The baseball world learned a shocking truth today when it was revealed that Arte Moreno, the long-time owner of the Los Angeles Angels, has begun exploring different avenues, including that of potentially selling the team.
Why he’s doing this is unknown at this moment.
Perhaps there are things taking place behind the scenes that we aren’t aware of, but this is a pretty major development.
On Twitter, Jeff Passan of ESPN listed the possible outcomes of Moreno selling the Angels, if that is ultimately what he decides to do.
Passan notes that the door has been opened for a potential Shohei Ohtani contract extension, or a trade and an increased payroll.
This is also means that MLB’s most “hands-on” owner could soon be gone.
The fallout from Arte Moreno selling the Angels would be monumental.
1) Opens the door to a Shohei Ohtani trade — or record-setting extension.
2) With enormous revenues, Angels still have never had a payroll over $183M. That'll change.
3) MLB's most hands-on owner is gone.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 23, 2022
Changes Coming For The Halos?
These are some big stories developing, but it looks like a lot of things are going to change for the Angels.
First, we need to unpack the idea of an Ohtani trade.
With the Angels having not been in contention for the past few seasons, that is entirely possible.
His contract does expire at the end of the 2023 season.
More likely though, given that the Angels play in a big market, Ohtani would get a record contract extension.
As Passan notes, Moreno has been hesitant to increase the payroll above $183 million.
This could also open the door for some other major free agents to sign this offseason and for the Angels to finally put together a World Series contending ballclub.
A lot could change here for the Angels in the near future.
Things are about to get interesting.
This will be a team worth watching this offseason if Moreno does ultimately decide to sell the team.
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