The Los Angeles Angels front office has conducted the offseason with a clear focus, and general manager Perry Minasian has maintained his plan to block out any noise surrounding the ongoing search for a buyer of the franchise.
With negotiations possibly pushing $3 billion, the asking price alone is enough to understand the length of time it takes to sell a professional team. On the field, the Angels have an incredibly important season ahead with their high expectations.
Minasian has already boosted the roster to surround Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani with more talent to hopefully make the playoffs again, but the potential sale of the team does present a potential distraction.
However, the sale of the team is outside of Minasian’s control, so his only worry is making sure he can construct a winning roster, via Sam Blum of The Athletic:
Perry Minasian on if the team is close to being sold:
"I'm worried about the team. Putting the best team on the field as we possibly can. That would be a question for someone else."
That someone else is Arte Moreno and he (as I always note), has not taken questions in years.
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) December 23, 2022
Nevin expressed much of the same attitude, explaining that his sights are solely on his club.
“I don’t think it’s a distraction at all,” Nevin said of the team’s potential sale. “I mean, I read the same things you guys do. I’m not part of that. But, no, I don’t think it’s a distraction at all.
The road to the playoffs will be tough as Nevin also belives the Angels are in one of MLB’s most talented divisions.
“I mean, there’s no doubt. I think our division is one of the better in baseball. It’s getting better each day,” Nevin said. “I’m excited to go to compete against Boch a little bit, somebody that I’ve obviously been around quite a bit in my life.
“Our division is good. And we only have to play each other 12 times this year instead of 18 or 19, whatever it is. I can’t worry about those things.”
MLB expects Angels to finalize sale prior to Opening Day
The Angels enjoyed a bit of an emotional boost after owner Arte Moreno announced he was exploring a sale of the franchise last season. At the MLB Winter Meetings in San Diego, Calif. in early December, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed his optimism that the league believes this will be resolved soon.
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