Mike Elias' second full week atop the Orioles' front office as executive vice president and general manager brought with it some significant personnel shakeup.
The Orioles on Friday parted ways with Brian Graham, who had been Baltimore's farm director since 2013. Graham's departure comes after a brief stint as the club's interim general manager, when he bridged the six-week gap between Dan Duquette's dismissal and Elias' hiring on Nov. 16.
"Mike Elias told me this morning that I did a great job and he thanked me for a great job we did over the last couple of months, but that he needed to bring in his own people," Graham wrote in a statement. "I'm thankful to the Orioles organization and the Angelos family for the opportunities I was given. We did a great job in a lot of areas. There's a lot of really good people in the organization, and working with [manager] Buck Showalter was a great experience. Hopefully, something good is on the horizon and I hope nothing but the best for the Orioles."
Graham, who joined the organization most recently in 2007, became the second executive the O's have dismissed, and there could be more to come. Of the three top officials still under contract when Duquette and Showalter parted ways with the club on Oct. 3, only one -- Brady Anderson -- remains with the organization. His future with the club is unclear.
• O's new GM Elias talks plans for the organization
What is clear is the increased likelihood of Elias making more additions to his cabinet in the weeks to come, with his focus on filling a slew of vacant positions. The Orioles are currently without a manager, farm director and scouting director, after multiple media outlets reported on Tuesday that Gary Rajsich wouldn't be retained. Rajsich had been Baltimore's scouting director since 2011, when Duquette hired him from Toronto amid another front-office transition in Baltimore.
Turnover is expected to come in the field coaching staff as well once a manager is hired. Elias is also expected to beef up the O's scouting and analytics departments.
Elias has made two hires since taking over, plucking Sig Mejdal from Houston to be the Orioles' new assistant general manager of analytics and tapping Chris Holt as Minor League pitching coordinator. Like Elias and Mejdal, Holt also came from the Astros, with whom he previously held the same position.
Orioles sign Minor League deal
The Orioles also announced this week they've signed right-hander Josh Lucas to a Minor League deal. The 28-year-old appeared in 13 games at the big league level over the past two seasons (five games with the Cardinals in 2017 and eight with the A's in '18). He owns a 5.40 career ERA across 21 2/3 innings.