Baltimore Orioles: Three Takeaways From Mike Elias Interview

We learned a lot on Thursday evening thanks to an interview with Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias.

The offseason is officially upon us and while the Baltimore Orioles are expected to remain relatively quiet during the upcoming winter months, general manager Mike Elias and his staff have plenty to keep them occupied as they continue a long and extensive rebuild in the Charm City.

On Thursday evening, Elias joined MASN’s Jim Hunter and Roch Kubatko on 105.7 The Fan for about an hour to discuss a variety of topics from upcoming arbitration cases, to Rule 5 decisions, Trey Mancini, and plenty of other interesting topics as the offseason officially kicks off.

From reiterating how the organization will continue to focus on putting the infrastructure in place for long-term success (revamping the scouting department and international programs, putting together a staff of high-level personnel and minor league coaching staffs) to praising Brandon Hyde‘s first-year performance as a manager, Mike Elias, once again, did his best to inject a good bit of optimism into the minds of Orioles fans.

He also raised a few eyebrows with a few comments, or at least generated some discussion among fans. Maybe these were more about rumor/offseason activity starved fans reading way too much into an interview, but maybe not.

After sitting down and watching the Facebook stream, here are three of the bigger points raised by Elias and how they could impact the team in 2020.

What will the Baltimore Orioles do with Jonathan Villar?

It was widely assumed last season that Jonathan Villar would be traded by the trade deadline, but the deadline passed, no one offered Mike Elias a deal that made the organization better, and Villar stayed in the lineup, putting together one of the top offensive performances in the second half of the season for Baltimore.

Villar is now set to earn a raise in arbitration and has one more year on his contract. MLB Trade Rumors is projecting an increase in Villar’s salary from just less than $5 million to $10+ million in 2020. Is that salary too much for the Orioles to hang on to?

When asked about Villar on Thursday night, Mike Elias mentioned Villar’s stellar season and how he’s performing at his peak now at 28, with just one more year on his deal. “Whether he stays beyond that, I don’t know” said Elias. “Where we’re at as an organization, we have to entertain things with these guys and take the long term view of the club in mind.” “Money and budgets are a huge part of our business.” referring to the large group of arbitration-eligible players this offseason.

We know that Villar isn’t going to be a part of winning Orioles team, but non-tendering the one guy on the roster who steals bases at a high clip and led the way with a 4.0 fWAR season seems out of the question. After listening to Elias, it could now very well be an option.

While I’m sure Elias will work hard to find a deal and move Villar at what is likely to be his peak value, I find it very hard to believe he is non-tendered. Even at $10 million, you have to sign him, try to move him and if an offseason deal doesn’t come fruition, hope he has another good season and try again at next year’s deadline to salvage what you can.

Until a decision is made, this is sure to be on the bigger talking points of the offseason.

The Baltimore Orioles want to keep Trey Mancini around.

Like Villar, Trey Mancini’s name was often brought up in trade talks last season, but that talk seemed to slowly disappear as the trade deadline approached and the season came to a close. Elias spoke about Mancini on Thursday and his comments are likely to make many Baltimore Orioles fans pretty excited.

“I hope that he’s here. We love having him. I think he’s perfect for what we’re trying to do, the type of player and person we want. He’s great for this town.” That’s high praise for the 27-year-old outfielder/first baseman who is coming off a career year.

Elias did mention that he will listen if teams come calling for Mancini, but every team listens to offers on every player, even those they have no intention of moving. Mancini’s value is largely limited to American League teams and there aren’t very many organizations in dire need of a player like Mancini, at the moment.

Elias had a bit of a spark in his eye when talking about Mancini and his comments were clearly genuine observations about someone worthy of becoming the face of the Baltimore Orioles during this rebuild.

If fans are going to have to sit through another 100 loss season in 2020, we need someone to rally around and give us a reason to visit the ballpark. Trey Mancini is that guy. His 35 home runs, 38 doubles, 97 RBI, and .291/.364/.535 slash in 2019 makes it even easier to rally behind the former eighth-round pick out of Notre Dame.