Orioles News: Mike Elias speaks to the media, and Adley Rutschman and Dylan Beavers return

It's been a busy weekend for the Baltimore Orioles. Their President of Baseball Operations, Mike Elias, gave a rare appearance to the media and made several interesting comments, Adley Rutschman and Dylan Beavers both returned from the IL, and on Saturday night, the Orioles once again embarrassed themselves as they dropped another winnable game.

Mike Elias projected confidence when talking about the 2026 Orioles

Elias gave out a lot of interesting quotes, some of which deserve their own article, as far as how deeply you could read into them. To summarize, Elias was asked several questions about the state of the Orioles at the midway point of the season, which was to be expected considering the fact that the team was five games under .500, had just had maybe their worst series of the year against the last-place Angels, and is inarguably a worse team than they expected to be.

Despite all of this, Elias chose to project confidence, pointing out that the team was just 1.5 games back at the time and stating, "I think we're going to be good" and "I very much believe we're going to get back on our feet in the second half".

When asked about potentially buying at the trade deadline, Elias was not so confident. When asked if the Orioles would be buyers, he responded with "I really hope so", "we'll have to see what the standings are," and "I'll be doing the right thing for the franchise". He did caveat these comments by saying that everyone in the front office is in the mindset of going for it, but it's clear that if the Orioles have a slow month in July, they will be sellers at this year's deadline.

Adley Rutschman and Dylan Beavers will make the Orioles lineup much more competitive

After a tough loss on Saturday, Orioles fans got some good news as Adley Rutschman and Dylan Beavers both came off the IL on Sunday morning. Rutschman's return comes as a huge relief, as the lineups the Orioles had been putting out on days when Basallo had to sit were hard to look at. With a concussion, there is always concern that rushing back could be really bad, so it'll be interesting to see how Rutschman looks in his first few games back.

Beavers will be an interesting addition. He was on fire when he hit the IL, and the Orioles have certainly missed him, but he did not look good at all in his rehab outings, and if that continues, it's possible he could be optioned to work some things out, as the Orioles now have a crowded outfield and sparse infield.

The corresponding moves for these call-ups were Jeremiah Jackson being optioned and Sam Huff being DFA'd. Jackson being optioned was disappointing because he's played a role with the Orioles all year, and the Orioles don't have much infield depth, but he'd really struggled at the plate since the calendar flipped over in May, so you can see how he became the guy. In a just world, Tyler O'Neill would be DFA'd to make room for Beavers, but he makes a lot of money, so he can't be held accountable for being terrible.

Hopeful Rutschman and Beavers returning can be the catalyst for the Orioles going on a run and forcing the front office's hand at the deadline. If not, Elias made it clear the Orioles are ready to give up if the standings indicate they should.

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