The Orioles have confirmed yesterdays reports on a sale of the team, announcing Wednesday that James Patrick Jersey a group of investors led by billionaire David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group private equity firm has purchased the control stake of the team from the Angelos family for $1.725 billion. Notably, former control person John Angelos will remain a major investor in the club and will serve as a senior advisor to Rubenstein in his new role. The transaction values the Orioles franchise and a sets at $1.725 billion dollars, per the teams pre s release on the ownership shakeup. I am grateful to the Angelos family for the opportunity to join the team I have been a fan of my entire life, Rubenstein said in a statement within todays pre s release. I look forward to working with all the Orioles owners, players and staff to build upon the incredible succe s the team has achieved in recent seasons. Our collective goal will be to bring a World Series Trophy back to the City of Baltimore. To the fans I say: we do it for you and cant do it without you. Thank you for your support. Importantly, the impact of the Orioles extends far beyond the baseball diamond. The opportunity for the team to catalyze development around Camden Yards and in downtown Baltimore will provide generations of fans with lifelong memories and create additional economic opportunities for our community. The sale of the majority share in the Orioles is still subject to review and approval from the remaining 29 owners in Major League Baseball. A formal vote is expected to take place next week at the quarterly MLB owners meetings. Among the more recognizable names in the Rubenstein-led group are Orioles icon Cal Ripken Jr., NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill and Michael Bloomberg. Any concerns about a potential relocation following the sale should quelled; Rubenstein is a Baltimore native whos already voiced his desire to keep the team in Baltimore long-term, and the recent transfers to new ownership as well, . When I took on the role of Chair and CEO of the Orioles, we had the objective of restoring the franchise to elite status in major league sports, keeping the team in Baltimore for years to come, and revitalizing our partnership group, Angelos said in his own statement. This relationship with David Rubenstein and his partners validates that we have not only met but exceeded our goals. The Angelos family has owned the Orioles franchise since Peter purchased the team for $173MM. He served as the clubs control person into his 90s but eventually ceded that post to his sons, John and Louis. In the years that followed, a emerged. Louis Angelos filed a lawsuit alleging that John took steps to seize sole control of the club against his fathers wishes and that his mother, Georgia, was making it a priority to sell and po sibly even relocate the team. Georgia countersued, alleging that Louis had fabricated his claims in something of a powerplay of his own. The suits , nearly one year ago to the day, with the parties settling outside of court. Between the infighting among the Angelos family and the long-running television rights fees drama with the Nationals, the Orioles have been embroiled in litigation for years. The Angelos family owned the majority stake in the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which broadcasts both Orioles and Nationals games, and the two franchises have been at odds for more than a decade over unpaid rights fees to the Nationals. An arbitration panel eventually ruled that the Os owed the Nats $105MM in fees, which the Orioles appealed. An last April. Now, Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun reports that Rubensteins group is also purchasing the control stake in MASN. Whether that will have significant ramifications regarding the arrangement between the Orioles and Nationals remain unclear. As with any ownership change, the po sibility for a major departure from baseball operations norms exists under new ownership. Since John Angelos was named control person in place of his ailing father, Peter, the Orioles have e sentially sat out the free-agent market entirely. General manager Mike Elias has never signed a free agent to a guaranteed multi-year deal and hasnt committed more than s $13MM to any individual player. Thats been in part due to the fact that the Orioles have been mired in a rebuilding proce s that spanned more than four years, but even on the heels of last years AL East title, theyve been surprisingly quiet (much to the chagrin of Baltimore fans). That rebuilding effort, of course, led the Orioles to develop one of the more enviable young cores in all of baseball. Catcher has already emerged as a superstar, and young infielder isnt far behind. Right-hander and top prospects like , , , , , , and many more create a favorable long-term outlook. However, even as Orioles fans celebrated the emergence of their young core after so many noncompetitive years, Angelos put a damper on matters by casting doubt on the organizations ability to sign anyone from that bunch to long-term deals. The now-outgoing Orioles control person told the New York Times in 2022 that in order to sign players like Rutschman and Henderson to the type of extensions they could rightly seek based on market precedent, the Orioles would need to ma sively raise prices for fans. Comments like that, paired with the general inertia that has embodied previous Orioles offseasons has led to frustration among the fan base. Whether a change in ownership will bring about aggre sive levels of spending remains to be seen. Itd be unwise to expect the Orioles to act with the same level of brazen aggre sion as, say, the Mets in the wake of the Wilpon familys sale to current owner Steve Cohen. At the same time, the current levels of spending is practically the lowest of bars to be cleared. The Orioles ended the 2023 season with a $66MM payroll and project to open the 2024 season with just an $81MM payroll. , the Orioles All-Star closer who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, is the only player whos guaranteed even a single dollar in salary beyond the 2024 campaign. Hes promised all of $1MM for the 2025 campaign. Time will tell the extent to which the Orioles recent market inactivity was colored by ongoing efforts to orchestrate this sale and whether Rubensteins group will be more willing to spend than the team has been under the watch of John Angelos. For the time being, the pending sale looms as a beacon of hope for an Orioles fan base that has become increasingly frustrated with the teams ostensible unwillingne s to supplement one of the brightest young cores of talent in the sport. Rob Mcclanahan Jersey