MLB rumors: Blue Jays not selling low, team eyeing Syndergaard, Cal Ripken message to O's fans

Cal Ripken Jr. has message for O's fans after joining new ownership group

Baltimore Orioles fans suddenly have every reason to be excited about their future. The AL East projects to be one of the bloodbath divisions for years to come, but Baltimore is well positioned to come out on top.

The Orioles already boasted a wealth of already-performing young big league talent and to add to that, have the league's most stacked farm system, making them the go-to buyer anytime someone has an asset they want to trade. Baltimore appears to have the right of first refusal on key incoming talent pieces.

Before this week, the one mark against optimism for the Orioles future was ownership. This offseason has been a massive disappointment with the Angelos family sticking to a common theme of their ownership: Refusing to spend to bring in talent in free agency.

Well, for once, there might have been a good reason for that: Preparing the books for a sale. The Angelos have sold their controlling stake of the team to venture capitalist David Rubenstein for a $1.725 billion valuation.

In the new ownership is Cal Ripken Jr., the Oriole himself. Ripken broke his silence since the news to announce his excitement to fans in a pair of Tweets this week.

"I am excited to once again be a part of the organization and I thank for including me in the ownership group..."

...The Orioles have been a part of my life since I was a child, and this is a special day. I look forward to this opportunity and will do whatever I can to help the organization. Let’s go O’s!"

Nothing like an all-timer from the franchise back in the fold to get fans excited about what's to come for Baltimore baseball.