Official Orioles sale now has Red Sox the focus of rampant speculation

The Baltimore Orioles organization will change hands this season after three decades under the same ownership.

On Jan. 30, Puck News reported that the Angelos family will be selling the club to a group led by a Baltimore-native billionaire, David Rubenstein. The sale was unanimously approved on the afternoon of March 27, just hours before Opening Day.

Since the initial announcement of the sale, the Orioles have gotten better. They dished the sixth and seventh-best prospects in their organization to the Brewers for Cy Young award winner and definite ace, Corbin Burnes.

It's true — the Orioles are leaving the Boston Red Sox in the dust.

John Angelos was notoriously miserly during his tenure as the owner in Baltimore. Upon the approval of Rubenstein's deal, he became the primary decision-maker and "control person" for the team.

The Orioles being sold is bad news for the newly-stingy Red Sox

That doesn't bode well for the Red Sox in the current state of John Henry and Tom Werner's budget plan.

If the Orioles are ever going to leap to try and win themselves a World Series, the time is now. Their farm system is flooded with young talent after years of poor performance in the American League East. Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson have already made their impact in the majors and they show no signs of slowing down. Jackson Holliday and Grayson Rodriguez have great careers ahead of them and their moments in the big-league sun are surely coming soon.

Baltimore adding Burnes is the final push they needed to be competitive in the playoffs. The Orioles finished the 2023 season in first place in the AL East and, swiftly, unexpectedly, made themselves better with one move.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox finished the 2023 campaign in last place and haven't done anything to improve all offseason. Red Sox ownership can no longer bank on the smaller market Orioles spending less than it every single year. Sure, Baltimore has less money at its disposal than Boston does, but if the Red Sox organization never spends any money, that won't matter.

Baltimore changing hands and suddenly making big moves should be a concern for Boston and the New York Yankees. Rumors circulated that the Yankees were also interested in Burnes but they never pulled the trigger because they thought Milwaukee was asking for too much in exchange for the hurler.

Not only do the Orioles have a new owner who will likely be more inclined to spend money than Angelos was, but they have the best farm system in baseball at their disposal to make expensive trades with.

Of course, New York has a lot of money at its disposal as the most valuable team in the league. And it flexed its spending muscles by signing Juan Soto for a staggering and record-breaking $31.5 million arbitration deal. But the Yankees seem unwilling to part with their homegrown players — at least as unwilling as the Sox are — as they considered the Brewers' asking price for Burnes too high, along with the White Sox's price for Dylan Cease.

The Toronto Blue Jays also seemed prepped and primed to spend money all offseason. They were in the race for Shohei Ohanti's services and, regardless of their position as real contenders for the pitcher, the organization looked more than ready to dish out whatever sum it needed to get a deal done.

This leaves the Red Sox and the Rays at the bottom as the two cheapest teams in the division — insanity considering that Henry is one of the wealthiest owners in the league and he has one of MLB's better farm systems at his disposal.

Red Sox Nation has been forced to wonder how much worse it can get this year. The sale of the Orioles could mean more big spending in the team's future while Boston fans are being fed false promises about the direction of the team and are being called "liars" for not believing in the front office's flawed vision of success.

The Orioles' new ownership is already causing trouble for the Red Sox organization. Camden Yards is selling out while Fenway Park is stalling out. And, frankly, it should be an embarrassment to the men in charge in Boston. The Red Sox can't afford for the little Fenway Dark Age to continue if everyone around them plans to improve. It feels like the front office is experiencing Stockholm Syndrome in the AL East's basement.

Come on, Henry, Werner and Sam Kennedy. Even the Orioles are making smarter business decisions than you this year.

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