Now that the news is out there that Arte Moreno is set to explore a sale of the Los Angeles Angels, the impact of his decision, and when he knew looms large with the massive decisions ahead for the franchise in terms of player personnel, mainly Shohei Ohtani.
Moreno has been the controlling owner of the Angels for the last 20 years and in that span, the club has won six division titles and has never sent Mike Trout past the first round of the playoffs.
The Angels have largely been a disappointment, and as a result of changing general managers and a lack of organizational awareness to strengthen the team’s farm system to make themselves self-sustainable, they’ve opted for numerous high-priced free agents who have largely failed.
With the decision surrounding Ohtani’s impending free agency and a serious drop-off in talent in their prospect pool, Moreno decided to hold off, the opposite of what the Washington Nationals did with Juan Soto, via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
The Lerner family, which owns the Nationals, did not prevent the team’s front office from trading Juan Soto with the franchise for sale. Moreno, though, restricted the Angels’ front office from doing the same with Ohtani at the Aug. 2 deadline – and he knew by that time he was putting the team up for sale, major-league sources said.
The return for Soto was definitely underwhelming, but teams that the Nationals were pressed for time with a new ownership group on the horizon, and seemingly took the best offer they received.
What they got for Soto in terms of prospects felt unprecedented, but Ohtani is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and the reigning MVP would be in-line for another if not for Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees leading the world in home runs with 48 entering play on Friday.
The Angels could be in a position to extend Ohtani with the sale giving him some new hope that the franchise is more serious about contending and being sustainable, too.
Trout wants to compete
Mike Trout has been with the Angels since the 2011 season and since then he has seen the highs and lows of the club, all without a deep run in October.
According to Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register, Trout’s commitment to the Angels and desire to win is as high as ever.
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