“I am now 75 years old. In a recent NPR interview, Orioles majority owner David Rubenstein stated, “It’s unlikely that I’ll be doing this for 20 more years.” “So I’ve got to speed up the effort to get [to] a World Series a lot sooner than maybe some younger owners would.”
This could be one of the clearest signs yet that the Orioles are in for their busiest offseason in a long time, especially given that the team is coming off a pair of playoff outings with just one win in five total postseason games. This is Rubenstein’s first winter as owner of the organization, and as GM Mike Elias hinted during his end-of-season news conference, the Orioles will have a lot more money to spend than in recent years during the club’s rebuild, when the Angelos family was still in charge.
More from the AL East…
Sticking with the Orioles, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes that the Orioles “had no interest” in right-hander Domingo German in the past, contradicting a January claim by the New York Post’s Mark W. Sanchez. German joined the Pirates on a minor league contract last offseason and posted a 7.84 ERA in seven appearances and 20 2/3 innings on the big league squad in 2024. German was released from Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster in September and elected free agency earlier this week. Given his dismal recent performance and troublesome off-field past, it’s unclear whether any MLB organizations will take a chance on German for another minor league deal.
The top Rays story is the team’s anticipated need for a new temporary home to open the 2025 season, since Tropicana Field suffered significant damage during Hurricane Milton. John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times discusses the stadium’s insurance policies and the possibility that the city of St. Petersburg (which is funding the repairs) will decide that repairing the Trop isn’t worth it because the Rays’ new ballpark will open in 2028.”We’re going to look into every possible route, including insurance, to ensure that the Rays have a place to play in St. Petersburg. However, we will ensure that it is a financially sensible decision,” said Copley Gerdes, a city council member. According to Romano, Orlando may be the best option for the Rays’ interim home because the team could play at the 9500-seat stadium on the ESPN Wide World Of Sports complex at Walt Disney World.
According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (via X), the Red Sox have appointed Kyle Boddy as interim director of baseball science. The position appears to be a new addition to the Sox front office, since Brad Alberts is listed as the “team lead” of baseball sciences in the team directory, but there is no director position. Boddy developed the data-driven Driveline Baseball training facility in 2012, and he then took on an official role with a major league club as the Reds’ pitching coordinator for the duration of the 2020-21 season. Last January, the Red Sox hired Boddy as an advisor to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
