BALTIMORE -- For the first time since Mike Elias was hired as general manager in November 2018, the Orioles -- sitting atop the American League East four days before Tuesday’s Trade Deadline -- are in a true position to be buyers and add to the team for a postseason push.

Elias plans to do just that: buy -- even if he’s already confident in Baltimore’s potential to play deep into October as presently constructed.

“It doesn’t mean that we don’t want to improve,” Elias said ahead of Friday night’s opener vs. the Yankees at Camden Yards. “The Dodgers are pretty good, too, and they’re bringing in some extra help. So obviously, we’re looking at that. But I think, very clearly, this team has revealed itself to be as capable as anyone arguably in all of baseball right now to make a playoff run.”

The best way for the Orioles to improve their roster -- and boost their postseason and championship odds -- is by improving their pitching staff. Elias noted he would “bet heavily” that if the club makes a deal prior to 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, it will be for pitching help.

Entering Friday, Baltimore’s 4.19 team ERA ranked ninth in the AL and 16th in the Majors.

“It’s no secret that that would be the areas of the team where we could a) either use more depth or b) look for upgrades,” Elias said.

The Orioles might be satisfied with their starting rotation, even though their 4.52 starters’ ERA (entering Friday) ranked ninth in the AL and 17th in MLB. They have a solid quartet in Kyle Gibson, Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells, while former top prospect Grayson Rodriguez has shown encouraging improvement since returning from the Minors on July 17.

If Baltimore is content with that five -- and it isn’t too worried that the majority of that group could soon be setting career highs in innings -- then it might instead look to further reinforce the back end of its bullpen.

The All-Star duo of closer Félix Bautista and setup man Yennier Cano can’t be used every night. By adding more potential high-leverage arms -- such as right-hander Shintaro Fujinami, who was acquired from the A’s on July 19 -- the Orioles would have more depth and could also better bridge the gap from the starters to Cano and Bautista, when those two are available.

“You can always improve the middle part of your bullpen,” Elias said. “Obviously, we’ve got the best closer in the game right now, and relative to him, the middle spots are an area that we can look around for, and we’re doing that.”

Whatever moves the Orioles make, they’re focused on not overpaying in what Elias called a “sellers" market. They have one of the best farm systems in baseball, but they’re not going to tear it down to make marginal improvements to the big league roster for the short term.

At the same time, Elias won’t be reluctant to trade away top prospects if he feels it will significantly help Baltimore.

“That’s not going to make us hug those guys more than we should because we did a good job scouting and developing them,” Elias said. “I think we’re making trades because we feel that the value that we’re getting back in a different way, shape and form is worth the value that we’re losing.”

It’s all a careful balancing act for Elias, who is having many more conversations with all 29 other teams than he did ahead of previous Trade Deadlines during his tenure.

Elias wants to field the best possible Major League product, and if that means making a trade or two over the next four days, he’ll do it. But he’s also cognizant of the “excellent chemistry” inside the Orioles’ clubhouse, which is a primary reason why the team has been among the best in the big leagues over the first four months of the season.

“We’re trying to win. We’re in first place. It’s awesome. We want to make a deep playoff run, we want to get in the World Series,” Elias said. “Unless we have information that the world is ending in November, a big part of my job is worrying about the overall health of the team over the next several years. So you just try to balance all those things. ... 

“Clearly, I think we’re going to want to stretch a little bit and reach to try to help this really good 2023 team if we get within arm’s reach of something.”