A little over a month into the season — a month that leaves the Orioles at 12-18 and looking up at their American League East competition — the message from general manager Mike Elias was one that acknowledged the issues at play while expressing confidence in Baltimore’s ability to turn its fortunes around without major reshuffling.

Elias expressed confidence in manager Brandon Hyde, whom he hired shortly after becoming general manager of the Orioles, to orchestrate a turnaround. Elias emphasized the support from the team’s new ownership group and their mutual desire to win. And he downplayed any urgency to overhaul the roster he built over the winter.

“I’m very optimistic and confident that we have a lot better baseball ahead and we’re gonna play like the way that we should be this season.”

Orioles general manager Mike Elias

Still, Elias was unequivocal in how he viewed the performances from the first month, and at whose feet they ultimately rest.

“It’s been really disappointing for all of us in the organization,” Elias said. “It’s been very difficult and we have not performed to expectations, so we all feel that. I feel that.”

He added that injuries to pitchers and position players have not helped. The Orioles are without right-handers Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez and Andrew Kittredge, although Eflin and Kittredge will begin a rehab assignment at Aberdeen on Sunday. Rodriguez’s return is farther off and based on imaging of his strained lat scheduled this month.

But Elias noted that, injuries aside, the club’s 6.04 ERA from its starting pitchers isn’t good enough.

“I’m in charge of baseball operations, and when we have a bad record to start the year, that’s my responsibility,” Elias said. “But we are all working very hard and we have a lot of faith in this very talented group, and piece by piece, step by step, we’re gonna get guys healthier, we’re gonna get guys performing more to their norms. If there’s something we can fix with a player, we’re working on that. And I’m very optimistic and confident that we have a lot better baseball ahead and we’re gonna play like the way that we should be this season.”

To this point, the Orioles have mirrored much of their second-half slide from 2024. The offensive production, particularly with runners in scoring position (.190 average, 29th in the majors), is lacking.

The starting pitching has been at the core of those issues, however.

During the offseason, Elias sought out right-handers Tomoyuki Sugano, Charlie Morton and Kyle Gibson to supplement the rotation. The performances from Sugano have been encouraging, and his 3.00 ERA supports that. But Morton holds a 9.45 ERA in 26 2/3 innings and Gibson allowed nine runs in his debut.

“I think this is my 18th year in Major League Baseball, a lot of that in scouting the draft, international scouting and then this job,” Elias said. “I am constantly second-guessing, analyzing, looking at things that I’ve done, that I didn’t do, the way that I did them, the processes, the outcomes. I’m doing that all the time. It’s a big part of how I go about my career.”

The early performances from Morton — who has been moved to the bullpen for the short term — give Elias plenty to think about. Morton said he’s taking the bullpen move as an attempt to “try to get dialed back in.”

Added Elias: “He’s extremely frustrated and disappointed with his start. We’re not hiding from it. It’s been something that’s led to some bad results here, part of our rough start. We’re working with him to fix him, and in the meantime he’s going to help the team from the bullpen.”

Beyond that adjustment, however, Elias said now is not the time for drastic moves. That includes player acquisitions or departures, and it certainly includes Hyde, who is in his seventh season at the helm.

Elias commended the way Hyde “cares for his players” and how he incorporates “information at his disposal in a way that is intelligent.”

Still, Elias said, the start to the season “is wearing on both of us, but he’s handling it well.”

“Very confident in Brandon Hyde,” Elias said. “When we’re experiencing failure, it’s really important in that job — and in my job, too — to be consistent with your approach. And he’s doing that.”

When asked about his conversations with Elias, Hyde said the pair talk multiple times a day. The consensus in those conversations is that they are “not satisfied in the least bit. We know our team can play better than we have.”

Elias has a clear approach to team building. He oversaw a rebuild in Baltimore based on high draft picks, developing hitters and turning them into a pipeline of prospect talent. Those prospects began reaching the majors in 2022, with catcher Adley Rutschman leading the charge, and the results turned with them.

The Orioles won 101 games in 2023 and 91 last year. Baltimore has yet to win a postseason game, however, and the beginning of the 2025 season leaves questions whether the process Elias practices can work.

“I’ve been doing this for a while, in some different jobs, but the consistent thing is that I’m always adapting,” Elias said. “Certainly, when you’re not getting the results you want, you try to see if there’s things you can do to adapt.”

What, exactly, Elias might adapt remains to be seen.

Before Elias’ media session in the dugout Friday, he said, he had a call with the ownership group led by David Rubenstein. Those are formal calls on a regular basis. The conversations revolve around how to make Baltimore a consistent winner — and lately they have featured the acknowledgment that the product over the first month has not been up to par.

“We want to win,” Elias said. “We want to win with this team, this season. And this is not up to anyone’s standards or expectations, and that includes them.”