The Phillies are profitable.  The Mets and the Padres are the only two teams that have really done aggressive “deficit-spending” in pursuit of a ring in the last few years.

If someone pays Burnes 400 mil or anything close. I think there are owners out there that haven't learned anything and have more money that brains. Don't get me wrong - Burnes is a good pitcher but that's it he is a good pitcher that will turn 30 next year. I believe the calculus for paying 30ish starting pitchers of value is changing. I believe - regardless of Boras - shorter terms and higher average annuals will be in play. So to me, 4/120 isn't a stupid prediction. Guess we shall see. 

There is NOTHING preventing the Orioles of signing any player to a serious contract. Especially considering we have signed ZERO since Chris Davis way back in what 2015? That was almost a decade ago. We have been operating in a non-serious manner for too long when it comes to the org’s on field investment.  Teams that don’t spend don’t win World Series. Look at the last 20 years of the game. The Astros first World Series is the only team who wasn’t too half of the league who won a championship.

Some owners spend and want to win (Mets, Padres, Phillies). Some are more interested in making money (Rays, Guardians, etc). If Rubenstein is a profits based owner (has to make money year after year like JA) vs an investment style o lever (accepts some years May come with a loss or small net gain) then we (the fans) will be screwed. We will be akin to the Rays who are content with being “good”. But they are never willing to do what it takes to be good enough. I hope Rubenstein and everyone associated with the business or the Orioles paid a lot of attention to all of the empty seats for playoff games. That is evidence of a fanbase/market place who is not fully engaged.  The onus is on the Orioles to give people a compelling reason to come out and spend money especially in this economy. And it cannot just be hey look we have a winning team. The franchise must do more including investing in the on field product (in terms of committed dollars like every other serious franchise who is trying to win a championship).

My recollection is that MLB has rules about how much debt teams are allowed to take on and how much money owners are allowed to infuse into their franchises.   They supposedly won't approve contracts if they think a contract will cause them to exceed these thresholds.