Baltimore Orioles Sale: MLB owners unanimously approve David Rubenstein’s purchase of AL East team

The sale of the Baltimore Orioles is now official. One day before they embark on an AL East title defense, the team has finally received new ownership. The sale has been approved for a while, but it is now done and dusted. The owners voted unanimously to approve the sale to David Rubenstein.

Peter Angelos, the former owner who just passed away recently at the age of 94, and his family had been the owners since the 1990s. The Baltimore Orioles, for the first time in two decades, have new ownership at last.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement via The Baltimore Sun:

“I congratulate David Rubenstein on receiving approval from the Major League Clubs as the new control person of the Orioles. As a Baltimore native and a lifelong fan of the team, David is uniquely suited to lead the Orioles moving forward. We welcome David and his partners as the new stewards of the franchise.”

Rubenstein said he hopes to be successful and put a good product on the field. He would like to see fans get good value for their money and have good experiences going to Orioles games in the future.

Baltimore Orioles sale now official after unanimous vote

The Baltimore Orioles were facing a bit of a conundrum in ownership. The team is extremely good right now, and all of their impact players are young. That meant that down the line, players like Adley Rutschman were going to need to be extended.

Other young players, like Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson, figure to eventually have really high price tags, something that the former owners had typically not enjoyed. They weren't as keen to open the checkbook and spend big, though they did try and fail on that a few times in the past.

However, new ownership may have a new philosophy. David Rubenstein said he wants to have a good team, so star players might get locked down on long-term contracts at a. higher frequency than they otherwise would have.