GM says Orioles eye extensions with young stars
BALTIMORE — With a good deal of caution, Mike Elias indicated that yes, the Baltimore Orioles would like to pursue contract extensions for some of their top young players.
Whether the general manager can pull that off is just one lingering question as the AL East champions head into the offseason.
“We are very focused on keeping this organization as successful and healthy as possible, within the constraints of reality,” Elias said. “Obviously, we have players here that we love … and part of the calculus of keeping this franchise healthy is pursuing or examining opportunities to possibly keep some of these guys longer.”
Elias and manager Brandon Hyde met with reporters Thursday, two days after Baltimore was eliminated by Texas in the AL Division Series. The 101-win Orioles have a roster full of talented young players with plenty of team control, but they can try to be proactive about extensions for standouts like second-year catcher Adley Rutschman and rookie shortstop Gunnar Henderson.
It’s not uncommon for teams to reach long-term deals with players well before they hit free agency, in a way that offers financial security for the player and cost certainty — plus a longer contract term — for the team.
“We quietly work on this in the background,” Elias said. “I don’t want to be the one now talking about it, but obviously that’s a part of our job as a front office.”
The question is of particular significance because the Orioles rank 29th in payroll, and in an August piece in the New York Times, Orioles chairman John Angelos seemed to raise doubts about keeping the team’s young core together.
“When people talk about giving this player $200 million, that player $150 million, we would be so financially underwater that you’d have to raise the prices massively,” Angelos was quoted as saying.
Since then, Baltimore won its division and announced a deal with the state keeping the Orioles at Camden Yards another 30 years. On Thursday, Elias was asked about Angelos’ comments as they relate to extensions for young stars.
“Speaking from personal experience, I think sometimes when you stand somewhere and talk to the media and try to say things and have them be interesting for 40 minutes, things don’t come out exactly how you meant them,” Elias said. “Especially little snippets of what you said.”
Elias was very reticent about specific players and team needs going forward, preferring to look more at the season that just ended. He does seem aware that the Orioles might have a surplus of young players who can’t all play at once.
“It’s all I think about every day of my life,” Elias said, drawing a laugh. “I’m not wanting to talk about it. I think I want to reflect on 2023, promise everybody and the fans that we’re keeping our foot on the gas pedal for keeping Baltimore baseball great and having an even better season next year. Especially in the postseason, to whatever degree we can control that.”
Although star closer Felix Bautista will be out for a while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Elias said he’s not aware of any other significant new injury concerns for the offseason. Left-hander John Means is apparently OK after he was left off the ALDS roster.
“His elbow just kind of barked at an unfortunate time for him, but we’ve gotten it looked at,” Elias said. “He’s going to be fine.”
Penn State has fired coach James Franklin after 12 seasons, the school announced Sunday.
Franklin is owed more than $49 million, according to his contract. It’s the second-biggest buyout in college football history behind only Jimbo Fisher’s $76 million buyout from Texas A&M.
Associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as the Nittany Lions’ interim head coach for the remainder of the season, the school said.
Less than a year removed from an appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals, Franklin’s program appeared to hit a new low when the Nittany Lions traveled out to Los Angeles two weeks ago only to lose to UCLA, a team that not only was winless but hadn’t previously held a lead all season.
The woes flew back home with the team to Penn State, and with them came “Fire Franklin!” chants at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. The Nittany Lions dropped their second straight home game, and third overall, when they fell to Northwestern 22-21 in front of a stunned crowd at Happy Valley.
With the two losses, Penn State became the first team since the FBS and FCS split in 1978 to lose consecutive games while favored by 20 or more points in each game, according to ESPN Research.
In Saturday’s defeat to the Wildcats, the Nittany Lions committed six penalties for 71 yards in the first half alone. They simply could never get out of their own way, and that was before quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth quarter.
Earlier in the season, when the losing streak began against Oregon at Happy Valley, Franklin fell to 4-21 at Penn State against AP top-10 opponents, including 1-18 against top-10 Big Ten teams.
Franklin’s .160 winning percentage against AP top-10 teams is tied for the third-worst record by a coach (minimum 25 games) at a single school since the poll era began in 1936, according to ESPN Research.
Hired in 2014 in the wake of Bill O’Brien’s departure for the NFL, Franklin inherited a team still feeling the effects of unprecedented NCAA sanctions in the wake of Jerry Sandusky’s sexual-abuse crimes.
Armed with relentless optimism and an ability to recruit, Franklin’s program regularly churned out NFL-level talent, from Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley to Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons. Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to the 2016 Big Ten title and a seemingly permanent spot in the rankings.
There was hope this fall might be the season when Penn State would finally break through and win its third national championship and first since 1986. Yet after three easy wins during a light nonconference schedule, the Nittany Lions crumbled.
Athletic director Pat Kraft said the school owes Franklin an “enormous amount of gratitude” for leading the Nittany Lions back to relevance but felt it was time to make a change.
“We hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships,” Kraft said.
The move will cost Penn State at a time the athletic department has committed to a $700 million renovation to Beaver Stadium. The project is expected to be completed by 2027.
Former athletic director Sandy Barbour signed Franklin to a 10-year contract extension worth up to $85 million in 2021. According to terms of the deal, Penn State will have to pay Franklin’s base salary of $500,000, supplemental pay of $6.5 million and an insurance loan of $1 million until 2031.
It’s a steep price, but one the university appears willing to pay to find a coach who can complete the climb to a national title.
“We have the best college football fans in America, a rich tradition of excellence, significant investments in our program, compete in the best conference in college sports and have a state-of-the-art renovated stadium on the horizon,” Kraft said. “I am confident in our future and in our ability to attract elite candidates to lead our program.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Oregon State has fired coach Trent Bray in the wake of an 0-7 start, the school announced Sunday.
It is the worst start for the Beavers since 1991, when they started 0-10.
“I want to thank Coach Bray for the energy and determination he brought to the role,” athletic director Scott Barnes said in a statement. “… This was a difficult decision, but the results on the field were not acceptable and after evaluating every aspect of the football program, I believe it is in the best interests of OSU football student-athletes, our fans and our university.”
Bray, an Oregon State alum who got promoted to the head coaching job after Jonathan Smith left for Michigan State following the 2023 season, finishes with a 5-14 record after taking over in 2024.
Robb Akey, who was in his first year as special assistant to the head coach, has been named interim coach for the remainder of the season. He was the defensive coordinator at Central Michigan from 2019 to 2024.
Bray is expected to be owed a little more than $4 million in buyout money, as he was in the second year of a five-year contract. The school said the buyout will come from donor-generated funds.
The move comes after a difficult start for the Beavers, which included heartbreaking losses at home to Houston and on the road at Appalachian State. Wake Forest handily won in Corvallis on Saturday, 39-14, with a backup quarterback starting for the Demon Deacons.
“I’m frustrated. I’m disappointed. I look at myself, and I’ve got to fix it,” Bray said after Saturday’s game. “It’s unacceptable to me where we’re at. That’s just how I look at it. What can I do? I’ve got to look at it. What can I do different to get these guys going?”
Special teams coordinator Jamie Christian was fired following the loss to Appalachian State.
The move comes amid a time of financial uncertainty in college athletics, as Oregon State is set to be part of the refurbished Pac-12 in 2026. Oregon State is adjusting to significantly lower television payouts.
Oregon State made three straight bowl games under Smith prior to his departure, and Bray was a linchpin of that rebuild. Oregon State was ranked as high as No. 10 in the country in 2023.
Bray is a former All-Pac-12 player at Oregon State, an honor he earned in 2005.
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