Angelos reportedly to sell Orioles for $1.725B
John Angelos has agreed to sell the Baltimore Orioles to a group led by Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder David Rubenstein, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.
The transaction reportedly values the Orioles at $1.725 billion.
Rubenstein, a Baltimore native, reportedly will take over as the team’s controlling owner. He has assembled an investment team that includes Ares co-founder Michael Arougheti.
Major League Baseball still must approve the sale. Owners are scheduled to meet next week in Orlando, Florida. News of the deal was first reported by Puck.
A sale must be approved in a vote of at least 75% by the 30 major league teams. The sales approval process typically lasts several months.
The Angelos family has been in control of the Orioles since 1993, when Peter Angelos purchased the team for $173 million. Angelos’ son John has been the team’s chair and managing partner since 2020, as Peter suffers from dementia.
The Orioles recently finalized a deal with the Maryland Stadium Authority to remain at Camden Yards for the next 15 years, with a path to expand the commitment to 30 years.
Rubenstein previously had shown interest in buying the Washington Nationals.
Prior to forming Carlyle in 1987, Rubenstein practiced law in Washington. From 1977 to 1981, he was a deputy assistant for domestic policy to President Jimmy Carter. After graduating from Duke in 1970, he attended the University of Chicago Law School.
The Orioles are coming off a 101-win season and their first American League East title since 2014. With young stars Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson and another top prospect on the way in Jackson Holliday, the future looks as bright as it has in a while for a team that hasn’t won a World Series since 1983.
One sore spot with fans is the club’s payroll, which has remained low, and it’s been another quiet offseason for the team so far. If the new ownership group is able to keep Baltimore’s young core together, the Orioles could have a lengthy window of contention.
When Peter Angelos first took control of the Orioles, they had recently started playing at Camden Yards, the downtown venue that revolutionized the way baseball parks were built. The Orioles spent aggressively, at least for a little while, and won the division in 1997 with future Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Roberto Alomar, Mike Mussina and Harold Baines.
After that, Baltimore didn’t make the postseason again until 2012, when the Orioles began a renaissance under manager Buck Showalter. They eventually had to rebuild again, losing at least 108 games in 2018, 2019 and 2021 — a streak interrupted only by the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Even as the team posted the best record in the AL last year, there were ominous signs on potential team spending, such as a New York Times piece in which Angelos was quoted as saying: “When people talk about giving this player $200 million, that player $150 million, we would be so financially underwater that you’d have to raise the prices massively.”
Information from The Associated Press and Field Level Media was used in this report.
TORONTO — Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez was back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, two days after the third baseman left in the third inning because of a mild right ankle sprain.
The six-time All-Star was injured when he stumbled and fell while crossing first base on an infield single. Ramirez went down after being struck in the back by a throw from Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt.
Ramirez was batting third Sunday against right-hander Bowden Francis.
Ramírez sat out Saturday when Cleveland beat Toronto 5-3. He went 2 for 2 before departing Friday, boosting his average to .274. He has five home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games.
In last Thursday’s 4-3 victory over Minnesota, Ramirez became the first primary third baseman to reach 250 homers and 250 stolen bases.
The Miami Marlins activated catcher Nick Fortes from the 10-day injured list Sunday morning. To make room for him on the active roster, starting second baseman Otto Lopez was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Fortes, the Marlins’ Opening Day catcher, posted six hits in 20 at-bats with two doubles, one triple and one RBI in seven appearances before going on the IL on April 10 with an injured left oblique muscle. The 28-year-old missed 20 games as the Marlins went 7-13 without him. To prepare for Sunday’s return, he rehabbed for two games at Triple-A Jacksonville and went 0-for-6.
Fortes figures to split time with 23-year-old rookie catcher Agustin Ramirez, who has delivered a .256/.293/.615 slash line with three homers and five RBIs in 10 games during his first stint in the bigs.
The 26-year-old Lopez hits the injured list, retroactive to Saturday, with a sprained right ankle. Lopez started the season hot with a .400 average to go with two homers, six RBIs and one stolen base during five games in March. Since then, he has batted .191 (17-for-89) with no homers, five RBIs and two steals.
Rookie Javier Sanoja, 22, has filled Lopez’s spot at second base the last two games and provided two doubles, two runs and one RBI in seven at-bats.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway