Matt Blood Moving On: Could Mike Elias and Craig Albernaz Be Next? Orioles Face Critical Series in Toronto

The Baltimore Orioles are coming off a much-needed series victory over the Cleveland Guardians, but the questions surrounding the organization are not going away.

If anything, they are getting louder.

Baltimore enters its three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays with a 70-76 record and only 16 games remaining after the Toronto series. The Orioles are still technically alive in the American League Wild Card race, but the margin for error has become extremely small. Toronto enters the series at 73-73 and has been playing much better baseball than Baltimore over the last several weeks.

And now there is another significant storyline developing away from the field.

Matt Blood is moving on from the Orioles.

Blood had been with Baltimore since 2019 and had risen through the organization, most recently serving as vice president of player and staff development. Earlier this year, the Orioles promoted him into that role, where he continued overseeing minor league player development while also providing support for the major league staff, performance and sports medicine departments.

His departure is significant because Blood was not some outside employee with a minor role. He was part of the organizational structure that helped build the Orioles' player-development system during Mike Elias' tenure.

Now he is gone.

That naturally leads to the next question:

Could Mike Elias and Craig Albernaz be next?

Matt Blood's Departure Raises More Questions

The Orioles have experienced plenty of organizational change over the last two seasons.

Some of it was planned.

Some of it was forced.

Some of it was the natural result of an organization trying to figure out why a team that reached 101 wins in 2023 and returned to the postseason in 2024 suddenly became one of baseball's biggest disappointments.

Blood's career in Baltimore had been closely tied to that organizational transformation.

He originally joined the Orioles as director of player development in September 2019. Before Baltimore, he had worked for the Rangers, USA Baseball and the Cardinals. His connection to Elias also went back to their time with St. Louis.

That makes his exit worth watching.

It does not necessarily mean something is wrong with the Orioles' player-development system.

But when a team is struggling at the major league level, every change inside the organization becomes part of the larger conversation about accountability.

And Orioles fans have every right to ask where that accountability ultimately leads.

Does it stop with Blood?

Does it reach the manager?

Does it reach the president of baseball operations?

Or does ownership decide that the organization needs a much larger reset?

Is Mike Elias Really in Trouble?

This is the biggest question facing the Orioles.

Mike Elias has been in charge of baseball operations since November 2018. His tenure has produced both undeniable successes and major disappointments.

The rebuild eventually worked.

Baltimore went from one of baseball's worst teams to a 101-win club.

The Orioles developed young players, built one of baseball's better farm systems and eventually returned to October baseball.

But there is another side to the story.

The Orioles have not won a playoff game during the Elias era.

The 2025 season ended with Baltimore going 75-87 and finishing last in the American League East. Then 2026 began with expectations that the organization could rebound.

Instead, the Orioles have spent most of the season fighting just to stay relevant.

Baltimore briefly reached .500 and entered September within striking distance of the Wild Card, but the team collapsed during a critical stretch. The four-game sweep by Boston was especially damaging, and Baltimore's offense went into a deep slump at the worst possible time.

That is why Elias' future deserves legitimate discussion.

This isn't simply about whether fans are frustrated.

It is about whether ownership believes the organization is moving in the right direction.

The Orioles have invested heavily in infrastructure, including a new $23 million player-development complex in Sarasota. The organization has also expanded its analytical and player-development operations.

So the question for owner David Rubenstein and the rest of ownership is not whether Elias has accomplished anything.

He clearly has.

The question is whether he is still the person who should lead the next phase.

That is a different question.

Craig Albernaz Deserves His Own Evaluation

Craig Albernaz is in a different situation.

Unlike Elias, Albernaz has only been manager for one season.

That matters.

It would be unfair to place every problem with the Orioles on the manager.

The roster has had major problems.

The defense has been inconsistent.

The offense has been inconsistent.

The pitching staff has struggled at times.

Injuries have affected the team.

And some of the organization's biggest problems were created long before Albernaz arrived.

But managers are judged by what happens with the roster they are given.

That includes lineup construction, player usage, defensive positioning, bullpen decisions and how the team responds when things go badly.

And this is where Albernaz has opened himself up to criticism.

The handling of Samuel Basallo has been one of the biggest examples.

Baltimore invested heavily in Basallo's future, yet there have been stretches where the young catcher has not received the consistent playing time many fans expected. That has led to questions about whether the organization is fully committed to developing its young talent at the major league level.

Then there is Coby Mayo.

Mayo has become one of the biggest positives of the Orioles' second half.

His power has been impressive, particularly against left-handed pitching, and his second-half production has made it increasingly difficult to justify limiting his opportunities.

This is exactly the type of situation that should matter when ownership evaluates Albernaz.

Are young players being given enough opportunities?

Are the Orioles identifying their 2027 core?

Are veterans being prioritized over players who need major league experience?

Those questions are more important now than simply asking whether Baltimore wins 72, 74 or 76 games.

Toronto Is the Next Test

The Orioles now head north for three games against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

And this series is bigger than it looked a month ago.

Toronto enters at 73-73 and has gone 19-11 over its last 30 games. Baltimore is 14-16 over its last 30. The Blue Jays have also gone 7-3 over their last 10 games, while the Orioles enter at 3-7.

That tells you everything you need to know.

Toronto is playing better.

Baltimore is trying to survive.

And the Orioles don't have enough games remaining to wait for another turnaround.

Game 1: Chris Bassitt vs. Toronto

The opening game Friday night features Chris Bassitt for Baltimore.

Bassitt enters the matchup at 6-5 with a 4.96 ERA. Toronto has been one of the better teams in baseball recently, making the veteran right-hander's performance especially important.

The Orioles cannot afford to fall behind early.

They have spent too much of the season asking their offense to climb out of holes.

The formula has to change.

Get quality innings.

Play clean defense.

Create pressure on Toronto's pitching.

And most importantly, finish games.

Saturday and Sunday

The Orioles have two more opportunities Saturday and Sunday to take control of the series.

The exact pitching matchups can change based on roster decisions and scheduling, but the objective should remain simple:

Win the series.

A sweep would be enormous.

A series victory would keep Baltimore alive.

Losing the series would make the Wild Card climb even more difficult.

The Orioles already know what happens when they allow a critical opportunity to slip away.

They saw it against Boston.

They saw it during the September losing streak.

They cannot afford another one.

Dylan Beavers and Coby Mayo Are Part of the Answer

One of the few reasons to have optimism entering Toronto is that Baltimore has started seeing contributions from some younger players.

Dylan Beavers was a major part of the Orioles' offensive success against Cleveland.

He drove in three runs during Wednesday's eight-run third inning, helping Baltimore win 9-5 and take the series.

That is exactly what the Orioles need to see.

Beavers should be evaluated not simply as a player who can help finish 2026, but as someone who could be part of the 2027 lineup.

The same applies to Mayo.

Mayo's emergence has arguably been the biggest offensive development of the second half.

The Orioles need to find ways to get him into the lineup consistently.

If Baltimore is eliminated from the postseason race, the priority should become even clearer:

Find out who belongs in Baltimore next year.

That means giving Mayo opportunities.

It means finding out what Beavers can do over a longer stretch.

It means figuring out Basallo's role.

It means evaluating Jackson Holliday.

It means determining what the outfield should look like.

And it means determining which veterans actually fit the next version of this team.

The Real Question for Elias

This is where the Matt Blood story becomes bigger than Matt Blood.

If Elias remains, what exactly does he change?

That is the question I would want answered.

The Orioles cannot simply enter 2027 with the same basic philosophy and expect dramatically different results.

Something has to change.

Maybe it is the roster construction.

Maybe it is the coaching staff.

Maybe it is the approach to pitching.

Maybe it is how young players are developed and integrated.

Maybe it is the evaluation of free agents.

Maybe it is all of the above.

Elias has already demonstrated that he can rebuild an organization.

But rebuilding is no longer the objective.

Winning is.

The Orioles have moved past the stage where having one of baseball's best farm systems is enough.

Fans want a team that can actually contend.

They want meaningful October baseball.

And eventually, they want playoff victories.

Could Elias and Albernaz Both Be Gone?

It is possible.

But I would not say it is inevitable.

Elias has significant organizational power, and changing the head of baseball operations is much more complicated than changing managers. BaltimoreBaseball.com noted earlier this year that ownership had publicly supported Elias and that replacing him would be a major organizational undertaking.

Albernaz is even more difficult to evaluate after only one season.

If ownership believes the problems are primarily roster-related, Elias could remain while Albernaz gets another opportunity.

If ownership believes the problem is leadership throughout the baseball operation, both could be vulnerable.

And if the Orioles completely collapse down the stretch, the pressure will increase dramatically.

That is why the final games of 2026 matter even if Baltimore ultimately misses the playoffs.

Every game is now part of the evaluation.

Every young player is part of the evaluation.

Every decision is part of the evaluation.

Ravori Sports Final Take

Matt Blood leaving the Orioles does not automatically mean Mike Elias is next.

It does not automatically mean Craig Albernaz is next.

But it does reinforce the feeling that the Orioles are entering a period where ownership needs to take a hard look at the entire baseball operation.

The Orioles cannot continue selling fans on what the organization might become.

They need to show what they are becoming.

Elias deserves credit for turning Baltimore into a contender.

But he also deserves scrutiny for what has happened since the peak of that rebuild.

Albernaz deserves patience because this is his first season.

But he also deserves scrutiny because managers are responsible for how the roster is used.

And now Baltimore has only a handful of weeks left to determine what matters most heading into 2027.

The Toronto series is the next test.

The Orioles need to win.

Not because one series will suddenly fix everything.

It won't.

They need to win because if there is still a path to October, they have to keep walking it.

And if that path closes, the organization needs to stop pretending that 2026 was simply bad luck.

The Orioles need answers.

They need to know whether Coby Mayo is a centerpiece.

They need to know whether Dylan Beavers is part of the future.

They need to figure out Samuel Basallo.

They need to figure out the outfield.

They need to figure out the pitching staff.

And eventually, David Rubenstein needs to decide who he trusts to make those decisions.

Maybe that is Mike Elias.

Maybe it is Craig Albernaz.

Maybe it is both.

But after Matt Blood's departure, the bigger question surrounding Birdland is no longer simply who is leaving?

It is:

Who will still be here when the Orioles begin building the 2027 team?

The answer could determine whether Baltimore finally moves forward—or starts another organizational reset.