Orioles Sale 'Bad News' For Rest Of American League East
Soon, assuming the owners and Major League Baseball approve, David Rubenstein will become the controlling owner of the Baltimore Orioles. That approval is likely to come at MLB’s next major meeting.
With that, the Angelos family era will end. Yes, the family will still maintain an interest in the team, and that interest is significant. Rubenstein’s group will only own 40%. John Angelos will remain on as a senior advisor.
But, when the deal is approved, Rubenstein will become the team’s leader. That means he’ll determine such things as how much the Orioles are willing to invest in the future.
That’s bad news for the AL East and the rest of baseball, writes the Boston Herald’s Mac Cerullo.
Cerullo covers the Boston Red Sox, one of the teams that resides in the American League East. The Red Sox looked up at every team in the AL East last season, including the Orioles, who won 101 games to win the division and earn the AL’s No. 1 playoff seed.
The Orioles lost to the Texas Rangers, 3-0, in the AL Division Series.
But everyone knows the Orioles are coming. In fact, in some ways, they’re already here.
Young players like catcher Adley Rutschman and third baseman Gunnar Henderson are already going to All-Star Games and winning Silver Slugger awards. Same goes for pitcher Kyle Bradish, who was in the Top 5 in AL Cy Young voting last season.
There is also Jackson Holliday, the game’s No. 1 prospect and a player the Orioles will have to find room for soon, perhaps as early as opening day.
Rubenstein runs the Carlyle Group. His partner is Mike Arougheti. Both are private equity billionaires.
The Angelos family has owned the Orioles since 1993 and in recent years they’ve been spendthrifts. The team’s payroll before the Corbin Burnes trade was $77 million. Even with inheriting Burnes’ one-year deal, the Orioles’ payroll will still be under $100 million.
With Rubenstein at the controls, the Orioles could push to get long-term deals done with their young talent, make significant splashes in free agency and even work to extend a pitcher like Burnes, who is one of the best in baseball.
It’s great news for the Orioles, Cerullo writes, but bad news for everyone else.
Baltimore was already going to be a problem for the rest of the division as it is, and now with money to spend they could potentially emerge as a powerhouse for the rest of the decade and beyond. That’s bad news for Boston, because even when the Red Sox do get back off the mat, they aren’t going to have the Orioles to kick around like they could for most of the 21st century.
The Orioles haven’t won a World Series since 1983. This ownership transition could position them to be in contention for years to come.
