The Baltimore Orioles named Jared Banner general manager on Thursday, pulling him from the Chicago Cubs front office after four seasons as assistant GM. Banner, 38, replaces Mike Elias, who left in November to run baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays. The hire ends a search that began 87 days ago and included at least three internal candidates.
Banner joined the Cubs in January 2021 from the Boston Red Sox, where he spent nine years climbing from intern to vice president of baseball operations. In Chicago, he reported to president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and oversaw amateur scouting, player development infrastructure, and salary arbitration cases. The Cubs went 283-281 during his tenure, missing the postseason three times and reaching the Wild Card round once. He was part of the group that rebuilt Chicago's international scouting apparatus after the club was banned from signing players for two years following a July 2017 penalty. That system has since produced middle infielders Miguel Amaya and Cristian Hernández, both signed under Banner's watch.
The Orioles promotion matters because Baltimore is the rare club exiting a true rebuild with payroll flexibility and a full farm system. The 2025 Opening Day roster projects to $142 million, roughly $90 million below the competitive balance tax threshold. Banner inherits catcher Adley Rutschman, outfielder Colton Cowser, and starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez—all pre-arbitration—plus shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who has two arbitration years remaining. The club's Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk holds six position players with top-100 prospect pedigree per Baseball America's winter rankings. Banner's job is to convert that depth into rotation help and bullpen stability without hemorrhaging the positional talent that made Baltimore 101-61 in 2023 and 91-71 last season.
The Orioles front office now includes Banner, vice president and assistant GM Sig Mejdal (analytics), and senior vice president Eve Rosenbaum (baseball operations), all reporting to chairman and CEO John Angelos. Mejdal was considered the internal favorite before the club widened its search in December. His retention signals the Orioles will keep their quantitative infrastructure intact while adding Banner's player development and scouting background. Sponsors and suite-license holders should note the club has not yet extended manager Brandon Hyde, whose contract expires after the 2025 season. Hyde's status and Banner's first major-league free-agent signing—likely a starter, given Baltimore's 4.14 rotation ERA last year—will define the front office's first six months.
Chicago now has an opening at assistant GM. Hoyer typically promotes from within; vice president of player personnel Dan Kantrovitz and vice president of scouting Dan Carte are the obvious candidates. Both have been with the Cubs since the Theo Epstein era. The club has $87 million committed to 2026 payroll and needs bullpen depth after non-tendering four relievers in November. Whoever replaces Banner will inherit a thin 40-man roster and a directive to cut payroll below the first luxury tax threshold by Opening Day.
Banner's first test arrives February 12, when pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota. Baltimore has $18 million in arbitration cases to settle before then.
The takeaway
Banner brings player development depth to an Orioles club with **$90M** in payroll room and six top prospects one level from the majors.
Editorial & Disclosure Notice: This article was written with artificial intelligence from public sources and is published without individual human review. Artificial intelligence and other digital tools are also used for research, analysis, editing, formatting, and production. Errors, omissions, outdated information, or inaccuracies may occur. References to companies, brands, products, services, organizations, or individuals are for informational and editorial purposes and do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation, partnership, or approval unless expressly stated. All trademarks and other intellectual property remain the property of their respective owners. Opinions, analysis, estimates, and commentary are informational only and should not be construed as financial, investment, legal, tax, medical, procurement, or other professional advice. Information may be corrected, clarified, or updated after publication. Corrections or removal requests: jenny@pops4.com.
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