While the Orioles’ playoffs hopes are on the line in the coming week and a half, Mike Elias probably doesn’t have to worry if his job is on the line, too.

On Friday, Baltimore’s president of baseball operations got a powerful endorsement from control person David Rubenstein, who said the ownership group is “very pleased” with how Elias is leading the franchise.

Rubenstein’s backing came at the end of a news conference heralding the contract extension signed by pitcher Kyle Bradish, who agreed to a five-year, $90 million deal last weekend. When asked if he had “similar long-term commitment and faith” in Elias as the team’s top executive, Rubenstein didn’t hesitate: “Absolutely.”

“I’m very, very happy, and we couldn’t be more pleased,” he added. “We’ve had some injuries, but that’s not Mike’s fault. And so, in the end, we’re very pleased and we’re really, really happy to have such a talented executive leading our baseball team.”

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Elias has presided over the Orioles since the 2019 season, when he began an overhaul of the franchise. He was the MLB executive of the year in 2023, when the Orioles won 101 games and the American League East title but did not win a playoff game.

The years since have been choppy. The Orioles had a wild-card berth but were swept in 2024, then fell flat in 2025, leading to the dismissal of manager Brandon Hyde in May.

As of Friday afternoon, the team sat three games out of a wild-card spot with a 50-53 record and several key players (including catchers Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo) on the injured list.

The team leveling off in the competitive AL East has aligned plenty of fans against Elias, who is overseeing his eighth season with the Orioles without a playoff victory.

Although Rubenstein inherited Elias when he took control of the Orioles in 2024, he has been a steady backer of his front office leader. The team promoted Elias before the 2025 offseason, and the ownership group has empowered him to sign several players to multiyear extensions and make the splashy offseason signing of Pete Alonso for $155 million.

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In the last year, the Orioles have extended the contracts of Basallo, pitcher Shane Baz and now Bradish — and Rubenstein has sat at the dais with Elias for every extension news conference.

“I think kind of building that culture of guys coming here, having success and wanting to stay here is important for us too,” Elias said during Bradish’s news conference. “And to me this is a big milestone in that regard.”

Rubenstein and Elias expressed optimism that the Orioles will make the playoffs this year. Fangraphs puts the team’s odds of securing a playoff berth at 21.9%, while Baseball Reference estimates it’s 18.2%.

The next nine games — in which the Orioles have series against the NL East-leading Braves, an AL wild-card-rival Tigers team and the powerhouse Phillies — will likely decide if the Orioles will buy or sell (or perhaps do some of both) at the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

“I think we all look at the record and we’re like, ‘Our record should be better,’” Elias said. “And there’s a lot of ways that it could have been, and health’s been a big part of it, but I think we could have played better and executed better and done things differently, top to bottom. But, where we’re at right now, we’re within arm’s reach of a playoff spot. We’ve got enough time left to get there.”

There’s a lot riding on the Orioles getting back into the postseason. But Elias’ job doesn’t seem to be included in the stakes.