Jared Banner arrives in Baltimore with a different kind of job description than the one Orioles fans have gotten used to hearing about.
Mike Elias will still handle scouting, signings and acquisitions. Banner’s lane is people: the players, the coaches, player development and healthcare. That split matters, because it hints at where the organization thinks it can level up - and it gives the Orioles another voice in rooms where Elias has often been the one doing the talking.
That’s one reason Banner’s introductory press conference stood out. Elias is typically the public face when the Orioles have major news, and his answers can run long enough to turn a routine media session into a 20-minute stretch. Banner, by comparison, sounded looser and quicker on his feet, with a sense of humor that fit naturally in front of a room full of strangers.
The question now is simple: when the season rolls around and something big happens, who takes the questions? With many clubs, the president of baseball operations is the front-facing voice. Elias has the higher title, but Banner’s role suggests he could become more than just a background piece.
Elias seemed to acknowledge that with a level of candor that stood out. He said Banner’s influence will be strongest in those people-centered areas and added, “I think he’s better than I am in those areas,”
That wasn’t the only notable admission. Elias also said the Orioles’ baseball operations department is still small, even after bringing Banner aboard.
The group includes three assistant general managers - Sig Mejdal, Eve Rosenbaum and Brendan Fournie - while Mejdal, who has led the analytics department since joining Elias in November 2018, is moving into a new role but staying with the club. Matt Blood, whose most recent title was vice president, player and staff development, left near the end of the season after being with the team since 2019.
More help is on the way, Elias said.
“We have done a lot in that regard, but this is still an area where we still have room for improvement, where we need to grow,” he said. “We are working on growing our operation.
It’s been really small. It’s not necessarily the worst thing in the world.
There’s positives to that. We feel we’re at a point where continuing to grow baseball ops is on the agenda.
“Jared’s going to be spearheading some searches in the next couple of weeks, and he’s already hit the ground running.”
Elias, who was promoted to his current role before the 2025 season, said Banner brings the kind of background the Orioles wanted in their first major outside front-office addition in a long time. Banner has worked on successful teams, led multiple departments and earned a strong reputation, Elias said.
The timing adds another layer. A lockout is widely expected on December 1 when the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires, so Banner won’t have much time to settle in before the work environment changes. For now, he’s keeping the approach simple.
“It’s business as usual. The first thing I’m doing is getting on the phone with everyone I can,” he said.
He has already begun that process beyond the Orioles’ current dugout, talking with manager Craig Albernaz and spending time with Cal Ripken Jr. He also spoke with Jim Palmer and Adam Jones.
That outreach may matter. Former Orioles players have often felt shut out under Elias, and Banner could help change that if he builds those relationships quickly.
Banner said he wants to absorb what makes Baltimore tick before trying to imprint his own style.
“I’m looking to listen, learn, understand Orioles tradition and culture and see what fresh perspective I can have,” Banner said.
He also arrives with a resume shaped by multiple organizations, including recent World Series winners in the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, as well as the New York Mets. Elias said that outside experience was part of the appeal.
“We haven’t made any really big outside front office addition in many, many years,” Elias said. “Now that we’re in what we call the steady state of competitiveness in the American League East, where we want to be on the horse competing in this division year-in and year-out, we thought it made sense to try to grow and bring in impact in the front office from the outside and see what different perspectives are out there and ways that we can improve.”
Banner was direct about what he plans to bring from those stops - and about how willing he is to borrow what works.
“I think there are things to take away from all the clubs in the big leagues,” Banner said. “That’s one of the things I’m actually really good at, is stealing other people’s ideas. If we see something that someone else is doing better than we’re doing, we’ll have no shame in taking that idea.”
In other Orioles news, starter Chris Bassitt was named the winner of the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award by the Major League Baseball Players Association. The honor is part of the Players Choice Awards and is named for Marvin Miller, the first executive director of the Players Association. The award goes to the player “whose leadership most inspires others to higher levels of achievement.”
Bassitt, a member of the Players Association’s Executive Committee, has “provided leadership and a steady reliable voice in his role.”
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Jared Banner did not wait long to sketch out how he wants the Orioles to operate after taking over as general manager. At his introductory press conference, he put player development front and center, a familiar refrain in Baltimore but one that carries extra weight for a young roster that still needs answers across the infield and beyond. He also made clear that the organizations next step is not simply acquiring talent, but getting more out of the core already in place.
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The bigger question is how much of Helsley the Orioles can count on after a season interrupted by right elbow inflammation and repeated trips to the injured list. He was limited to 17 games, so while the return is welcome, Baltimore still has to find out whether it is getting a stabilizing bridge piece or simply adding another health-related variable to its relief plans. [Read more 🡒]