The arrival of Pete Alonso has eased the pressure surrounding Mike Elias this offseason for the moment. Alonso was the Baltimore Orioles' big-ticket item at the Winter Meetings, and with Taylor Ward and Ryan Helsley having been added the month before, it's been a stellar start to the offseason.
While the moves afforded Elias the benefit of some doubt, there was still the concern of his not addressing the need in the starting rotation. The Orioles' president of baseball operations quickly put that fear to rest, trading for Tampa Bay Rays' starting pitcher Shane Baz and paying a handsome price at that.