🐥 Orioles get a new owner

Negro leagues museum renovation, Trout out for season, Rangers trades, and more!

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Grand Slam Newsletter
August 02, 2024

Today we cover:

  • 🐥 Orioles get a new owner

  • 🚧 Negro Leagues museum gets renovation

  • 🔒 Rangers confident in roster

  • 🚑 Mike Trout out for season

  • And More!

Orioles get a new owner

Major League Baseball's owners have unanimously approved private-equity billionaire David Rubenstein as the new owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

The accelerated sale, which will eventually give Rubenstein and his ownership group 70% of the Orioles, transferred control of the team to him less than two months after he agreed to buy it from the Angelos family.

"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."

Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr.

The $1.725 billion valuation for the Orioles is the third highest for the sale of a baseball team, behind Steve Cohen's $2.4 billion deal for the New York Mets in 2020 and the $2.15 billion purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers by a group led by Mark Walter in 2012.

Peter Angelos bought the Orioles in 1993 for $173 million.

Negro leagues museum planning renovation

The MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation recently gave a grant of $2 million to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

The grant will help support a $30 million campaign to build a new 30,000-square-foot home for the museum.

The new facility will incorporate the latest technology to build upon the legacy and tell the stories of the Negro Leagues and its players.

The new museum will sit adjacent to the Buck O’Neil Education and Research Center (BOERC), which is housed in the former Paseo YMCA. The historic building is where Rube Foster first gathered other team owners to start the discussion that led to the Negro National League forming in 1920.

The new facility will create a Negro Leagues Campus that will serve as a gateway into Kansas City’s historic 18th & Vine Jazz District and is one of the must-see destinations of the city, according to Mayor Quinton Lucas.

Veteran Dodger outfielder to retire

Kevin Kiermaier, whose MLB career began back in 2013, told the Tampa Bay Times last week that he was going to retire following the conclusion of the 2024 season.

"This is it, 2024 is it for me," Kiermaier said. "This will be my last year playing. I'm going to give it my all the rest of the year regardless of what situation I'm in. But my body is talking to me now more than ever."

Kiermaier said this while still with the Toronto Blue Jays. However, earlier this week, Kiermaier was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers just before Tuesday's trade deadline.

Rangers confident in roster

Rangers general manager Chris Young, manager Bruce Bochy and everybody around the clubhouse has asserted their belief in this roster all season, but especially over the last few days as the Trade Deadline came and went without much movement from the Texas side.

Young was clear that even without selling off expiring contracts or taking big swings to add another bat at the Deadline, this belief hasn’t wavered.

“We really believe in the group we have,” Young said.

Mike Trout out for season

Mike Trout will not be returning to a baseball field this season.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian said on Thursday that Trout received an MRI on Wednesday that revealed another tear in the left meniscus that was surgically repaired earlier this year.

“He’s devastated. I was too,” Minasian said. “I’m not the emotional type but being in the room and hearing the news with him was tough.”

Trout suffered his first tear on April 29 against the Red Sox and spent months rehabbing after May 3 surgery. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on July 24, when he was removed after two innings due to knee discomfort.