Baltimore Orioles To Be Sold

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John Angelos has agreed to sell the Baltimore Orioles to a group led by Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder David Rubenstein, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.

Rubenstein, a Baltimore native, reportedly will take over as the team's controlling owner. He has assembled an investment team that includes Ares co-founder Michael Arougheti.

Major League Baseball still must approve the sale. Owners are scheduled to meet next week in Orlando, Florida.

The Angelos family has been in control of the Orioles since 1993, when Peter Angelos purchased the team for $173 million.

After that, Baltimore didn't make the postseason again until 2012, when the Orioles began a renaissance under manager Buck Showalter. They eventually had to rebuild again, losing at least 108 games in 2018, 2019 and 2021 -- a streak interrupted only by the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Even as the team posted the best record in the AL last year, there were ominous signs on potential team spending, such as a New York Times piece in which Angelos was quoted as saying: "When people talk about giving this player $200 million, that player $150 million, we would be so financially underwater that you'd have to raise the prices massively."