This, that and the other

Orioles control owner David Rubenstein spoke to Yahoo Finance this week at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He mentioned twice how the Orioles are in “pretty good shape," endorsed a salary cap and went over some of the ballpark renovations.

The club’s payroll has risen to 15^th in the majors at $156 million, per Roster Resource, and we’re waiting for the outcome of Jorge Mateo’s salary figure exchange. He’s seeking $4 million and the Orioles countered at $3.1 million.

Rubenstein described the payroll as “consistent with our needs,” and added, “I don’t think anybody is not playing with the Orioles because of money reasons."

“Spending the most money doesn’t always guarantee you a World Series championship," he added, "and in fact many times people with smaller payrolls have won the World Series. I’m reasonably optimistic we’re gonna do well this year.”

Rubenstein explained how the luxury tax works, with a penalty incurred for teams going over it.

“It’s not a perfect system,” he said. “It’s better than nothing, but at some point I think we’ll have something closer to what the NFL and NBA have. But there’s no guarantee of that.

“There are two types of luxury taxes, soft and hard, and we have, I guess, a soft one, but there’s no doubt that right now I think the big city teams have some advantages.”

Renovations have started at Camden Yards, with the more drastic improvements coming in 2026.

“We’ll have a bigger scoreboard, better sound system, we’ll have better food, better facilities for the players, better equipment for the players in some respects, easier parking for the players in some respects. Many different things,” he said.

“We’ll probably shrink the stadium a little bit and use the seats that we had for other facilities, other kinds of things, and make the fan experience better.”

* Pitcher Roansy Contreras is on the move again, this time going away from the Orioles.

The Yankees claimed Contreras on waivers Thursday afternoon after the Orioles designated him for assignment on Jan. 16. They needed the 40-man roster space after claiming infielder Jacob Amaya on waivers from the White Sox.

That didn’t take long.

Contreras returns to his original organization. The Yankees signed him as an amateur free agent in 2016 and traded him to the Pirates five years later in the Jameson Taillon deal.

The Angels acquired Contreras in a May 16, 2024 trade, the Rangers claimed him Oct. 31, the Reds claimed him Dec. 19, and the Orioles claimed him Jan. 10. Now, the Yankees get another turn.

* One-hour recap shows of the Orioles and Nationals 2024 seasons will air on MASN and MASN2 beginning in early February. Set your recorders.

MASN

Feb. 3: Orioles 7 p.m., Nationals 8 p.m.
Feb. 4: Orioles 2 p.m., Nationals 3 p.m.
Feb. 6: Orioles 11 p.m.
Feb. 7: Orioles 3 p.m.
Feb. 9: Nationals 12 p.m.
Feb. 10: Orioles 7 p.m., Nationals 11:30 p.m.
Feb. 11: Orioles 1 p.m., Nationals 2 p.m.
Feb. 13: Orioles 11 a.m., Nationals 3 p.m.
Feb. 15: Nationals 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 16: Orioles 11:30 a.m.
Feb. 18: Nationals 9 p.m.
Feb. 21: Nationals 7 p.m., Orioles 8 p.m.
Feb. 22: Nationals 11 a.m., Orioles 12 p.m.

MASN2

Feb. 2: Orioles 8 p.m.
Feb 3: Nationals 5 p.m.
Feb. 4: Orioles 5 p.m.
Feb. 5: Nationals 8 p.m.
Feb. 6: Orioles 6 p.m.
Feb. 8: Orioles 4 p.m., Nationals 7 p.m.
Feb. 10: Orioles 5 p.m.
Feb. 12: Orioles 8 p.m.
Feb. 13: Nationals 2 p.m.
Feb. 14: Nationals 9 p.m.
Feb. 16: Orioles 8 p.m.
Feb. 17: Nationals 5 p.m.
Feb. 18: Nationals 5 p.m.
Feb. 20: Orioles 6 p.m.

* Brady Anderson used to train Brian Matusz during his years in the Orioles’ front office and they built a friendship that lasted until the former Orioles reliever passed away on Jan. 6 at age 37.

Anderson shared his thoughts on Matusz earlier this week. He also relayed an anecdote that didn’t make my article. I wanted to post it here.

“He used to say funny (stuff) to me. He was so funny,” Anderson said.

“During an off-day I caught one of his bullpens at Camden Yards. It was brutal, it was like 110 degrees out. We’re the only ones there. Then, he wanted to throw more. It’s not easy catching a big-league pitcher, you know? He says, ‘You’re catching my bullpens, we’re training together.’ And then we were in Chicago and he had a start. He looks at me and goes, ‘Can you just pitch for me, too?’

“When people remember him, I think that’s what they’re going to remember.”

* Reliever Andrew Miller was a teammate of Matusz’s for only a few months after a 2014 deadline trade. Miller said he recently had stumbled upon a photo of the bullpen from that year.

“It was just the most incredible group,” he said. “It should be a picture that brings a smile, like, these positive memories, but now it’s just heartbreaking.

“T.J. McFarland was out there, Tommy Hunter, (Darren) O’Day, Zack (Britton), obviously Brian. It was such a fun group and those guys love each other and picked each other up. It was the luckiest landing spot in the world for me to end up with those guys. Really a special time in my career. Gonna miss him.”

* Talking to Anderson this week reminded us of a classic exchange inside the old media workroom at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. Apologies in advance if you’ve heard it.

I had purchased pre-workout powders for my six-week stay at the nearest supplement shops. My usual brand wasn’t available at one particular location, but the guy working behind the counter went into a back room and brought out a dusty container of “Jack3d.” I never heard of it but shelled out the $50.

I showed it to Anderson in the workroom and he immediately told me to throw it away. He said it like four times, in between me asking, “Seriously?”

“Yes, Roch, seriously,” he’d reply, his tone growing more stern. I wanted an explanation.

Anderson: “First, it’s the No. 1 thing you’ll test positive for. Second, it’ll kill you”

Me: “Shouldn’t ‘kill you’ be first?”

We laughed so hard at the retelling this week. And he was right. A quick Google search revealed that the product was pulled from shelves – some members of the military had died after using it - and I noticed it listed among the banned substances posted inside every clubhouse.

The more you know ...