Mike Elias Praises Baltimore Orioles Owner After Exciting Waiver Claim

Nearly all hope was lost for the Baltimore Orioles at this year's trade deadline. After dealing away multiple pieces including fan favorite catcher Adley Rutschman, it appeared this was a lost season, and the organization would try again with a revamped roster in 2027. 

However, Baltimore has dominated in the month of August with the offense exploding, and now they are right back in the mix for the final American League wild card spot. The turnaround has been one of the more surprising stories in baseball over the past month. Baltimore finished the month of August winning four consecutive games.

As a result, the team decided to make a move on the waiver wire, claiming outfielder Luis Robert Jr. from the New York Mets just days ago. Robert will effectively fill the void left by outfielder Tyler O'Neill, who landed on the 10-day injured list.

However, acquiring Robert was not cheap. The Orioles are on the hook for $5 million, a costly investment for potentially just four weeks of the regular season and a potential playoff run. President of baseball operations Mike Elias praised owner David Rubenstein for authorizing the claim when speaking on MLB Now this week. 

"I really want to thank and credit our owners, David Rubenstein, for recognizing the position that the team was in, wanting to do everything they could to help and committing what could potentially be that amount of money toward somebody who is going to come and hopefully help us for the month of September, but hopefully into October," Elias said. 

Robert should make a big impact for Baltimore as long as he stays healthy. In August with the Mets, the 29-year-old former All-Star posted a .267 batting average, .321 on-base percentage and .841 OPS with six home runs and 11 RBIs across 24 appearances, fully showing he still has plenty of pop in the bat.

He will likely operate in a platoon role in Baltimore but should be a valuable piece for manager Craig Albernaz down the stretch and potentially into October. 

Rubenstein has shown a consistent willingness to commit money in Baltimore beyond just this $5 million investment in Robert. The Orioles signed first baseman Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million deal last offseason.

They have also extended multiple core pieces including pitchers Shane Baz and Kyle Bradish along with catcher Samuel Basallo over the past two years. All of those contracts have looked like early successes, and this latest commitment from ownership signals they are fully bought in on this team for the future.