It appears The Angels are on the cusp of a major change, with owner Arte Moreno announcing on Tuesday that he has retained financial advisors to explore the possibility of franchise sale. The news came as a public surprise but Ken Rosenthal athlete Reports said Moreno had planned to consider selling the team for a while before announcing it. A source told Rosenthal that the sale had been under consideration for over two months.
It wasn’t clear exactly when Moreno settled on this course of action, but it appears to have been at some point in June at the latest. As Rosenthal points out, this provides some interesting context for Halos’ approach to Deadline Trade – specifically with the organization’s handling of the dominant AL MVP Shuhei Ohtani. Reports surfaced in late July that the Angels were listening to commercials on Ohtani, but any speculation was quickly dispelled when Halos took the two-way star off the market by August 1.
John Heyman from The New York Post It was reported shortly after the deadline that Moreno had prevented the front office from exploring Ohtani’s deals at a time when his fellow star Mike Trout He was on the list of injured. Buster Olney from ESPN He conveyed the same sentiment this week, writing that the club’s baseball operations department deemed this summer the ideal time to get maximum payout for Otani, who is eligible to referee for the last time before hitting free agency after 2023. However, Moreno stepped in and indicated that he He will not agree to trade.
In the wake of the announcement that Moreno was exploring a sale, there has been much speculation among rival fan bases that Ohtani’s upcoming off-season deal could be more viable than it was this summer. However, Rosenthal feels this is unlikely, considering Moreno’s refusal to deal with Ohtani on the deadline while he was already planning to explore selling the franchise seems unlikely to change over the winter.
It is not known how long the sale will take, but it may extend into the post-sale period. For reference, the Lerner family announce Shortly after opening day they were exploring the Citizens Sale. earlier this week, Barry Svrulga, Ben Strauss and Chelsea Janes from The Washington Post He suggested that the process be finished by November, about seven months after the team announced that a sale was under consideration. If Operation Angels follows a similar timeline, it will get closer to opening day 2023. Each situation is individual of course, and one cannot accurately know at this point how long a potential sale of the Anaheim Series might take. However, the Nationals’ situation is an example of how complex a deal of this magnitude can be, and it seems likely that Moreno will retain ownership at least for the early stages of the off-season.
Ohtani’s future is just one of many major decisions the Angels face as the franchise prepares for a potentially massive change. The club will have to settle a coach matter, with Phil Nevin currently filling the role on a temporary basis after the team sacked Joe Maddon in early June. General Manager Berry Minassian and his staff will also be tasked with trying to overcome what is set to be the seventh consecutive season of loss and should make another push to compete in 2023. The amount of financial flexibility that will be at the front office’s disposal remains unknown.
Halos entered this season with a record payroll distinction north of $188 million, according to Crib Baseball Contracts. Jason Martinez Back to menu It is estimated that the club has just over $103 million in guaranteed money on the books for next season. This does not include what will almost certainly be a massive increase for Otani on this season’s salary of $5.5 million, and the team will also see its first key man. Jared Walsh Access to arbitration for the first time. Halos doesn’t experience many significant free customer departures, but arguably can stand to use outside assistance at the stop, left field, hunt, and in both spin and bull.
