Never a dull moment: The Orioles sometimes drive Mike Elias ‘crazy’ too

Mike Elias is watching this each night, too.

“We’re living and dying with every pitch,” the Orioles’ president of baseball operations said Friday afternoon, before Baltimore began its final series ahead of Monday’s trade deadline. “There have been a lot of games this season that have driven us crazy.”

Elias and the Orioles’ front office aren’t alone in that feeling, and the series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies is perhaps another example of the craziness that has defined this season.

The Orioles were down and out. Their bats went quiet after a first-inning salvo. And then a four-run seventh, featuring a two-run double from Christian Encarnacion-Strand and a two-run triple from Gunnar Henderson, flipped the game. The Orioles beat the Phillies, 6-4, to continue their flirtation with playoff relevancy.

With the win, the Orioles are only 54-56, yet they are only 1.5 games out of the final American League wild-card spot. Baltimore can at best reach .500 ahead of the trade deadline.

“I feel like they’re big in the sense that we’re, what, 1.5 out of the wild card now?” Henderson said. “At the end of the season it could come down to one game or a half a game, and you don’t want to look back and be like, ‘Gosh, I wish we would’ve done this in one game or that in another.’ You just want to get every game you can in this situation and not give one away.”

As the Orioles analyze the trade market, it is a twofold approach of buying and selling. Elias sees a path toward the postseason this year, even if it has dimmed considerably. The poor-performing American League has kept the door ajar for a sub-.500 club. But Elias is also remaining realistic about his team’s chances, and that could involve parting with players on expiring deals.

“We’re not going to have a strong bias toward being in one of those buckets, buyer or seller,” Elias said. “I think we put ourselves in a position where we can’t have a bias in either direction. So we are out in the market, on the phones, finding out what’s going on out there and looking at things on a case-by-case basis, looking for trades that we like, looking for exchanges of talent that we think make sense for the organization.

“Maybe those are short-term moves where we bring players in that are going to help us right now or next year. Maybe those are longer-term moves where we’re sending out guys that are on this team right now and bringing in players for the future of the organization.”

That approach hung over Camden Yards on Friday night. It wasn’t a full-throated endorsement of what Baltimore can achieve. It was a middle-ground approach, recognizing the hole the Orioles have dug through uneven play.

Elias hoped the team he assembled would be challenging for a postseason place. To be on the outside looking in at this point is “really disappointing,” he said.

“I think we’re still in this thing. I wish it was stronger, and I don’t think we can sink all our attention and chips into 2026,” Elias said. “I just don’t think that would be responsible. So we’re going to go out into the market with an open mind in both directions.”

Elias used that phrase — open mind — when discussing the future of catcher Adley Rutschman, as well. Rutschman, whose final year of team control is next season, has popped into trade deadline speculation as teams search for able catchers. Elias said the Orioles must “be pretty open-minded here as we go into these talks, but Adley is one of the best things we have going for us.”

The Orioles are fielding interest regarding Rutschman rather than shopping him. While there is interest in the catcher, that doesn’t mean the Orioles will trade him. Things can change, certain offers can lead to impactful decisions, and Elias never closes a door fully. But a deal appears unlikely.

With right-hander Brandon Young on the mound Friday, the Orioles matched their breakout starting pitcher against Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter, who suddenly finds himself receiving trade consideration from opposing teams. Both young arms allowed a pair of runs in the first inning.

Philadelphia scored twice off Young after recording two singles and a walk to begin the game. An RBI groundout brought home the second.

But Painter immediately gave back that lead. Dylan Beavers pulled a double, and Pete Alonso drove a two-run home run. That level score was short-lived, however. In the third inning, Trea Turner hit a solo homer off Young.

The Orioles entered Friday at 10-17 in one-run games. Some of those contests are the ones that have driven Elias and his front office crazy, and part of the issue is execution. When asked why Baltimore has been poor in one-run games, Elias noted the defense that has often proven a difference maker.

“We haven’t played great defense as a team. The results have been bad there,” said Elias, whose team leads the majors in unearned runs allowed at 70.

“I think we knew going into this that the team wasn’t built around defense, but we could’ve played better than we have been, and when you have some defensive lapses, it’s going to show up in close games,” Elias continued.

There has also been “misfortune,” he noted, including fluky injuries. Blaze Alexander broke his hand when he was hit by a pitch. Rutschman suffered a concussion when an errant throw hit his head. But the defense, certainly, has not helped.

“I don’t think it’s our coaches’ fault, and the players are working hard,” Elias said. “I look at it, it’s me and my staff. I think we need to do a better job in that regard. We can’t go all in on defense. You still have to worry about other parts of the game, scoring runs, but we’re trying to get better and smarter in the front office. This isn’t something that we don’t emphasize or don’t care about, but the execution of it, and the evaluations, I’m focused on me and what we can do better in that regard.”

On Friday, defense wasn’t the problem. Second baseman Jackson Holliday made three nice plays to his left, ranging into the grass before firing to first. Colton Cowser caught a fly ball deep in center field. Henderson made a sliding play at shortstop and fired a dart for an out.

The larger issue, for six innings, at least, was hitting. After Alonso’s homer, the Orioles went quiet against Painter.

After Beavers walked and Alonso singled to begin the third inning, Henderson struck out. Taylor Ward grounded out weakly. Leody Taveras struck out. Painter retired 10 straight Orioles between Alonso’s third-inning single and Ward’s sixth-inning walk.

Painter, who was recalled Friday from Triple-A, completed six innings with three hits and two runs against him. It was the 23-year-old’s best start in a rocky rookie season.

But, once the Orioles faced the Phillies bullpen, they broke through. Encarnacion-Strand came off the bench to provide a clutch, game-tying double off right-hander Orion Kerkering in the seventh. Once Alonso was hit by a pitch, the Phillies turned to left-hander Tim Mayza.

Henderson lashed a triple off Mayza to put Baltimore ahead by two runs. After sliding into third base, Henderson punched the dirt, fired up. This has been a trying season for him. How much this means to him, though, is clear.

“That’s what I want to do in that situation, to come through and at least push one across,” Henderson said. “Thankfully, I was able to get two. I was very happy to help the team win there.”

Before Henderson’s news conference finished, he made sure to shout out Encarnacion-Strand.

“That was an unbelievable at-bat coming off the bench off of one of their better relievers,” Henderson said. “He has come up and been unbelievable, and it has been really fun watching him and couldn’t be happier for him.”

With the lead, the Orioles turned to right-hander Yennier Cano, who signed a two-year contract before the game. He produced a 1-2-3 inning. And then right-hander Tyler Wells shut the door on the victory.

There is rarely a dull moment with this team. Its middling record supports the roller coaster it has sent fans — and the president of baseball operations — on this year.

By Monday, Elias will have bought and sold. What comes next will probably be more craziness.

“We never feel like we’re out of it,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “We always have a chance.”