New Report Reveals Potential Baltimore Orioles Sale Date
The sale of the Baltimore Orioles was first announced nearly a month ago. There hasn't been much news about it since then (both parties haven't been able to say much), but Orioles fans finally got a major and encouraging update on Monday from Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
According to Drellich's source in the article -- "a person briefed on the sales process" -- the sale seems to be progressing smoothly and should be complete relatively soon.
The sale is expected to become official by April, but it could be done even sooner than that, potentially by Opening Day on March 28. Drellich wrote that "only procedural hurdles remain, rather than substantive issues," implying that the deal is in the home stretch.
The sale will initially transfer 40 percent of the team from John Angelos to David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group. Rubenstein's group will purchase an additional stake later, but the current deal is valued at $1.725 billion.
Drellich added that MLB is still working through paperwork related to the deal. Once that gets squared away, Rubenstein is expected to be approved as Baltimore's new "control person" as lead owner.
It helps that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred wants the deal to get done as quickly as possible, which is keeping the process moving.
This is all great news for Orioles fans, as the sale can't become official soon enough. They are ready for a new era to begin and to have an owner who is actually willing to invest in his team and retain star players rather than trade them away.
If the deal does get done by Opening Day, Baltimore fans will have even more to celebrate when the season officially kicks off against Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels.
