The Orioles finalized a deal with Craig Albernaz to become the club’s next manager, the team announced Monday. The move will elevate the associate manager for the Cleveland Guardians to the top job in Baltimore, where Albernaz will handle the task of guiding a young core back to contention.

The 42-year-old replaces interim manager Tony Mansolino, who was a candidate for the full-time position after leading the team to a 60-59 record following the dismissal of Brandon Hyde in mid-May.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to join the storied Baltimore Orioles organization,” Albernaz said in a statement. “This is a tremendous honor, and I’m grateful to Mike Elias and the entire Orioles team for entrusting me with the responsibility of leading this talented club.”

Baltimore finished the season 75-87 and in last place in the American League East. The Orioles were one of several teams who had a managerial opening to begin the offseason, and after a largely hushed search, they’ve settled upon Albernaz, who will become a first-time manager.

“Craig has built an exemplary career across multiple successful organizations and brings a tremendous amount of experience, knowledge, and talent to our organization and to this new challenge,” Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said in a statement. “We believe he is the right person at the right time to elevate our baseball operations and guide our team back to the playoffs and a World Series Championship.”

Elias said at his end-of-season press conference that managerial experience could be a bonus, but wasn’t the only consideration.

Albernaz played as a catcher during his minor league career but then stepped into the coaching ranks shortly after retiring. His coaching career began with the Tampa Bay Rays in the minor leagues before he leaped to the majors for the San Francisco Giants as their bullpen and catching coach.

In November 2023, he joined Cleveland as the bench coach under manager Stephen Vogt. He was promoted to the associate manager position ahead of the 2025 season.

Albernaz and Vogt are close friends. But in the time Albernaz has been in Cleveland, he stood out by himself as a key piece of the coaching staff.

Ahead of the 2025 season, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told MLB.com that Albernaz had “endeared himself to so many people in such a short time.”

“I think about how he didn’t have many preexisting relationships coming in, and he’s built so many great relationships across the organization,” Antonetti said.

Albernaz has been a sought-after candidate for two years. Last winter, the Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox were interested in him, but he ultimately remained in Cleveland. This offseason, the Nationals also interviewed Albernaz.

Albernaz told MLB.com last year that turning down managerial positions was a difficult choice.

“It was tough, but also it wasn’t tough in the same regard, because I know where I’m at, I know what I value, what my wife values,” he said. “I think it’s when you get to that position that you’re fortunate enough to have those conversations, you can kind of decipher what you value and what you want to see your future should be.”

The task now for Albernaz is to right the ship in Baltimore.

He will inherit a clubhouse full of young talent who haven’t played to their potential. The Orioles had several key players finish with a sub-.700 OPS, including Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday and Tyler O’Neill. As part of that underachievement, the Orioles fell out of playoff contention early, missing October baseball for the first time since 2022.

There are bright spots, however, including the strong return from elbow surgery for right-hander Kyle Bradish and the breakout form of left-hander Trevor Rogers.

Albernaz often speaks of the importance of fundamentally sound baseball, and one of the best advertisements of that belief is how well Cleveland played defensively. In his two years for the Guardians, they were second in MLB with a 72 run value. During that same time frame, the Orioles were 25th at negative-37.

Run value is an aggregation of all a defense’s successes or failures, such as player range, arm strength and double plays turned.