Orioles' new GM Jared Banner's strength lies in exactly the right place

ESPN's Jeff Passan broke the news on October 19 that the Baltimore Orioles were finally filling their open General Manager position. Jared Banner, an Assistant Manager with the Chicago Cubs, was being hired to fill the role. The 41-year-old has spent nearly 20 years in MLB in a variety of executive roles. Baltimore's GM position has been open since Mike Elias was promoted to President of Baseball Operations before the 2025 season.

Banner joined the Cubs in 2020, first in the role of Vice President, Special Projects, then was promoted to Vice President, Player Development, and then to AGM. Before joining the Cubs, he spent almost two years as the Executive Director, Player Development with the Mets. The Amherst College Alum entered baseball in 2007 with the Red Sox in a player development role, spending almost 12 years with Boston in different scouting and player personnel roles.

What should have Birdland excited is the amount of experience Banner brings from the player development side. Baltimore has a young roster with a lot of prospects on the way. Having someone who has that amount of experience in player development will only help a young roster reach greater heights.

The Red Sox and Cubs are also two organizations known for developing talent. In his time in Boston, Banner would have seen Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and others develop through the prospect ranks to become award-winning players. In Chicago, players such as Cade Horton, Michael Busch, and maybe Banner's crowning achievement, Pete Crow-Armstrong, have developed to become key members of their team.

Jarred Banner's resume lists years of experience and key mentors in areas where the Orioles need real help

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Banner was key in the acquisition of PCA. Due to his time with the Mets from 2018-2020, Banner was familiar with the likely NL MVPs development. The Cubs then acquired PCA in the deal that sent Javier Baez to New York in 2021, just seven months into Banner's tenure with the Cubs.

Banner has also spent time under a wealth of highly respected baseball executives in his time in the sport. Since he joined the Red Sox in 2007, he has three World Series rings, from three different GMs/President of Baseball Operations. Theo Epstein was running Boston when Banner first started there; then, the current Pirates' GM, Ben Cherington, replaced him in 2011. Dave Dombrowski took over from Cherrington in mid-2015 as the POBO. In Chicago, he has worked under Jed Hoyer (whom he also worked under in Boston from 2007-2009). Epstein, Dombrowski, and Hoyer are all very respected execs, and Cherrington has been around for a very long time.

Banner now gets to use the wealth of knowledge he will have gained from his years of experience to help the Orioles develop their young talent. Just on the major league roster, Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, and Coby Mayo are among the players who should benefit. In the minors, Baltimore has six top 100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline, and the talent doesn't stop there.

Barring the unforeseen, Banner should be an excellent fit for the Orioles. His skills match exactly what Baltimore needs at the moment. He has been around the game for a long time and has seen many great players. Now it's his turn to help Baltimore to get over the hump and win a playoff series.

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