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The introduction of new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz earlier today revealed his sense of humor, passion for the game and the lives he’s intersected with along the way, and how family always is going to be a huge part of who he is both on and off the field.
His first managing act was sitting through a nearly 44-minute press conference with attention split among media and his 2-year-old daughter Gigi, who held and occasionally dropped her Oriole Bird bobblehead and a bottled water meant more as a toy than a means of hydration, engaged in cute conversations with her mother Genevieve and eventually was lifted up by control owner David Rubenstein and handed to Albernaz, who sat her on his lap, kissed her and whispered to her at one point so he could finish his answer.
Handling a 26-man clubhouse should be a breeze.
The crowd also included young sons CJ (8) and Norman (6), and Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and his wife Alyssa, who left her seat for a while to play with Gigi away from the dais.
“My kids are the greatest gift I can ever, ever have,” Albernaz said, before his daughter interrupted.
“I love you,” she blurted out.
“I love you too, Gigi,” Albernaz said.
“They keep me grounded. They don’t care if we win or lose, except for CJ. He’s locked in. He’s invested. But when you have kids, it changes your whole perspective of life and the game of baseball. … It makes life so much more enjoyable to have them around the field. They’ll be around a lot, so get used to it. They like to be in the cage and stuff, so it’s just great.”
Being a first-time manager won’t change his access to family. He’s just inherited much bigger professional responsibilities.
“I’m just excited,” he said. “This is a dream come true for me. When you start coaching, you don’t think about being a big league manager. At least I didn’t. But as you navigate your relationships, navigate certain teams and you can kind of see that’s something that you want to do, the ability to run a team, and to do it in such a historic franchise as the Baltimore Orioles, it really is a dream come true.
“I just can’t wait for the fans to come out to watch our boys compete because we’re gonna play a very exciting brand of baseball.”
President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias sat to the left of Albernaz and handed him a No. 55 Orioles jersey and cap after opening remarks.
“So much to say about a hire like this and the importance of it,” Elias said. “The job managing the Baltimore Orioles is rich with tradition. Some of the best managers in our game have occupied this spot over the years. And so, when we are approaching a hire, a process like this, it is a whole organizational effort and it’s something we put every bit of our capability behind and do our best to get it right and have it be something that’s going to impact the organization for a long time and create a lot of stability around the organization.”
Elias expressed his appreciation that the Guardians allowed the Orioles to move deliberately through a search that led them to make Albernaz their 21st manager. The “graciousness” displayed while the committee conducted a series of interviews.
“This is a process that takes several weeks, if not more than that, requires every resource that the department has at his availability,” Elias said, “and we are absolutely elated to welcome Craig to the organization.”
Albernaz spent the 2024 season as Guardians bench coach and 2025 as their associate manager. Cleveland won back-to-back American League Central division titles.
“Craig is somebody who’s built a very strong coaching career and a reputation as one of the up and coming managerial talents, but also overall coaching and player development talents in the sport now for several years,” Elias said.
“There are many things that attracted us to him in this position. I think a big one is the places that he’s worked. It starts with Cleveland and the fact that he’s spent the last two seasons very successfully as right-hand man to one of the best managers in the game right now, but also having worked with the Tampa Bay Rays, San Francisco Giants and Cleveland, demonstrating the ability to transition successfully across those organizations. Going from those organizations and all the knowledge and skill that he’s built up through his catching and playing career, but also minor league manager career, major league coaching career. There’s a lot there.
“We feel that he's ready to hit the ground running. We feel like we have a team that has a really good shot to bounce back next year and be a team that can make the playoffs, but also hopefully make a deep playoff run in pursuit of a World Series. I think and our department thinks that Craig is the right leader for the next phase of this team and it’s maturation, but also for the 2026 season and beyond. So we’re super excited to introduce him today.
“We have a lot of work to get to this offseason. He’s gonna join with the front office in making those moves and assessing how we want to navigate this offseason. But we’re already working full steam ahead in our very long agenda of offseason business.”
Apparently so. A few hours later, the Orioles announced that they brought back reliever Andrew Kittredge, acquiring him from the Cubs for cash considerations. Kittredge has a $9 million player option on his contract.
Kittredge was one of the trade deadline moves over the summer after posting a 3.45 ERA and 1.085 WHIP in 31 appearances. Elias received 18-year-old infielder Wilfri De La Cruz, now ranked by Baseball America as the No. 20 prospect in the system and 24th by MLB Pipeline. Kittredge had a 3.32 ERA, 0.831 WHIP and five saves in 23 games with Chicago before the playoffs.
Earlier in the day, the Orioles signed left-hander Josh Walker to a one-year major league deal for 2026. He already was on the 40-man roster.
Elias noted the impressive, highly qualified managerial candidate pool that the committee waded through, and the different shapes, sizes and profiles. Albernaz smiled and turned to Elias, teeing up a reference to his listed height of 5 feet 8.
“Probably on the short side of the candidate pool,” he said. “Thanks, Mike.”
“Sitting down with Craig and hearing the feedback from the many other people that interviewed him, it was clear that this was a really good fit all around,” Elias said. “The places he’s worked, the kind of philosophies that he’s developed. I think his personality, his personal style will be a really good fit for what our group needs, but also in this town and in this market. Just an all-around fit, and I was really struck by him once we got done spending the first day with him.
“We continued to spend many more days and weeks, completing the process but also doing a lot of background work, which was also very helpful.”
Albernaz will import much of what he’s learned through the years from teams with a winning past, but the amount isn’t easily measured.
“I think it depends on the players, and that’s one thing that Cleveland does really well, and the same thing with the Tampa Bay Rays. It’s the player personnel you have,” he said in his thick New England accent, playing along with the attention that it always attracts.
“I think everyone in Baltimore can see the Baltimore Ravens and what John Harbaugh has done with going from Joe Flacco to Lamar Jackson. That’s a big change. I think the best coaches, the best managers in this game, they adapt to the players around them. They don’t have one set way of doing things. That’s where I see this. Myself and the coaching staff are going to really hone in on our players strengths. And yes, we’re going to really develop their weaknesses, but we just want to bring out our players’ strengths and let them shine.”
Albernaz watched the Orioles from the opposite dugout and also is confident that pieces are in place for a sharp reversal.
“The talent just jumps right out at you,” he said. “Even playing them this this year, yeah, it was a down year. A lot of injuries, but the talent up and down the roster is impressive and when you have a group of young players that get to the big leagues and have success, like in ’23, and they have a rough ’25, it’s really tough to curate that adversity for young players to go through. For them to have it happen on the biggest stage, again, dealing with the injuries, I wouldn’t say poor performance, but they can perform better in their eyes. So it’s great to see the work that they’ll put in in the offseason. We’ll come out and next year really take on that challenge.”
Here's more from today’s presser:
* Elias was asked about the coaching staff, which is undergoing significant and anticipated changes with a new man in charge. A holdover or two could be in the mix.
“In the background, there’s a lot of activity and work going on on that front,” he said. “Different conversations happening with different returning coaches or coaches that are still in the organization. Not really the time or place to get into all that, but suffice to say there will be alterations to the composition of the staff.
“That’s normal year-to-year, but also when you have a manager change. We definitely want the ability for him to put his stamp on the staff. I think a big part of our hire and knowing the talent that we’re bringing into the organization with a guy like Craig Albernaz is we want them to ply his trade and have an impact in the clubhouse, on the field with the way our team prepares, trains and competes and part of that is choosing some staff members around him. We’re collaborating together on it but it’s something I want him to be able to shape and we’ll finalize these (hires) the best we can.”
* Rubenstein indicated again that the club will spend money, but of course, there’s the usual limits for a market of this size.
“We have the resources to acquire the players that we need to make the team work,” he said. “We don't have particular financial constraints. We have an investor group that's pretty deep-pocketed, and so we're able to do what we need to do. And so we will do that.
“Mike has a lot of authority to go out and find the best players that we can get. And of course, it's not always the case that the highest payroll wins. Clearly, the last couple years that's probably been the case, but it's not always the case. So we don't feel we need to break records by setting payroll records, but we think we want to get good players who want to be part of an organization that really is very cohesive, part of helping to rebuild Baltimore.
“Baltimore itself is a very exciting place to live, and we're on the rebound. We think the organization is going to be much better next year because the stadium is going to excite a lot of fans. We've got a lot of things going on in Baltimore, and so we are relying on what Mike and his team can do and with Craig finding good players that want to be here and that can complement what we already have. We're looking forward to the new season. I hope I'll see some of you down in the spring training and we're very excited about the new year.”
* Rubenstein and Mike Arougheti from the ownership group were involved in the interview process. They kept circling back to Albernaz.
“At the beginning when we were talking to people, people said, ‘This person you’re interviewing is good, but if you can get Craig, you’ll really be fortunate,’” Rubenstein recalled. “They kept saying, ‘He’s the guy you should get. You may not get him, but if you can get him, that’s the guy you want.’ So when we talked to him, we realized why everybody said that. He’s very impressive, despite his accent. We think he can learn to speak Baltimore-ese. We also thought he had by far the cutest 2-year-old daughter in Major League Baseball, and she’s here and the star of the show, and great sons as well.
“We’re really excited to have him here. If you read about his background, he’s been a leader everywhere he’s ever been. People always say he’s a take-charge person that’s made every organization he’s been at better because he was there, so we were thrilled when he agreed to accept the offer and we’re looking forward to many, many years with him and us. We are now going to spend a lot of time seeing what’s out there and what players we can bring to the team and strengthen the team."
* Albernaz has his opinions but also trusts Elias and the rest of the front office to make roster upgrades.
“Whatever Mike wants to cook up,” he said when asked what he wants Elias to do this offseason. “That's what Mike does best around the offseason is cook. No, I trust Mike. I trust in the group. For me as a manager of the team, it’s all who the players are in the clubhouse. I'm not going to talk about who you should get. That's not my job. That's Mike's job. He's pretty good at it, actually really good at it.”
Albernaz paused to look at Elias, which made both men laugh.
“But no, my job is the players in the clubhouse,” he continued, “so whoever's in there, we're going to pour into them, get the most out of them.”
* Rubenstein was asked why the Orioles didn’t announce the Elias promotion that was finalized in the spring.
“You know, Mike was American League Executive of the Year a few years ago,” Rubenstein said. “He knows baseball inside out. He's shy and doesn't like to promote himself, so we didn't make a big announcement about it. But Mike deserves everything that he has received from the Orioles. He's done a spectacular job, and we have great confidence in him for many, many years in the future.”
* The bond between Albernaz and Vogt was apparent again this morning, beginning with how Cleveland’s skipper made the trip to Baltimore.
“I don’t want to get emotional, I’m not an emotional guy, but it’s not every day you get to work with one of your good friends in this game and share the dugout with them,” Albernaz said. “And I learned a lot every step of the way for me being able to take this job. So Vogty, thank you. Two-time Manager of the Year coming up. I’ll plug that for you right now.”
“I’ve known Craig for a really long time, one of my best friends in the game of baseball and couldn’t miss this,” Vogt said. “Had to be here to support him. It’s an exciting day for all of us because Craig’s earned it and more and just so ecstatic for him. He’s going to absolutely crush it. You’re going to love him here.
“He cares about the players. He obviously has been born to do this. He’s been in every position to prepare him to do this, but he will always put the players first and foremost, and that’s what’s going to help create that atmosphere and that culture here that is going to help them thrive.”
What should fans know about Albernaz?
“He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever been around,” Vogt said. “The hours that he puts in, the time that he puts in, he’s prepared for everything. He’s over-prepared. He knows people and, again, a lot of this job that’s seen on TV is about five percent of what it takes, and the 95 percent that isn’t seen, he’s going to absolutely crush and bring people together and create an unbelievable winning culture here.”
