After graduating from Yale, Elias became a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007.[3] When the Houston Astros hired Jeff Luhnow from the Cardinals as their general manager in 2011, Elias went to Houston with him as special assistant to the GM before being hired as Scouting Director in August 2012.[6] In 2016, after David Stearns was hired by the Milwaukee Brewers as their general manager, the Astros promoted Elias to fill Stearns' role as assistant general manager. He was given oversight of player development and minor league operations.[7]
On November 16, 2018, the Baltimore Orioles hired Elias as their general manager and executive vice president.[3] Elias hired Sig Mejdal from the Astros as his assistant general manager to bring more extensive analytics to the Orioles.[8]
Note: Those listed here have final authority in personnel decisions for their team, typically holding a title of President of Baseball Operations, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, Chief Baseball Officer, and/or General Manager.