Banner, Smith and an open chair in Seattle: baseball's front offices reshuffle

Banner to Baltimore

The Orioles hired Jared Banner, 41, as general manager, the team announced Monday. Banner had been the Cubs' assistant GM since 2024 after running player development in Chicago and with the Mets; he spent 11 years with the Red Sox and has 18 years in baseball operations overall. He will work under Mike Elias, who was promoted to president of baseball operations before the 2025 season. m:…2070

The shakeup runs deeper than the GM chair. Sig Mejdal is off the analytics department and onto research of emerging technologies and innovative practices, and the club parted ways with Matt Blood. Baltimore finished 79-82, fourth in the AL East, and introduces Banner at a press conference on Oct. 27. m:…2070

My read, marked as analysis rather than a reported fact: the hire completes the structure Elias has been building since his promotion — a GM to run the day-to-day while the president of baseball operations sets direction. And the deeper signal is the research shuffle: moving Mejdal, one of the game's best-known analytics minds, from running analytics to researching emerging technologies suggests Baltimore is reorganizing what its front office studies, not just who runs it. m:…2070

Smith to the A's

The Athletics hired Taylor Smith as president of baseball operations. Smith spent seven seasons with the Rays' research and development group before two seasons as the Red Sox's senior vice president and assistant general manager, and holds bachelor's and master's degrees in statistics plus a bachelor's in mathematics from the University of Georgia. That is the analytics-to-executive pipeline in its purest form — my characterization, not the club's wording. m:…1374

He takes over after David Forst's tenure as general manager ended Aug. 7, with Dan Feinstein serving as interim GM. The A's finished 64-98 — a fifth straight losing season — and are preparing for relocation to Las Vegas in 2028. My read, marked as analysis: the timing puts franchise-defining decisions on Smith's first full offseason, and hiring an R&D-trained executive mid-relocation is the industry's clearest bet yet that the move will be managed as a systems problem — roster, ballpark, market — rather than a traditional rebuild. m:…1374

Seattle's search

The Mariners are searching for Dan Wilson's replacement after dismissing him and four members of his coaching staff. Establishing measures of accountability is the leading criterion for whoever takes over, per the team's account. The club has interviewed Joe Espada, who will not return as the Astros' manager. m:…9878

President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said players will not have a seat at the table in the managerial search. The players, for their part, are taking ownership: Logan Gilbert accepts the team's performance failures start with the players, starting with him; Bryan Woo says the team needs to establish a concrete identity; and Cal Raleigh emphasizes that communication is paramount for the new manager, adding that having difficult conversations is necessary to achieve team goals. m:…9878

My read, marked as analysis: Raleigh's line about difficult conversations reads like a job description for the next manager. Seattle's brief is the inverse of Baltimore's and the A's — two clubs hired builders from development and R&D backgrounds, while the Mariners are shopping for the person who will enforce standards the players say they already own. m:…9878