Last year, Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno announced he would begin an exploratory process of selling the club he has owned since 2003.
The move came with renewed hope for Angels fans and even some former players. Although Moreno has been willing to invest in star players, he was unwilling to spend on many of the necessities needed to produce a strong organization.
This has led to the Angels making the playoffs just once in the past decade despite having two of the best players of all time, with their last appearance coming during the 2014 season when they were quickly eliminated in the American League Division Series.
But when news first came out of the process, it surprised Mike Trout, who has spent his entire career playing for the Angels and Moreno, and he is glad to have the owner back for the foreseeable future, he said via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“When the word first came out that he was looking to sell the team, it was kind of a shock to me, but once I saw Perry making moves and trying to make the team better, which he did, I got the sense Arte wasn’t going to sell the team,” Trout said. “It’s good to have Arte back, and he was committed to making the team better and he’s definitely done that.”
Trout previously signed a 12-year deal, $430 million deal with the Angels in 2019 under Moreno’s leadership, and a swap in ownership may have presented more changes that Trout would have been comfortable with.
But this offseason, the Angels have operated differently, signing quality starters rather than flashy free agents, which included deals with Tyler Anderson, Brandon Drury, Matt Moore and Carlos Estevez. They also acquired Hunter Renfroe and Gio Urshela in trades.
General manager Perry Minasian was appreciative of Moreno giving him the green light to upgrade the roster despite the ongoing sale process, and they now arguably have their most complete roster in recent memory.
The sale process did reach the stage of the league vetting several of their bidders, and the hope was that it would be completed by 2023’s Opening Day, according to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
Negotiations for the Angels were expected to push the asking price to a record number that may have reached $3 billion. Among the bidders were L.A. Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob.
With no sale, Moreno will be in control of the Angels for the foreseeable future, but he hopes to find different results than in previous seasons.
“During this process, it became clear that we have unfinished business and feel we can make a positive impact on the future of the team and the fan experience,” Moreno said.
“This offseason we committed to a franchise record player payroll and still want to accomplish our goal of bringing a World Series Championship back to our fans. We are excited about this next chapter of Angels Baseball.
Arte Moreno didn’t receive enticing offer for Angels
Moreno announced he was taking the team off the market and retaining ownership for the foreseeable future on Jan. 23, and it was reported he never received an offer to his liking.
Steve Cohen most recently purchased the New York Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020 and given the Angels’ prime location in Southern California, Moreno was seeking a deal near or above that mark.
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