Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno made headlines last August when he announced he would begin an exploratory process of selling the club he has owned since 2003.
The move offered renewed hope for Angels fans and even some former players. While Moreno has been willing to invest in star players, he has neglected other areas needed to produce a strong organization.
The sale process reached the stage of MLB vetting several bidders, and there was hope a deal would be completed by Opening Day. However, Moreno took the team off the market this past January due to a lack of enticing offers.
While speaking to reporters at Cactus League Media Day, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred praised Moreno for being a worthy owner and steward of the game, via Sarah Valenzuela of the L.A. Times:
Speaking at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel as part of a Cactus League Media Day, Manfred called Moreno “a good steward for the game” who has “been a valued member of the ownership group.”
“There’s a lot of success that had been had there,” Manfred said, highlighting the Angels’ spending and previous run of years in which they drew over three million fans per season. “And I think a lot of the sort of negativity recently was a reflection back on the Angels, not a product of them doing anything inappropriate or improper.”
As Manfred noted, a lot of the criticism directed to the Angels in recent years stemmed from the Angels’ performance and not necessarily Moreno’s actions as owner.
During the sale process, the Angels continued to spend in free agency and are now projected to have the highest payroll in team history after the acquisitions of Hunter Renfroe, Tyler Anderson, Gio Urshela, Brandon Drury and Carlos Estévez.
General manager Perry Minasian was appreciative of Moreno giving him the green light to continue spending and improving the roster as he attempted to sell the team.
Mike Trout happy to have Arte Moreno back as Angels owner
Mike Trout, who has spent his entire career with the Angels, was happy to hear that Moreno ended the sale process and will return as owner for the foreseeable future.
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