Mike Elias has avoided the hot seat for most of the season, but there’s one way the Baltimore Orioles would have no choice but to jettison him before running this team further into the ground. And that’s if, amidst a fire sale during a season that was supposed to be everything but playoff-less, he decided to send Adley Rutschman on his way; specifically to the San Diego Padres.
The Padres will need to get active over the next few days to find a catcher that will help them offensively. In a loaded division that had the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, San Diego can’t afford to have holes in their offense. That’s where Rutschman comes in. Sure, it’s a long shot. But it’s not out of the question.
San Diego was able to land Juan Soto off the Washington Nationals in a blockbuster move, maybe they have another one in them to land Rutschman and continue to be competitive in a loaded NL West division.
Mike Elias is on thin ice and trading Adley Rutschman would certainly cost him his job
At this point, the Orioles probably don’t need anymore cause to get Elias out of Baltimore, but if he moves Rutschman over the next few days, it would certainly be the final straw. When he fired Brandon Hyde earlier this season, it sparked an uproar because Hyde became the scapegoat for the real problem.
Elias should have been way more aggressive this offseason in making this roster more competitive. Hyde didn’t have a lot to work with, so 15 wins in 43 games isn’t completely on him. It’s on Elias. Now he has a chance to put Orioles fans out of their misery completely with one final move to prove he doesn’t deserve a job.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, it’s possible Rutschman’s future in Baltimore is up in the air. And that has more to do with Elias than anything. The Orioles turned things around the last three seasons. They had winning seasons in each, reached the playoffs the last two and their 101 wins in 2023 was their first 100-plus win season in 43 years.
Rutschman was the core of this turnaround. Now it feels like the Orioles are far from being back in the playoffs and they certainly won’t be back anytime soon with Rutschman. Elias is to blame for that.
The Orioles were supposed to find a way to get back to ALDS this season after losing in the wild card last year. Instead, they could be losing their star player. If that happens, there’s a chance they lose their general manager too.