Orioles owner John Angelos stresses uninspired offseason by declaring predicting payroll is ‘not his task’

Have the Baltimore Orioles had the worst 2022-23 offseason of any group? One can quickly make the case. Last season, the 83-win Orioles were surprise competitors as they notched their very first winning season considering that 2016. More remarkably they enhanced their 2022 win overall by a massive 31 video games. That was thanks mainly to the group’s outstanding young core fronted by catcher Adley Rutschman. 

Come the winter season, however, basic supervisor Mike Elias and club ownership stopped working to profit from the momentum. Their greatest free-agent financial investment has actually been middling right-hander Kyle Gibson, and today Cot’s Contracts forecasts the O’s to rank 29th in MLB with an Opening Day payroll of $64.9 million. 

When your young cost-controlled core includes the similarity Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Grayson Rodriguez (with a lot more high-ceiling potential customers en route), task No. 1 for the front workplace is to surround that core with playoff-worthy veteran additions. That, nevertheless, hasn’t occurred, which’s to the fantastic challenge of primary owner John Angelos. 

Speaking of which, Angelos on Sunday attended to that apparent absence of dedication with press reporters at Orioles spring training: 

Here we have Angelos’ appearing admission that, yes, the Orioles certainly have the ways to run a substantially greater payroll and therefore the ways to put a playoff-worthy lineup on the field. Angelos and business, nevertheless, are picking not to do that. Yes, the American League East is a hard department, however beginning with 2023 the MLB schedule is far more well balanced, which implies considerably less intra-divisional video games. That, in turn, implies a softening of the schedule for groups like East-residents Baltimore. As well, the San Diego Padres’ outstanding dedication to winning is the most current thing to put the lie to the concept that mid- to small-market groups are incapable of running competitive payrolls. 

More from Angelos: 

Just to be sure this is being appropriately soaked up by the reader, this is a group owner stating that predicting payroll dedications is not one of his designated jobs and tasks. As efforts to duck responsibility go, it’s not an especially convincing one. 

As constantly, the genuine losers in all-too-common scenarios such as this one, are the fans of the group in concern which young core of gamers who should have more assistance. Major League Baseball’s greatest issue stays owners who do not wish to contend.