(Baltimore) While remaining cautious, Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias said it’s clear the team would like to extend the contracts of some of its top young prospects.
As the American League East champions enter the off-season, the question is whether Elias can get along with them.
“We are working hard to keep this team as efficient and healthy as possible,” said the general manager. Obviously we have players that we really like in this formation and part of our objective of having a successful club is to be able to keep these players with us. »
Elias and team manager Brandon Hyde met with the media on Thursday, two days after the Orioles were eliminated against the Texas Rangers in the second round of the playoffs.
The Orioles, who have won 101 games this season, will need to find a way to extend the contracts of second-year catcher Adley Rutschman as well as their rookie shortstop Gunnar Henderson.
It’s not uncommon to see a team reach a long-term deal with their player long before the end of his contract.
However, the Orioles rank 29thIt is ranking of the Majors in terms of payroll. In an article by New York Times published in August, team president John Angelos seemed to doubt the possibility of seeing the Orioles’ young core remain in Baltimore.
“When people talk about giving $200 million to one player and $150 million to another, we would be so financially empty that we would have to raise prices massively,” Angelos said in the article.
On Thursday, Elias expressed hesitation regarding some players and the team’s future needs. The latter preferred to focus on the season that had just ended for his team. However, he seems to be aware of the surplus of young people in training, not all of whom can play at the same time.
With the exception of pitcher Félix Bautista, who will be out for a while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Elias said he was not aware of any other significant injuries on the team.
