John Angelos, the current acting owner of the Baltimore Orioles, has swiftly agreed to sell the Baltimore Orioles to a group led by businessman David Rubenstein and including Hall of Fames Cal Ripken Jr.
Peter Angelos bought the Baltimore Orioles for $173 million in 1993. Peter Angelos suffers from dementia, so his son, John Angelos, has acted as the managing partner since 2020. At the end of the 2023 season, Angelos finalized a deal to keep the O’s at Camden Yards for at least 15 years, and was planning to extend it to 30.
The transaction was listed at approximately $1.725 billion, but the sale has not been approved yet. For a management sale to be approved, owners of all 30 MLB teams will meet in Orlando, Florida and discuss. For the sale to be approved, at least 75% of the 30 teams will need to approve it (this comes out to 23 teams needing to approve).
David Rubenstein is a prominent businessman and lawyer who has shown interest in purchasing the Washington Nationals. The team’s payroll remains low, and the offseason has been extremely quiet until this deal broke. However, if Rubenstein can keep the young core strong, the Orioles will be contenders for years to come.
After an overwhelmingly successful 2023 season, including the first AL East title since 2014, young players like Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, and prospects like Jackson Holliday, are proving to be lethal.
Cal Ripken Jr’s involvement in the deal is uncertain as of now, but he has expressed excitement in new involvement with the team, saying the Orioles have “been a part of [his] life since [he] was a child.”
Many Orioles fans seem to be excited with the new shift, claiming the Angelos management was one of few things holding this team back. Only time will tell how crucial this offseason move was.