BALTIMORE -- The Orioles held a press conference to celebrate right-hander Kyle Bradish's five-year, $90 million extension on Friday afternoon at Camden Yards, where Bradish was joined on the dais by president of baseball operations Mike Elias and control owner David Rubenstein.
Many of the questions asked pertained to Bradish’s successful career and his journey to this point. But the date on the calendar couldn’t be ignored -- it was July 24, and the O’s (50-53 entering the day) are trying to make a push with nine games until the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline.
Although Baltimore is within striking distance of a postseason spot, the team hasn’t performed up to expectations thus far. When that happens, it’s natural for job security to become a topic of conversation.
So when Rubenstein was asked for the first time publicly about his commitment to Elias as the long-term leader of the Orioles’ baseball operations department, the 76-year-old private equity billionaire made it clear he has full confidence.
“Absolutely. Of course,” Rubenstein said. “Mike, he was the Baseball Executive of the Year [in 2023], widely regarded as outstanding by his peers and other people in baseball. Absolutely. And he’s done a terrific job. I’m very, very happy, and we couldn’t be more pleased. We’ve had some injuries, but that’s not Mike’s fault. In the end, we’re very pleased, and we’re really, really happy to have such a talented executive leading our baseball team.”
Elias was hired as general manager in November 2018, led a lengthy rebuild and constructed a club that made consecutive postseason appearances in ‘23 and ‘24. Now, the 43-year-old is guiding the O’s through a critical time as they strive for both short- and long-term success.
Here are three more takeaways from Friday’s press conference in Baltimore.
1. The Orioles remain open for business
Rubenstein has delivered on his intention to sign as many of the O’s core players to long-term deals as possible. His group has funded four of the seven largest contracts in franchise history over the past year -- extensions for Bradish, right-hander Shane Baz (five years, $68 million) and catcher Samuel Basallo (eight years, $67 million) and a free-agent deal for first baseman Pete Alonso (five years, $155 million).
Like Rubenstein has done at previous press conferences, he stated his desire for more deals.
“Nothing is easy, but I think that the fact that we were able to get a few done has probably shown that we were forthright in saying we had the resources to do more, and we’re prepared to do more,” Rubenstein said. “Our goal is to build the best team in baseball and to win a World Series championship for the city of Baltimore and for the Orioles. And we have the resources to help make that possible, and we have the players on the team that I think can help make that a reality.
“So, we’re open to doing more with players that want to do that. And obviously, it takes two parties to come together, but we’re open to it and we are eager to talk to anybody that wants to talk to us about a longer-term relationship.”
2. The postseason remains the expectation for 2026
Both Rubenstein and Elias stated their belief in the O’s reaching the postseason this year.
“I’m hopeful that we will make it into the playoffs,” Rubenstein said. “I’m very optimistic going forward. The last 10 games have been terrific, I think, generally, and if we can win seven out of every 10 games, I think we’re going to be in the playoffs.”
“Where we're at right now, we're within arm's reach of a playoff spot,” Elias said. “We've got enough time left to get there. We're coming up on the Deadline, so the next several games are really important and everybody is really focused on these next several games, but I look at the talent on this team and we're extremely optimistic that we can get where we want to go.”
3. Bradish’s deal came together quickly due to mutual interest
Elias said there was some groundwork done for Bradish’s five-year extension last offseason, as there was interest from both sides. Then, assistant general managers Eve Rosenbaum and Brendan Fournie worked closely with Bradish’s agent (Scott Leventhal of All Bases Covered Sports Management) and representatives to negotiate a deal.
But Bradish has made it clear multiple times within the past week that he wanted to be in Baltimore long term, and a big reason for that was the clubhouse culture that has been established by the current core.
“I felt like this is where I’ve spent my whole career, and this is where I want to spend the future,” Bradish said. “Being a part of this group made this decision very easy.”