More from Elias at FanFest

Mike Elias headed to the third level of the Baltimore Convention Center following the Q&A session with season plan holders. It was the media's turn to ask the questions.

On no former manager in the dugout as part of coaching staff: "Definitely, that was a consideration and attractive, but we were working with the people available and the scenarios and the people we wanted to get in. It just didn't happen this year. But it was definitely something that was discussed."

On broader competitive goals: "Brandon (Hyde) went through this with the Cubs and I went through this with the Astros, and both of those rebuilding processes went incredibly fast. I can't say that that's always going to be the case with these things. There's circumstantial factors that might affect the speed in which a team revisits the playoffs. I'm hopeful that we can do it. I know what we need to do to get there. But there's going to be a lot of things happening here. It depends on who we draft, how they do, how well they progress, how well the players here progress, who's in the minor league system right now.

"When we were in Houston, we had (Jose) Altuve and (Dallas) Keuchel, and Keuchel was not a heralded prospect at that time. And George Springer in the minor leagues already. And it took a while for Altuve and Keuchel to reveal themselves to be the talents that they are today. Just factors like that are going to dictate things and we don't have total control over them. The most important thing for us is that we set a course, we remain disciplined toward our decision making and we all work hard and do a good job, and I think we'll get there in the right amount of time."

On importance of getting that message out to fans directly: "It's great. I like fielding those questions in the form we just did and getting a chance to interface directly, but this is baseball. There's an economic structure to baseball. We can't just flip a switch. Even if we wanted to right now, there's nothing that we could do to just flip a switch and get back to the playoffs immediately.

"I hope it happens this year, but we're going to have to build a sustainable base of talent for this organization. We're in a very competitive division and it takes baseball players a little bit of time to get from amateur baseball to the major leagues. That's just how the sport is. So we're very cognizant of that. We're going to do everything we can. If it happens this year, great, but we're not setting those requirements in terms of successful season."

On FanFest turnout: "I couldn't believe the line around the building. It's great to see. It's everything I've heard and I've seen in the past with this city. We're coming off a bad year and to see that type of enthusiasm and support, just for the new people that are here and the franchise in general, is incredible. That was really something to behold outside."

On Doug Brocail as pitching coach: "I'm excited that he's here. He's got a ton of credibility with pitchers. This guy had a long major league career. He's kind of done it all. He has a very forceful but kind leadership style with players. Players love him. Andrew Cashner's had him previously. He loved him. He reached out to Brandon and me recommending that we hire Doug. And I know that he has already had a working relationship with Sig Mejdal and the types of information that we're going to be producing over the next year or so and producing for our pitchers and our pitching coaches, he kind of has a feel for that already.

"He's also been thrust into similar situations to the one that we're in right now. A lot of young pitchers, unproven pitchers, so he kind of knows the drill in terms of mentoring a young staff, shepherding guys through some struggles as they enter the major league level. So I think he's a perfect fit for where we're at."

On Cashner and Alex Cobb having excused absences from FanFest: "Yeah, we'd love for everybody to be here but there are certain personal situations that can arise, and we understand when that's the case."

On whether re-signing Adam Jones is a dead issue: "I don't think anything is a dead issue. Like I said, the free agent market is ongoing, there's a lot of unsigned players left. We're just going to have to see how things play out."

On whether Jones' no-trade clause is a detriment: "I hadn't thought about that. And we're going to weigh those types of factors if we get close with any free agent. But that's something I'll have to consider at the time regardless of who the player is."

On whether Jones' popularity with fans is a consideration: "Absolutely. When you hear good things about somebody it makes you feel better about bringing them back. If somebody was not well-liked or appreciated by their teammates or the city would certainly be a disincentive to bring them back. Look, like I said, we'll see. Our focus is elevating the capabilities of this organization and the talent level in this organization, and I've got to keep sight of that. But we're looking for ways to be opportunistic."

On the minor league staff: "It's getting close That's something that we don't like to announce until it's totally complete because sometimes, depending on who you hire for that last spot, it might affect someone else's assignment, and sometimes the coaches themselves are waiting to get a 100 percent final answer on where they're going and what their spot is, even if they know they've got a job. So we're still working on that.

"We're getting close. We're down to like a couple people, a couple of spots, so it's looking good."

On where he is regarding the hiring of a farm director, scouting director and scouts: "As I've discussed, we're being very patient and strategic with those hires. Some of these are huge hires. They're going to dictate and make or break what we do here over the next couple of years. I got my job in November. It's a difficult part of the hiring process, the hiring cycle, in terms of getting permission on people, interviewing a full slate of candidates, and the last thing I wanted to do was make hires of that magnitude with one hand tied behind my back.

"We are going to be adding sort of piecemeal throughout the year, especially in the analytics and the scouting departments. We've got some stuff going on behind the scenes right now, and then as we get into the hiring season next year I think there will be a wave of additions. I think this is going to be a little bit more of a gradual process over the next calendar year."