Orioles ‘lucky’ pandemic hit during rebuild, aiming to be ‘next Tampa’

Like Elias and manager Brandon Hyde, Angelos acknowledged the Orioles’ rebuild is over, with Baltimore pursuing a playoff spot in 2023. He also said the team was relatively “lucky” it was in that mode when the coronavirus pandemic started in 2020 and prevented fans from attending games.

“We were fortunate that as the world hit a pandemic, we were stripped down to that [level],” Angelos said. “That was just good luck, really, in that sense, to not have a lot of payroll out there. Teams that had a lot of payroll and that were relying on live attendance to pay for that were in a much worse situation. We were much better situated. Just lucky, really.”

The Orioles are projected to have the second-lowest payroll in the majors this season at nearly $65 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Angelos noted that throughout the rebuild, the club has made investments elsewhere, notably scouting, development and technology.

But after the team unexpectedly broke out of that rebuild with an 83-79 record in 2022, there were expectations the Orioles would be far more aggressive in seeking major league upgrades.

Their payroll is more than $20 million above last season’s opening figure but more than $100 million below three of the other four teams in their division.

The fourth, the Tampa Bay Rays, is one of three teams Angelos has repeatedly pointed to as models for Baltimore, saying Sunday that Tampa Bay, the Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers are models in “sustainability” for the Orioles. Asked what it says about his aspirations for the franchise that none of those teams have won a World Series since 1948 and have consistently ranked in the bottom half of the league in payroll, Angelos responded, “Well, we’re aiming for sustained success, and I think what you see in a place like Tampa, they have had sustained success. … I would be disappointed if we’re not the next Tampa, which means being sustainably competitive and relevant.”

He said the Orioles’ payroll will not match those of the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, saying, “That’s not an Oriole thing. That’s a small, middle market team [thing].” Baltimore is the No. 28 media market in the country. The San Diego Padres, who play in the 27th largest market, have a payroll approaching $250 million that ranks third in the league. He also claimed that setting the team’s payroll is not his responsibility.

“Could payroll be double or triple what it is?” Angelos said. “Or could it be over 100 million? Yeah. We’re not there yet. We have a very young team that’s overachieved and overperformed because of the great work of our baseball folks.

“It’s not my job to predict payroll. My job is to make sure that the community partnerships are sustained, and I think all of that comes