Baltimore Orioles Part Ways With Front Office Executive

The Baltimore Orioles made a change to their vice president of player and staff development position on Thursday, mutually agreeing to part ways with Matt Blood who once held the title, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Blood joined the organization in 2019 as director of player development after previously serving as director of baseball innovation for the Texas Rangers. The year prior, Baltimore hired president of baseball operations Mike Elias away from the Houston Astros who won their first-ever World Series title in 2017.

Both executives have had a lengthy history, spending time together with the St. Louis Cardinals where Blood worked as a scout. Eventually, they went their separate ways and then reunited when Elias brought him on with the Orioles.

The pair got to work during their first year in Baltimore when Elias selected former fan favorite Adley Rutschman No. 1 overall and Gunnar Henderson in the second round of the MLB Draft. 

Under Blood's watch, both players made their debuts during the 2022 season and set themselves up to be cornerstones of the franchise with their respective .254 and .259 hitting averages. 

Moreover, Blood had a hand in the rise of "The Milkman," or Colton Cowser who made it to the show in 2023.

Even though his bat hasn't shown as much pop as Henderson or Rutschman, Cowser has made up for it in the outfield with some clutch plays, including a recent game-sealing home run robbery against the Colorado Rockies.

The 2023 season sparked major hope for the Orioles who last won a World Series in 1983. The team would have one of their best years to date, topping the AL East with an impressive 101-61 overall record and making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Their youth and inexperience showed when they suffered a three-game sweep by Texas in the AL Division Series.

Baltimore had similar results in 2024, finishing second to the New York Yankees in the division but falling short to the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card round and never recovering.

Since 2025, the Orioles have struggled to stay above .500 and are currently five games below at 71-76 overall even though they shipped off Rutschman at this year's deadline to the Boston Red Sox for a massive package that included Carlos Narváez and a group of prospects in Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, Enddy Azocar and Harold Rivas.

Furthermore, many questions were raised on Elias' tenure which owner David Rubenstein refuted, expressing his continued confidence in Elias' vision for the club per Jake Rill of MLB.com.

Still, Baltimore and Blood's decision to move on from each other doesn't bode well for a front office that has been unable to deliver despite having a new ownership group that has demonstrated a willingness to open up their checkbook as needed.