Plus: Rubenstein inches closer to control, Mayo worked on his throwing, and bullpen standouts.
Good Morning, Birdland!
Friday was a pretty big off-the-field news day for the Orioles.
First, we learned that MASN would, in fact, be able available to Xfinity customers for the 2024 season. The relationship between MASN and Xfinity had been fraying over the fact that the cable provider wished to move the regional sports channel into their more expensive tier. That would decrease MASN’s number of total subscribers and therefore impact its bottom line.
In the end, Xfinity got its wish. Per The Baltimore Sun, MASN will now be part of the more expensive “Ultimate TV” package rather than the basic “Popular TV” tier. This new tier will cost about $20 more per month, a jump from $95 to $115. However, Xfinity does offer a promotional three-month period that costs nothing extra to upgrade from Popular to Ultimate.
There is some hope that this will be the final season in which a cable subscription is required to “legally” watch MASN in the local area. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in February that he hopes to have direct-to-consumer options for in-market streaming as soon as 2025.
If that does happen, it makes this change for Xfinity customers easier to swallow. The promotional period helps to ease the price increase, and then you could hopefully downgrade at the end of the baseball season, unless you really enjoy the winter programming on MASN for some reason.
Later in the day, it was reported that the incoming ownership group led by David Rubenstein inched closer to officially taking over the Orioles when MLB’s ownership committee unanimously approved the sale. This committee is made up of nine owners and is chaired by the Phillies’ John Middleton.
The next step will be to bring the sale to the entire ownership base. In order for it to go through, the deal must be approved by 23 of the 30 clubs. While nothing is certain, it seems like everything is moving along smoothly for Rubenstein to become the team’s “control person” in the very near future.
Links
Rubenstein-Led Deal to Buy MLB’s Orioles Gains Key Approval | Bloomberg
More information on Rubenstein getting ever closer to taking offer his hometown team.
MASN and Comcast reach deal, which will move Orioles games to more expensive cable tier | The Baltimore Sun
If you are looking for a cheaper—albeit clunky—option, you can consider a subscription to MLB TV and a VPN. It can be a bit finicky for local games, but it comes with the bonus of radio broadcasts via the MLB app plus a bunch of minor league games too.
3 spring standouts who could be bullpen X-factors for O’s | Orioles.com
Giving Akin a 50/50 shot feels quite generous unless someone gets hurt. His career numbers are not good, and he has an option left. Seems like a no-brainer to send him down to begin the season if you want to hang onto one or two others on the fringes that don’t have such flexibility.
Commentary: Comcast keeps putting the screws to Orioles fans. MASN should help us. | The Baltimore Banner
Personally, I would love if MASN could get folded into YouTube TV somehow. It’s a bit pricey at $72 per month, but still better value than traditional cable! Plus, locally it already shows the Wizards and Capitals games, two things I don’t really care about but at least illustrate that regional sports is doable. It’s unclear if MLB has burned a bridge there though. MLB Network was taken off of YouTube TV a year ago and there are no signs of it returning.
O’s Coby Mayo adjusted his arm slot to take his defense to a higher level | Steve Melewski
Mayo won’t make the Orioles out of the spring, but he sure is putting on a show and seems likely to make an impact in Baltimore sometime this summer.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Zack Burdi is 29 today. He pitched in just one game for the 2021 Orioles.
- Yennier Cano celebrates his 30th birthday. Acquired from the Twins in 2022 as part of the Jorge López deal, Cano turned into an all-star set-up man for the O’s last season and will be counted on again in 2024.
- Clay Rapada turns 43. The lefty spent the 2011 season in the O’s bullpen, accumulating a 6.06 ERA over 32 appearances.
This day in O’s history
2012 – Orioles’ outfield Nolan Reimond is hit in the head by a pitch from Rays’ starter Alex Cobb. Reimold remains face down on the ground for several minutes and is transported to the hospital. Fortunately, tests reveal no significant injury.