The first step in the search for a general manager in the Orioles’ front office was compiling a list of candidates, followed by the interview process and the weeding out and hiring.

For the rest of us, there’s the task of trying to learn more about Jared Banner, who comes over after serving as Cubs assistant general manager.

Former Orioles infielder Ryan Flaherty has spent the past three seasons as Chicago’s bench coach. He seemed like a good place to start.

“I’ve worked extremely close with him over the last three years and I think he’s going to be great for the org,” Flaherty told me yesterday. “I think he does a great job of connecting with people, particularly with the major league coaches. He spent a ton of time in the coaches room figuring things out. I think he’s going to create a great work place to come to. People come in there, have fun, but at the same time he’s going to hold people accountable and he’s gonna really push and do a good job of that. But balancing that with, he’s a fun person to be around, his personality and he’s going to really connect with people.”

So how exactly will Banner complement president of baseball operations Mike Elias?

Banner will be introduced next Tuesday at a press conference at Camden Yards. Just when we think we’re out, the pull us back in.

In the meantime, we’ll rely on the release sent out yesterday for an explanation of the hire and Banner’s responsibilities.

We’re told that Banner will work alongside Elias, but not physically. They won’t share a desk.

His job will entail “managing the baseball operations department on a day-to-day basis,” which includes leading “the organization’s player development, coaching and performance efforts, while also partnering with Elias on strategy, staffing, and talent acquisition, among other duties.”

That’s high up the pecking order.

The club held “a long and exhaustive search,” according to one person with knowledge of the hiring process. This is the kind of stuff that happens behind closed doors and manages to stay private. No one knew publicly about Banner until ESPN broke the story yesterday morning.

A source confirmed it to MASNsports.com, the team sent out a press release at exactly 9:30 a.m. and the Orioles highlight of the day wouldn’t be a minor league signing or Arizona Fall League update.

A background in player development was a big part of Banner’s appeal. After 11 years with the Red Sox, Banner was hired by the Mets as executive director of player development in December 2018 and served as Cubs vice president of player development from 2021-2023. He moved up to assistant general manager in November 2023.

Banner was coordinator of amateur scouting, and assistant director of player personnel, director of player personnel and vice president of player personnel with the Red Sox. The Orioles view him as an outstanding baseball mind and accomplished leader who gained a wealth of knowledge in his three previous stops. Trusted with important roles in so many different departments and coming from a winning past, including three championships with the Red Sox, gave him an advantage in the Orioles’ GM search.

“When I first heard Mike’s vision, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of,” Banner said in a statement. “The Orioles are a storied franchise with a passionate fan base, a historic ballpark, and an organization full of talent. I look forward to building upon the foundation laid by Mike and his team to construct a world-class organization and bring championships back to Baltimore.”

It’s been a while. Surely, Banner’s research confirmed that the last World Series was won in 1983. And the drought figures to extend unless the Orioles can turn their highly rated prospects into productive major leaguers. Better yet, into stars.

In a 2023 Q&A with MLB.com, Banner was asked about the importance in becoming a general manager.

“I try to stay focused,” he replied. “I try to do what I ask our players to do, which is focus one day at a time and just get better each and every single day, then let the chips fall where they may. Like those guys want to be big leaguers, I would love to eventually oversee a baseball operations department. I think it would be a lot of fun, but mostly because I want to put forth everything that I’ve learned from some of these other people.”

In an earlier interview that year, Banner spoke about the importance of combining analytics with the eye test in his duties down on the farm.

“It’s communication and collaboration,” Banner said. “I don’t think you want to move to any one side. I think we do try to stay grounded in the evidence, but at the end of the day, (minor leaguers) are human beings. There needs to be a human touch, a care, a belief in each other and a culture created. Those are things we focus on as much as any statistic.”

The Orioles are trying to meld these areas rather than lean too far to the data side. Banner is well-versed in both.

“He has a background in scouting, player development,” Flaherty said. “He’s been with Boston, New York, the Cubs now, so he’s going to have a blend with all three of those organizations and people he’s worked under and things he believes in. He’s gonna be really good for the organization pushing forward and it’s gonna be a huge add for Baltimore.

“These front offices are being built out so much. There are so many things to be done, information and departments and stuff. I’ve worked in both. At San Diego they didn’t have a GM and Chicago, they did under the president. I think leadership’s really important, which is as much information and the infrastructure of the organization.”

Banner might not be the last hire. The front office shakeup in September included the decision to part ways with vice president of player and staff development Matt Blood and adjusting assistant general manager Sig Mejdal’s responsibilities from overseeing the analytics department to managing the research of emerging technologies and innovative practices across baseball operations.

Asked last month whether more shuffling is in the cards, Elias said, “I don’t know that I can predict that. To some degree it depends on, we’ll get calls from other teams looking to interview our people and that will trigger some change. So I don’t want to close the door on any more change. And we’re still in the midst of our staffing and hiring cycle.”

The Orioles could stay in-house to fill the duties that Mejdal is relinquishing with personnel that’s already taking on bigger responsibilities in terms of management, administration, and overseeing the club’s model and processes.

Elias wasn’t ready last month to announce and paint a picture of what might be done differently in player development.

“There’s some stuff that we’ve pretty clearly been doing really well, and there’s other areas where we’re getting a lot of feedback subjectively and objectively that we can do better,” Elias said. “So I think having new people involved in that will help speed up that process.”