Orioles GM Mike Elias puts off question about 2024 payroll after Baltimore's disappointing playoffs exit

It's not a promising signal being sent from the club's decision-makers

The Baltimore Orioles, flush with young talent that's the envy of almost every other team in Major League Baseball, barged to 101 wins this season and an American League East title. In the playoffs, however, they suffered a sharp reversal of fortunes, as the Rangers swept them in the ALDS. 

Largely that sweep was the fault of the Baltimore rotation, which failed to perform adequately in any of the three games against Texas. That's notable because the strict payroll limitations put in place by owner John Angelos in essence prevented general manager Mike Elias from addressing a rotation that everyone knew would be a problem. Plainly, Angelos would prefer to pocket the club's abundant revenues rather than complement all that young talent with championship-worthy veteran additions. The lack of accountability extended toward revenue-sharing recipients allows Angelos to get away with it. 

As for whether things might change, the Orioles' offseason is not off to a promising start. This past season, they ranked a meager 25th in MLB in player payroll, which is roundly insufficient for a team with designs on contention. During a post-playoffs press conference Thursday, Elias was asked about this state of affairs with an eye toward a return to the postseason plus a deeper run in October next year. Via The Baltimore Sun's Nathan Ruiz, Elias said this when probed about whether payroll would go up for next season:

"It's Day One of the offseason." 

That, obviously, is an evasive non-answer. If Elias had good news -- even adequate news -- then he surely would've passed it along for consumption by a fanbase that's pretty frustrated about how the ALDS played out. Instead, he deflected the most basic question that could have been asked of the team's leaders. 

Like most contemporary baseball-operations execs, part of Elias' job is to wear it publicly on behalf of the owners. That means obfuscating and bobbing and weaving when asked about whether the owner -- Angelos in this instance -- will see to his very basic obligations. When you get replies such as this one, it's a tell that the owner will almost certainly not. That's too bad because the Orioles' successful rebuild and the players presently on the roster deserve better than that. Angelos, though, is nothing if not worse than whatever least acceptable standard can be applied to his ilk.