Mike Elias Has Message About Orioles' Core Amid Trade Rumors

A week of trade talk around the Baltimore Orioles finally got an answer when president of baseball operations Mike Elias spoke at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas.

The talk started when Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner reported that the club was open to offers on nearly everyone on the roster, with first baseman Pete Alonso as the only player off limits.

Elias did not dispute that report, and he said listening to other teams is part of the job, especially when a player is not signed to a big, long-term contract.

He then explained that taking calls is different from shopping players as he spoke with a group of reporters on Tuesday.

"But it doesn't mean we're motivated to trade players. It doesn't mean we're proactive," Elias said.

He also said a lot of the team's key, core players are very unlikely to go anywhere, an answer that Kostka and Jake Rill of MLB.com both tied to shortstop Gunnar Henderson in their stories.

Fans in Baltimore have a good reason to take these rumors seriously, because the club already traded catcher Adley Rutschman to the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 3, and he was part of the same young core.

That is why the report that the front office would listen on almost everyone got so much attention.

Henderson hit .225 with 24 home runs and a .712 OPS in 158 games in 2026, which is a long way from the 37 home runs and .893 OPS he put up in 2024.

There is a fair case that Baltimore should at least hear offers for him, but Elias said he fully expects a much better season from Henderson and that the club will work with his camp on his offseason development.

The Orioles went 79-82 and finished fourth in the American League East, and a team that has missed the postseason two years in a row cannot refuse to pick up the phone when other clubs call.

Elias got this one right, because listening costs nothing and the club should know what every player on the roster is worth to other teams.

Trading Henderson after a down year would be a mistake, though, because the Orioles would be selling a 25-year-old shortstop at a low point in his value.

Elias also said the club has the money to improve the roster through free agency or by trading for players on larger contracts, and that is the better path for this team.

The needs are starting pitchers and outfielders, and the outfield has already been called the weak spot of the roster.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers, who made 30 starts with a 4.03 ERA in 2026, is a free agent with a $23.15 million qualifying offer to answer by Tuesday, Nov. 17, and Elias said the team would like to keep him.

I would keep Henderson and spend the money on a starter and an outfielder, because moving a second core player in less than a year would tell the fan base that the group that won 101 games in 2023 is being taken apart.