The decision to non-tender pitcher Albert Suárez didn’t necessarily close the door on his return next year.
The decision to tender first baseman Ryan Mountcastle showed that the Orioles are open to making room for him on the roster.
President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias explained today’s moves in a video call, as well as the motivation behind trading for Angels outfielder Taylor Ward earlier this week.
“The arbitration system, the tender system, there are price points that are set by the system itself that you have to adapt your decision-making to,” Elias said when asked about Suárez, who pitched in only five games this year due to shoulder and forearm injuries.
“We love Albert. He’s been a tremendous success story for us since our pro scouts and Mike Snyder’s group found him coming out of Asia. What our pitching department did to develop him, and then what he did particularly in 2024. And it was a real bummer and it was a big part of a lot of the struggles we had last (season) that he got hurt.
“I don’t want to go into details about our decision-making as we approach these tender decisions, but we very much are fans of Albert and we’re very much hoping to continue talking to him, and made that clear to him and his group. And I hope the feeling’s mutual.”
Mountcastle appeared to be a non-tender candidate with his salary perhaps approaching $8 million and with injuries continuing to derail him. He could attract trade interest, but Elias referred to him as “a big part of our picture right now.”
First base could get a little crowded with Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo expected to break camp with the team.
“I think so much of what happened in 2025, it was frustrating and disappointing and there were injuries in there, so it was really kind of microcosmic of what happened to a lot of the team. And Ryan still showed flashes of his ability,” Elias said.
“We think he’s a great hitter and that’s why we tendered him and we’re bringing him back.”
At-bats also must be made available to Ward, catcher Adley Rutschman and outfielder Tyler O’Neill.
“We’ll figure that out, and it’s a good problem to have. And as we lived through last year, you have to worry about depth, too,” Elias said.
“This is something that will sort itself out. I think the main thing is we don’t want to discard a good hitter if we don’t have to, and we want to keep our talent, and these guys are all really promising bats.”
One contract agreement came about today with Félix Bautista signing for $2.25 million after undergoing shoulder surgery that will keep him out at least through the first half of the season.
“Yeah, I'm glad we got that done,” Elias said. “My expectations for him are to have a great rehab and get healthy, and if we're able to have him pitching in the latter part of the season, all the better. So far, so good with his rehab, but it's early. We just want to keep supporting him and keep getting him back to health. We love the guy, and he's a huge part of our organization, so I'm very happy that we solidified that deal and got that business out of the way.”
Elias will seek out a closer over the winter. He doesn't seem inclined to go with an in-house committee.
“We're trying to make an external addition there, so working on that right now,” he said. “I can't say things with 100 percent certainty, but we're making every effort to make external additions to the bullpen and in particular an experienced ninth-inning guy if we can.”
The outfield isn’t necessarily set after Ward came to the Orioles in exchange for oft-injured starter Grayson Rodriguez. Elias said center “potentially” could remain a position of need. Colton Cowser likely would handle it if no one else is acquired.
“We'll be hunting for help there as we go along,” Elias said. “We obviously love Cowser. I think that's going to be a big bounce back. I thought he looked good defensively and he will be good defensively. I think Leody Tavares is a nice ad for us and gives us some flexibility and depth in that spot and some competition in that spot, as well. But it's an area that we can continue to look for more, and you need more than two center fielders in your org.
“I think Enrique Bradfield is going to move his way closer, but we have room at the end for more center field help if we can find it.”
Asked if the Orioles could bring in another impact bat, Elias said, “You know, we very well might. And that’s something that we’re working on.”
“I can’t guarantee that that’s going to happen, but we are definitely still pursuing upgrades to the lineup,” he said. “But I think that Taylor’s presence really solidifies the outfield picture in a way that gives us more flexibility with hunting that next impact bat and where that person plays.”
Ward has one more year on his contract, which further motivated the Angels to trade him following a 36-home run season that also included 31 doubles and 103 RBIs.
“There’s a lot to like with Taylor Ward,” Elias said. “He’s actually somebody that we’ve been chasing for at least for a couple years, just because of the profile, the big right-handed power. … He’s great against left-handed pitching, but we also think he’s good against right-handed pitching and he’s an everyday guy. I mean that in the sense of in the batter’s box, but also he played 156 games in left field two years in a row, so there’s a lot there and I think it brings a lot of stability to our outfield picture.
“I think it’s going to hopefully make the rest of the lineup better. We’ve got a lot of young left-handed hitters and if we have him and O’Neill and Mounty and Mayo and a lot of these guys staggered in there, it’s gonna make life a little bit easier on the left-handed hitters, too. So we think he’s an impact bat. He really fit us, and there weren’t a lot of big power right-handed guys on the market this year.”
Rodriguez can’t become a free agent until after the 2029 season and he’s long had ace potential. Injuries never allowed him to reach it, and he underwent surgery in August to remove bone spurs from his elbow.
“Look, I think we’re certainly aware in the mismatch in the amount of potential team control remaining on these two guys,” Elias said. “Ward is going into his free agent year. He also has the potentiality to generate a qualifying offer. I think if he does what he did in 2025, that’s a real possibility, so that could change that equation a little bit.
“We look at this stuff, we talk about it, we look at the market, we look at our needs, we look at our strategic priorities, and we look at our talent evaluation, and ultimately it’s my decision to pull the trigger on trades or not, and this is one I felt and a lot of us felt and we felt was going to benefit the organization, and mainly, by bringing in an impact bat like that in the 2026 context of our lineup, in that shape and size, plays the outfield every day and has that kind of right-handed power. I wasn’t confident where else somebody like him would come from on the free agent and trade market right now that has the sort of bat that we think he has and what he did last year, and we leaned into the trade.
“It’s uncomfortable to make trades, usually. It’s hard to line up, and you’re going to give something up. That is always going to be difficult and interesting, and this is one that we did and I think is the right move, and I’m looking forward to watching Taylor Ward in this lineup next year with this team and this ballpark.”
Keeping Rodriguez in the rotation would have given the Orioles three starters returning from elbow surgeries, including Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells. That dynamic was a consideration.
There's only so much handling with care that a team can do over the course of a season.
“I think that both of those guys will be able to increase their innings totals quite a bit next year,” Elias said. “(Trevor) Rogers, too. He was hurt for the beginning of the year, as well. But really, Dean (Kremer) is the only guy from the returning group that kind of had a full, huge innings load.
“Obviously, we’re working very hard to import some more people this winter that would help check that box, but yeah, it factors in. Workload management, especially for 2026, was a factor in the thinking.”
Elias didn’t want to speak directly about any long-term concerns over Rodriguez’s physical status.
“I will say what I said publicly weeks ago, he’s missed well over a year, and there’s obvious ramifications from that,” Elias said. “Like I said, this was a tough trade on both sides. There’s value given up in any trade, particularly in this one.”
Despite the numerous starts and stops in Rodriguez’s career and how he never panned out as the 11th overall draft pick in 2018, Elias insisted that the organization hadn’t become frustrated with him.
“No, not in the handling,” he said. “I mean, there’s frustration about the bad luck of it and that’s disappointing. Grayson’s a great kid. We loved bringing him up in this organization and rearing him, and he’s got a bright future. And sometimes, trades are a part of baseball.”
Starting pitching remains a priority with Elias in the offseason. And more than just one.
“I've been pretty clear and direct, we're trying to find, whether it's top or front or top half of the rotation, all those buckets,” Elias said. We're trying, and there are guys out there and we are in pursuit of every one of them. I can't forecast how fast it's going to move. Nothing is going down tonight, that I can tell, but I also don't want to say something like that and be wrong. But everybody is working on it.
“The work is happening. The conversations are happening with the agents and the front offices, but also the meetings. We're doing meetings with players and this is all steaming along in the background right now.
Depth moves are desired, as well. It isn’t just about finding someone to slot above or directly behind Bradish.
“We'll have to source all types of pitching,” Elias said. “You have to go into spring training these days with at least eight options, and probably more than that. So we'll be working all winter.”