David Rubenstein’s purchase of the Orioles will be discussed by MLB owners at their meeting in Florida next week and “is on track to be approved more quickly than similar team sales,” according to sources cited by Barker & Gardner of the BALTIMORE SUN. Ownership approvals “typically take several months.” Sources said that Rubenstein’s deal is expected to move more rapidly than most partly because he is “particularly well-known.” One source said that the deal also “has the advantage of being relatively uncomplicated.” While the sale could be complete in “less than six weeks,” the sources “cautioned that it could take longer.” One issue that is unresolved concerns the “dozen-plus investors who have long owned minority stakes" in Peter Angelos’ ownership group (BALTIMORE SUN, 2/2).
A WEEK FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS: In Baltimore, Matt Weyrich notes the Orioles are “having themselves a week” after trading for Brewers P Corbin Burnes just two days after it was announced Rubenstein is buying a majority stake in the franchise. The moves are “hardly connected,” as Rubenstein will not officially become Orioles owner until MLB approves the sale. Burnes was acquired with “just one year of control,” making the trade a “win-now move aimed only at boosting their chances in 2024.” However, as much as Burnes “changes the Orioles’ outlook for 2024,” Rubenstein does so for the franchise’s “entire future.” It is “hard to understate just how much the course of the Orioles’ organization was changed by a swift stroke of the pen and some back-and-forth between two GMs” (BALTIMORE SUN, 2/2). MLB Network's Matt Vasgersian said despite the "narrative that the new ownership group sat down and got (the Burnes trade) this done," it "had to have been in place for weeks before they pulled the trigger." However, the "momentum in Baltimore is hard to refute" ("Hot Stove," MLB Network, 2/2).
COINCIDENCE, I THINK NOT: MLB Radio's Steve Phillips said he did not know if the franchise sale "prompted" the Burnes trade, he is "tying it to the ownership change." Phillips: "I don’t know that it’s a coincidence, so I’m going to believe there is meaning to the timing of it" ("The Leadoff Spot," MLB Radio, 2/2). In N.Y., Jon Heyman wrote it “sure doesn’t seem like a coincidence” the Orioles made the huge trade for Burnes the very day the sale of the team was announced. Maybe there is “a chance, too, now for the Orioles to lock up their many great young stars” -- including C Adley Rutschman, 3B Gunnar Henderson and SS prospect Jackson Holliday (N.Y. POST, 2/1).
