Elias: Extensions for O's young stars 'something we're working on'

BALTIMORE -- There have been many instances in recent years in which Orioles general manager Mike Elias has been asked by the media about potential long-term extensions for key players on his roster. Each time, Elias has declined to delve too deep into the subject, often stating his front office “quietly” works on any such discussions in the background.

It hasn’t stopped the questions from coming, especially now with many young superstars around baseball recently getting paid. Elias was again posed a question on the topic on Tuesday, when he held court in the first-base dugout at Camden Yards prior to the series opener vs. Cleveland.

“I’m aware of what’s going on, and I’m aware of the conversation around us,” said Elias, who hasn’t signed any player to a large extension since becoming GM in November 2018. “I guess I’ll be a little more revelatory than I have been: This is something we’re working on.”

Then, Elias dished more info on the O’s efforts to keep their centerpiece players long term.

“There are guys on this team that we would like to have on this team longer than they’re currently slated for. It’s not a point-and-shoot thing. It’s case by case,” Elias said. “There are different players, different skill levels, different representatives, different philosophies around how to handle players at different age levels. We’ve got some really good ones, and on top of that, we’ve had a very recent ownership change after a kind of protracted thing during a rebuild. These guys are great, but they’re relatively new.

“There’s only so much I can say about it other than it’s something we want to do if it makes sense, that we are working on it, and, if it happens, we’ll be out here talking about it.”

Plenty of other teams are making it happen. The Blue Jays signed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year, $500 million deal. The Padres inked Jackson Merrill to a nine-year, $135 million extension. The Red Sox worked out extensions with Kristian Campbell (eight years, $60 million) and Garrett Crochet (six years, $170 million).

And those have all happened this year. Some franchises -- such as the Braves, for one -- have excelled at getting young players signed to extensions, often buying out their arbitration years and ensuring they’ll be with the team even beyond that.

Meanwhile, the Orioles are the only MLB team that has not signed a player to an extension of four-plus guaranteed years since 2019. In Elias’ tenure, only one player has been signed to a multiyear deal -- outfielder Tyler O’Neill (three years, $49.5 million in December).

Among the prime candidates for extensions on Baltimore’s roster are catcher Adley Rutschman, shortstop Gunnar Henderson, fellow infielders Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday and outfielder Colton Cowser. All of those players were selected by Elias within the first two rounds of an MLB Draft.

“It's certainly something that we're not oblivious to, the potential value of keeping great athletes in Baltimore when you can,” Elias said. “This is Major League Baseball. It's different than other sports, and it's a complicated topic sometimes. But we are doing everything within our power to do as well on this front as we can.”

The Orioles have expressed a willingness to spend more money since private equity billionaire David Rubenstein and his group purchased the team in March 2024. They’ve also put their money where their mouth is -- according to a source, the O’s offered Corbin Burnes a four-year, $180 million deal this past offseason that would have given him the highest average annual value of any pitcher in baseball.

“We made a good offer and a good run, good effort, to retain Corbin Burnes. We knew it was going to be competitive. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Elias said Tuesday. “It ultimately didn’t end up with him staying with the team. ... I wish him very well, but we move on, and we’ll be adding more quality pitching as the years go on.”

Perhaps the money will even be reallocated to allow Baltimore to sign youngsters to big deals.

It sure feels like long-term extensions are more possible now than at any previous point under Elias, whose forthcoming nature on the subject could be a sign that such deals are imminent. Or at least more realistic than they once were.

“We're doing a lot around the organization to spruce up the organization: the stadiums, the facilities, the resources available to the players behind the scenes,” Elias said. “There are going to be contracts involved in that, free-agent extensions. It's going to happen over time.

“That's the most I can say about it right now, but it's certainly something that my staff and I and the ownership group are applying a lot of attention to.”