Angelos Family Finally Sells Orioles
The second-biggest piece of baseball news of the off-season.
Hi friends-
As you know, I’ve written about the Orioles a lot this winter. Not because they’ve done anything worth writing about, but because I’ve been personally offended by their lack of signing solid free agents to complement their unbelievably good young core. Billionaire vampire MLB owners making the product worse for the rest of us keeps me up nights!
This is a team that won 101 games last year on a $61 million payroll, spending only $4 million more than the Oakland A’s—a punchline of a team run by a sweaty nepo baby that won’t even have a stadium to play in after next season.
Baltimore ownership could have looked at its 2023 lineup of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander and said, “Hmmm… this is a really good, cost-controlled offense that could win the AL pennant if we spend any money on starting pitching, so let’s do that!”
Reader, they did not.
So it was no surprise when they were swept in the Division Series last fall by the veteran Texas Rangers. It continues to be difficult for MLB teams anchored by 22-year-old hitters with a postseason rotation earning a *combined $1.9 million (!) to push deep into October.
(*Note: Baltimore’s Game 1 ALDS starter, Kyle Bradish, earned $728,000 in 2023; Game 2 starter Grayson Rodriguez made $495,000; and Game 3 starter Dean Kremer made $731,000.)
I am not arguing the Orioles should have spent the kind of money the Rangers shelled out on their rotation last year to win a title. Max Scherzer earned $43 million in 2023 (though the Mets paid all but $10 million of that) and Jacob deGrom was paid $40 million. deGrom suffered a season-ending injury in the summer, and Scherzer was too hurt to be much of a factor in the postseason—proving that spending huge money on starting pitchers doesn’t guarantee October production.
But, my god,