The Orioles have promoted Brendan Fournie to the assistant general manager position, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Forney has been with the O’s for just under four years, serving as the team’s senior director of baseball strategy and operations. According to Kubatko, his new portfolio will allow Forney to “oversee baseball economics, advanced scouting and salary arbitration, as well as provide roster and trade support.”
Forney becomes Mike Elias’ third assistant general manager, joining Sig Mejdal and Eve Rosenbaum. It’s unclear who, if anyone, Elias considers his top deputy in Baltimore’s front office, but news came two months ago that Elias was being promoted to president of baseball operations before the start of the 2025 season, along with news that the O’s planned to hire a general manager to serve as Elias’ No. 2. That said, Elias has since downplayed the idea of a possible general manager hire this offseason, so Forney’s promotion may not mean the team is any closer to finding a general manager.
A number of other promotions and role changes will also be made within the front office, primarily in the player development and scouting departments. Kubatko reports that Matt Bullard will be moved from vice president of player development/domestic scouting to vice president of player and staff development. Blood will now provide “administrative support” to manager Craig Albernaz, the major league coaching staff and the sports medicine and performance department.
In addition to these new responsibilities, Bullard will remain in his role as director of Baltimore’s minor league player development department. His former scouting duties appear to have been shared among several other staff members who were promoted. Will Robertson will become the new vice president of domestic scouting, overseeing the Orioles’ draft efforts. Chad Tatum (domestic scouting), Hendrick Hurts (draft operations) and Kevin Carter (pro scouting) were also promoted to assistant directors in their respective departments.
