I’m not going to just go work anywhere,” Banner said. “But you look outside here, this is Camden Yards. This is a special place. Baltimore is a special city.”
Banner was at his new home ballpark on Tuesday morning, when he was formally introduced as the O’s GM during a press conference on the ground floor of the Camden Yards warehouse. He was seated alongside Mike Elias, who remains the club’s president of baseball operations.
There were quite a few questions to be asked of both Banner and Elias -- namely, how is this partnership atop Baltimore’s baseball ops department going to work? Also, why now, and why Banner? And how exactly does Banner plan to positively impact the franchise moving forward?
Now that they’ve given their answers, let’s lay them out here.
What will the power dynamic be between Elias and Banner?
To keep it simple, Elias said, “By and large, we’re going to be partnering on everything.” Elias has brought in Banner to work alongside him, and there will be a lot of collaboration happening.
However, the tasks and responsibilities are being split up. Banner will take some duties off the plate of Elias, who will now have additional time to focus on other areas.
“Our setup right now is that Jared will take over everything to do with our internal players, our internal coaches, player development, performance, healthcare, all of that is going to fall under his umbrella,” Elias said. “I will then work more directly on the scouting and acquisition side of the equation -- pro, international, amateur, contracts, things like that. But we will be running the whole team together and working in concert with one another. But that’s sort of the general division of management duties.
“I think that Jared is very tremendously experienced in those areas, very successful in those areas. I think he’s better than I am in those areas. And this will also allow, hopefully, the club to leverage me a little bit better and allow me to spend more of my time on the acquisition side of things.”
Why did it take so long for Elias to hire a GM?
Before the 2025 season, Elias was promoted to president of baseball operations. However, he continued to hold the title of GM as well. And heading into last offseason, he made it clear he was hopeful to use that tag to land a talented front-office executive from another organization.
Elias said he held discussions with around a dozen people regarding the GM role. But there wasn’t a perfect match, until the talks with Banner began.
“We are so pleased now that we’ve landed on Jared for this opportunity and this position. Jared has had a great career, and I think he’s really in the prime of his career and we’re getting him at a time when he’s really well prepared for this and ready to grow and make a huge impact on our franchise,” Elias said. “Once we talked to Jared, it was very clear that this was the best fit.”
Banner, who had been an assistant GM for the Cubs since January 2024 and had worked for that franchise since December 2020, wasn’t looking to leave Chicago. But he was enticed by what Elias and the Orioles had to offer.
“I sat down with [president of business operations] Catie [Griggs] and with ownership, and that’s when I started to realize, ‘Whoa, hold on. This is a special place. Baltimore is it. This is a place that me and my family need to be,’” Banner said. “Storied franchise. Iconic ballpark. Passionate fan base. Owners who care and want to win. And most important of all, the organization is chock full of talent, top to bottom. So it really made it a pretty easy decision for me.”
How does Banner plan to help the O’s?
The Orioles underwent a successful rebuild under Elias -- who was hired in November 2018 -- as they made back-to-back postseason appearances in '23 and ‘24. But they’ve since gotten off track, missing the playoffs in both ‘25 and ‘26 and putting the franchise at a critical juncture.
Banner has a strong player development background. He has a reputation for getting the most out of talent. He has seen firsthand what it takes to build a consistent winner in MLB.
Asked about his greatest strength, Banner said it’s his ability to “challenge others” and his willingness to “get uncomfortable.” He possesses what he calls a “growth mindset” and is open to evolving with the sport.
“One of my main player development philosophies is we have to make practice more like the game so that the game gets easier once you get in there," Banner said. "So that’s something we’re going to focus on.”
Banner also understands the frustration of Baltimore fans in recent years and hopes he can be part of a solution for the club.
“It’s been a rough couple years,” Banner said. “But you have our commitment: We’re going to build a winner here in Baltimore; we’re going to build a team that Baltimore can be proud of.”