Orioles Hot Stove Rumors: Baltimore’s $4 billion owner faces heat over offseason moves

The Baltimore Orioles had a disappointing end to the 2024 regular season as they saw the New York Yankees win the AL East. Baltimore was one of baseball's best teams, but they could not do much once the postseason began. David Rubenstein, Baltimore's new owner, is now tasked with getting the team to the top of the division.

Rubenstein, who bought the team in August for $1.7 billion, according to Forbes, from the Angelos family, is estimated to be worth more than $4 billion by Forbes. Other billionaire MLB owners have done great things with their teams, and Orioles fans had hopes that big moves were coming this offseason. There's still time for him to use his financial might to make the team better, but nothing has happened up to this point.

On Sunday, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal published an article about the lack of spending from the Orioles. The title of the article was, "Orioles' tepid offseason makes them unlikely to unseat Yankees as AL favorites," and that set the tone for the next few paragraphs.

Baltimore was unable to sign ace Corbin Burnes to a new contract, instead replacing him with veteran Charlie Morton. Rubenstein has plenty of money to throw around at big-name players, but the Orioles have yet to step up and make a run at a major free agent.

Baltimore Orioles could lose Anthony Santander

The Baltimore Orioles might see another key player leave the team ahead of the 2025 season, as outfielder Anthony Santander is a big free agent. Several teams have already reportedly made offers to him, but he has yet to make a decision. Not much has come out from Santander during the offseason, but he did make his feelings known after a game in August.

Santander spoke about his upcoming free agency and his desire to stay with the team to a group of reporters:

"I would like to stay here for the rest of my career."

New owner David Rubenstein is going to have to use his money at some point, and keeping Anthony Santander would be a great place to start. If Rubenstein doesn't start spending money soon, the Orioles are going to get left behind in the American League race.