BALTIMORE — There was a significant confession buried amid the compliments Tuesday morning inside the brick-laden warehouse at Camden Yards, where Baltimore Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias sat beside Jared Banner, the club’s new general manager.

The spotlight belonged to Banner, who, according to Elias, is taking charge of the Orioles’ players and coaches, along with player development, performance and healthcare. But in explaining what made him the right hire, Elias acknowledged his own limitations.

“I think he’s better than I am in those areas,” Elias said.

Let’s give Elias credit for recognizing his shortcomings — and saying so out loud. Since his hiring in November 2018, he has transformed the Orioles and restored expectations. But the organization has stalled in recent seasons, and he’s handing Banner many of the responsibilities that will determine whether the Orioles contend again.

Elias needs the help.

The Orioles still haven’t won a postseason game during Elias’ tenure. Their young core, once a compelling reason to believe the losing would transform into something meaningful, has become a source of difficult questions. Several players have regressed or struggled to sustain the performances that made their futures seem so dazzling.

At what point does all that talent become an indictment of the people responsible for developing it?

Banner acknowledged the collective frustration before taking a question.

“To the fans, I want you to know, I know you’re frustrated,” he said. “It’s been a rough couple of years. We’re frustrated too, but you have our commitment. We’re going to build a winner here in Baltimore. We’re going to build a team that Baltimore can be proud of.”

OK. Let’s see it.

Elias is still on the hook for making good on that promise.

Some of you might have wanted Elias gone as he prepares to enter his ninth season atop the Orioles’ baseball operation. But controlling owner David Rubenstein has made his choice clear. Elias is getting at least another year.

You don’t have to like the decision, but there’s reason to give this newly established partnership a chance: Banner brings valuable experience from outside an organization that badly needs its assumptions challenged.

Will Elias listen when that means questioning his own decisions?

“Me and Mike are going to have to have some uncomfortable conversations at times, and there’s going to be some tension, and that’s what you need to do,” Banner said. “You need to challenge all your processes in order to get better.”

Hallelujah. The Orioles are 560–633 under Elias, with consecutive losing seasons and no postseason victories. Those results haven’t earned any executive or coach the right to go unchallenged.

Asked about the Orioles’ reliance on analytics, Banner said the club needs to draw from more than one well of information.

“I think we want to make information-based decisions. We want to gather as much information as we can,” Banner said. “That can be in data, that can be in scouting reports, it can be in a lot of other things, and then collate that information and then compare that to our short- and long-term goals and make good decisions.”

Having the data to explain why a player is struggling doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve helped him improve. Banner is expected to help close that gap.

Elias specifically included health care among Banner’s responsibilities, and that caught my attention. Rubenstein and Elias have frequently cited injuries to explain the Orioles’ struggles.

When I spoke with Tyler Zombro, the Cubs’ vice president of baseball operations and pitching strategy, about Banner’s experience with the Chicago Cubs, he described how even a slight weight gain could send Banner into the cafeteria asking questions about a player’s diet and daily habits. When several Cubs battled persistent blisters, Banner brought in an outside manicurist to help address the problem.

Banner’s willingness to pursue an unconventional solution suggests he’ll look beyond familiar answers when a player needs help.

I asked him about Gunnar Henderson, the shortstop who followed his 2023 American League Rookie of the Year award with a fourth-place finish in AL MVP voting in 2024. Why hasn’t Henderson, like several core Orioles, sustained his peak after demonstrating such exhilarating possibilities?

Only a week into the job, Banner declined to assess Henderson specifically. Fair enough, though it’s hard to imagine the interview process didn’t include a discussion of how he would get more from a player so central to Baltimore’s future.

Banner pointed instead to Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, whose 2025 All-Star season still left room for improvement. His chase and swing rates ranked among the league’s highest.

“He wasn’t satisfied with that,” Banner said. “And we talked about never being satisfied, and he went back to the drawing board, and we supported him in that, and then he became a 10-win player and the presumed National League MVP.”

“So the sky’s the limit,” he added. “We’re not putting any ceilings on any of these guys.”

Getting there starts with how the Orioles prepare. Baltimore committed 96 errors in 2026, tied for second most in the American League, and surrendered an MLB-worst 88 unearned runs.

Said Banner: “One of my main player development philosophies is we have to make practice more like the game, so that the game gets easier once you get in there.”

Banner arrived in a dark plaid suit, an open-collar white shirt and a bright orange pocket square, with matching “Shattered Backboard” Air Jordan 1s. Manager Craig Albernaz wore the same sneakers at his introduction news conference last November.

Baltimore has welcomed fresh perspectives before. As Albernaz has learned, the enthusiasm wears off quickly when the baseball doesn’t improve.

Elias admitted Banner can do important parts of his job better than he can. Give him credit for owning up to it.

Congratulations and welcome to Baltimore, Mr. Banner, where sustained winning is overdue.

____

©2026 The Baltimore Sun. Visit at baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.