Orioles owner admits concern about Samuel Basallo contract extension

Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein made interesting comments about Samuel Basallo's recent contract extension.

Sep 15, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo (29) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Back in August, 21-year-old rookie Samuel Basallo signed an eight-year, $67 million contract extension with the Baltimore Orioles, thus cementing him as a key piece in this team's future.

This contract extension raises eyebrows among the baseball community for several reasons. One of them is that, given Basallo was a top prospect and seemingly has a very bright future in the league, many thought it was foolish for him to sign such a team-friendly deal so soon into his MLB tenure.

This was highlighted when elite Boston Red Sox rookie Roman Anthony signed an eight-year, $130 million contract extension (almost exactly twice as much money as Basallo is making for the same amount of time) in the same week as Basallo's signing.

Sep 5, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo (29) is interviewed after hitting a walk off home run during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images | James A. Pittman-Imagn Images

But there are also questions on the Orioles' end, one being that Basallo plays the same position as star Adley Rutschman. While Rutschman has regressed offensively in two straight seasons, he's still arguably the face of the Orioles' franchise, but this Basallo deal makes his future with the team extremely murky.

Read more: ESPN calls out Orioles star for being 'biggest failure' of 2025 season

Not to mention that giving a player with essentially zero MLB experience $67 million over eight years is risky, regardless of how heralded a prospect he is.

Orioles Owner David Rubenstein Sends Strong Message on Samuel Basallo Contract

This last point is the basis of interesting comments that Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein made during a recent appearance on The Takeout with Major Garrett podcast.

Jun 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein on the field before the game against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

In discussing free agency, Rubenstein said, "It's different. The private equity world in which I've lived, people do well in a year, you give them a bonus and see how they'll do next year. But here, because of the way baseball is set up, and other sports as well, you have longer-term contracts and we just entered into a longer-term arrangement with a young man who just turned 21, I believe it is," which was excerpted in an X post from Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner.

"We gave [Basallo] a long-term contract. He's going to be here for quite some time. The price seemed high to me at the time for a person who only played four Major League Baseball games," Rubenstein continued.

"But he did a great job. He had a walk-off home run the other night, and we're very happy with the arrangement and we hope we can do other things like that as well."

Orioles owner David Rubenstein on @TakeoutPodcast, discussing free agency and the Samuel Basallo contract extension: "The price seemed high to me at the time for a person who only played four Major League Baseball games. But he did a great job." pic.twitter.com/eUND10r4Lg

— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) September 17, 2025

Rubenstein's sentiment is surely the basis of why Baltimore has been hesitant to hand out long-term contracts to their talented young players in recent years. But perhaps Basallo performing well with his new deal will convince Rubenstein to quell his concerns.