New Baltimore Orioles GM Jared Banner Sends Message to Fans Ahead of MLB Offseason

The Baltimore Orioles have a new general manager, and he came in with a message for a fanbase that has been waiting for answers.

Jared Banner was introduced earlier this week as Baltimore’s new GM, stepping into a role that gives him oversight of player development, coaching and performance across the organization. Banner will work alongside president of baseball operations Mike Elias as the Orioles look to end a two-year stretch without a postseason appearance.

Banner acknowledged the frustration that currently resides in the fanbase directly and promised the organization shares it. "I know you're frustrated. It's been a rough couple years. We're frustrated too, but you have our commitment. We're going to build a winner here in Baltimore," Banner said, per Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun.

Banner arrives with a deep background in baseball operations. He spent nearly six years with the Chicago Cubs, where he became assistant general manager in January 2024.

Before Chicago, he worked in player development with the New York Mets and spent 11 years in the Boston Red Sox organization. That résumé covers three organizations with different philosophies and different levels of success, and Banner has seen what works at each stop.

The division of responsibilities between Banner and Elias is clear. Banner takes ownership of the internal side. That includes minor-league players, coaches, player development, performance and healthcare. 

lias will focus on scouting, acquisitions and contracts. The two will collaborate on all decisions. That structure gives the organization two experienced operators working different parts of the same problem. It also should ease some of Elias' overall workload.

It is easy to understand why fans are frustrated. Baltimore won 101 games and the AL East title in 2023, then returned to the postseason in 2024.

Back-to-back losing seasons since then have raised questions about whether the organization will ever make it back to the postseason. Baltimore's roster has changed drastically since that 2023 peak.

Gunnar Henderson is essentially the last man standing from that core. Adley Rutschman, the face of the rebuild and the player the fanbase invested in most emotionally, was traded at this year’s deadline to the Boston Red Sox.

That move stung, and the relationship between the front office and the fanbase has been strained since. The Orioles finished 79-82 in 2026. Although they fought until the end, they came up short.

Banner is committed to better days in Baltimore. The Orioles’ next few seasons will determine whether he can keep it.