Craig Albernaz’s first press conference didn’t inspire Orioles confidence

Craig Albernaz was officially introduced as the Baltimore Orioles manager on Tuesday, and while his hire has been universally applauded, one of his first takeaways likely won't inspire much confidence from the fanbase. While acknowledging that he has already spoken with a handful of Orioles players, Albernaz was mum on what roster upgrades he would like to see this offseason.

Albernaz was deferring to Mike Elias, who, despite being on the hot seat throughout the regular season, was promoted to president of baseball operations. The Orioles don't appear to be in a rush to hire a general manager this offseason, and as Albernaz suggested, the stage is set to let Elias cook.

Letting Mike Elias cook created the Baltimore Orioles' disaster in 2025, and they need to learn from that

Sure, we've all been in the situation Albernaz was in. New to a job, and you don't want to ruffle feathers on your first day in the office. Having said that, it should only take Albernaz a day to realize that Elias and his cooking are what have been at the center of the Orioles' failures over the last year. All he has to do is look at how Elias replaced a Cy Young candidate in Corbin Burnes with the retirement tour of Charlie Morton.

Along the lines of Elias' cooking, David Rubenstein was on hand for Tuesday's press conference and suggested that the front office will have no "particular constraints" this offseason. Again, there's a little bit of "fool me once..." at play here, considering the Orioles have acted with constraints since Rubenstein took ownership control of the franchise. His arrival was meant to signal a new era for the Orioles, and the immediate result has been a rapid decline toward being the irrelevant team in the American League East.

Not to mention, it was Rubenstein who admitted to having some reservations about the Orioles' team-friendly extension with Samuel Basallo. That doesn't exactly give the impression that his wallet will be as open as it should be this offseason.

Saying the right thing has never been the problem with the Orioles. They know what they should do, but more times than not, that isn't what actually happens. This offseason could be the change of that fact, but it will take action before Orioles fans believe the 2026 season can be a bounce-back campaign.