Rob Manfred: The Angels are hoping to be sold before Opening Day

[Warfarin]

3 minutes ago, Stradling said:

There’s a difference between hog wild and going over the threshold. They could still get a legit SS and Senga and go well above the threshold. 

Maybe.  But I doubt Arte will do it.  While it seems all but certain that a sale will be consummated, I don't think it's good business to assume that it for sure will.  So I don't think Arte would willingly go over the LT threshold, on the off chance something goes wrong with the sale and it gets delayed a lot longer than he'd like.

[tdawg87]

Just now, tdawg87 said:

I think it's more an indication that we might actually have a shot at Correa/Boegarts/Swanson. 

The payroll is already higher than it has ever been. I don't see Arte saying "well you can go a little over our normal budget but not much!". 

But then again, the impending sale might have more of an impact than we thought.

[tdawg87]

Just now, Warfarin said:

So I don't think Arte would willingly go over the LT threshold

He didn't say that

[Warfarin]

4 minutes ago, Docwaukee said:

Here's my purely speculative assumption.  There are several bidders all in about the same range so Arte probably doesn't care too much about who wins the bid.  They're probably all ok with some form of increased payroll but want to have some say over how that occurs and not be completely locked into a particular player without knowing all the ins and out ie their own eval.  So payroll will go to about what the new owners would be comfortable with.  Yet Arte has to be able to undo if the sale falls apart or takes much longer than expected.  

Also, it seems that Arte wants this over with and it's probably mlb that would be slowing things down to make sure they get the right group in there for the long haul.  They'll probably have a very strong influence on who's chose.  Probably to the point where Arte just gives his blessing if that top number is where it should be.  

Yeah - and that is what I just posted a moment ago too.  It seems probable a sale will occur in a timely fashion, but I can't see Arte committing to a large deal on the off-chance shit hits the fan and something considerably delays the process or creates an issue, and he is suddenly financially responsible for more than he anticipated.

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

Yeah - and that is what I just posted a moment ago too.  It seems probable a sale will occur in a timely fashion, but I can't see Arte committing to a large deal on the off-chance shit hits the fan and something considerably delays the process or creates an issue, and he is suddenly financially responsible for more than he anticipated.

What are the odds a deal falls through with multiple qualified ownership groups? 

[Warfarin]

Just now, Stradling said:

What are the odds a deal falls through with multiple qualified ownership groups? 

Low, but things could get delayed more than he'd like.  And again - I don't think the new ownership group would require him to spend $$ on another marquee player.  He is already increasing the budget, which we have seen.  I think he will just defer any big future contracts to the new group, while spending the required amount of money to help ensure this team is competitive for the upcoming year.  

[Pancake Bear]

Maybe we should all just admit we have no idea about the budget this year. All we can be reasonably confident of is that there is more money. How much more is unclear, but it isn't inconceivable another big contract could be brought in, even if that is not the most likely scenario. Other than that, we'll have to just wait and see.

[Docwaukee]

4 minutes ago, Stradling said:

There’s a difference between hog wild and going over the threshold. They could still get a legit SS and Senga and go well above the threshold. 

Considering they're at 212 relative to the lux tax already...

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, Docwaukee said:

Considering they're at 212 relative to the lux tax already...

With holes to fill.

 

 

 

go on….

[Warfarin]

5 minutes ago, Stradling said:

With holes to fill.

 

 

 

go on….

If they, say, acquire Hoerner via trade (2.2mil), it would seem they can likely fairly easily navigate a path to filling holes while staying below the LT.

Let's say they sign Senga at 5/75 to replace a starter they used to acquire Hoerner.  They would still fall below the LT level, with their offseason basically over.  Or, they can go a cheaper route for a SP (Lorenzen?  not saying that's what I want, but just an option), and use a bit of money to sprinkle in the RP market or whatever they feel is best.

[totdprods]

34 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

If they, say, acquire Hoerner via trade (2.2mil), it would seem they can likely fairly easily navigate a path to filling holes while staying below the LT.

Let's say they sign Senga at 5/75 to replace a starter they used to acquire Hoerner.  They would still fall below the LT level, with their offseason basically over.  Or, they can go a cheaper route for a SP (Lorenzen?  not saying that's what I want, but just an option), and use a bit of money to sprinkle in the RP market or whatever they feel is best.

Signing Senga, flipping Rengifo and Suarez for Hoerner, then signing someone like Lorenzen to replace Suarez would be cool.

[Dtwncbad]

One pretty simple way to manage through this would be:

Bidders must agree to purchase the team within a RANGE of salary obligations and agree in principle on how to value the salary obligation portion of the overall purchase price based on any of these numbers.

One bidder (or all) could declare that they are comfortable over the minimally tolerated range.

This way the team could be relatively aggressive in building the 2023 roster knowing they are staying within the range already agreed upon by this group of bidders.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Dtwncbad

[T.G.]

1 hour ago, Pancake Bear said:

Maybe we should all just admit we have no idea about the budget this year. All we can be reasonably confident of is that there is more money. How much more is unclear, but it isn't inconceivable another big contract could be brought in, even if that is not the most likely scenario. Other than that, we'll have to just wait and see.

This is the most sensible post in this thread.

[Warfarin]

@Jeff Fletcher - out of curiosity, where would "reviewing the financials" be in terms of the sale process?  Manfred said it is an important step forward.  How "close" is this to Arte actually agreeing to sell the team to one of the bidders?

[eligrba4ever]

6 hours ago, Jason said:

@eligrba4everis this true?

Mr. Grba is spending his eternity in an Alabama graveyard.

[eligrba4ever]

Signed and sealed by Opening Day? That would be great. It also might mean that a deal with this much money involved is pretty much on a fast track already.

[Jeff Fletcher]

2 hours ago, Warfarin said:

@Jeff Fletcher - out of curiosity, where would "reviewing the financials" be in terms of the sale process?  Manfred said it is an important step forward.  How "close" is this to Arte actually agreeing to sell the team to one of the bidders?

That was all included in Manfred’s response to my question. It’s close enough for them to be “hoping” to be done by opening day but not close enough for Manfred to say they can be done by opening day. 
 

As for all your other questions, there’s a lot of guessing and speculation in here. I don’t know any of the answers with any certainty. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

4 minutes ago, eligrba4ever said:

Signed and sealed by Opening Day? That would be great. It also might mean that a deal with this much money involved is pretty much on a fast track already.

I agree with this. Based on my knowledge of how these things have gone in the past I’d say it would have gone pretty quickly if it’s done by opening day. 

[Pancake Bear]

4 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

I agree with this. Based on my knowledge of how these things have gone in the past I’d say it would have gone pretty quickly if it’s done by opening day. 

Do you think the Ohtani factor is why it's being fast tracked? As in, Ohtani won't consider an extension until the sale is complete and the new owner is in, and the team loses some value to buyers if they don't have the opportunity to sell Ohtani on an extension - or is that a non-factor/of low significance, in your opinion?

[Jeff Fletcher]

38 minutes ago, Pancake Bear said:

Do you think the Ohtani factor is why it's being fast tracked? As in, Ohtani won't consider an extension until the sale is complete and the new owner is in, and the team loses some value to buyers if they don't have the opportunity to sell Ohtani on an extension - or is that a non-factor/of low significance, in your opinion?

I would just be speculating but that makes a lot of sense to me. 

[ettin]

I think Ohtani factors into this sale equation more than people realize, as Pancake said. For Moreno it's probably millions added to the sale and for a potential new owner, getting in before the season starts and making a mega-deal offer for such a high-profile superstar makes a ton of sense and has terrific implications for sales and the teams chances of winning consistently with Mike Trout.

$$$$ for both sides and implications of winning a championship with someone like Ohtani. Honestly, everyone keeps talking about a SS, but my God they need to save that money for an Ohtani extension. He is the Ace everyone kept screaming for, previously, and his bat only adds to the value (and actually kind of gives great insurance if he hurts his arm again, because he can return and hit well, probably).

I don't mind if they run out Joe Blow at SS and extend Ohtani, the latter is all that matters to me, personally, he is a must sign. Trade other assets for a short-term SS and wait for someone like Neto to enter the picture.

[Pancake Bear]

26 minutes ago, ettin said:

$$$$ for both sides and implications of winning a championship with someone like Ohtani. Honestly, everyone keeps talking about a SS, but my God they need to save that money for an Ohtani extension.

But it isn't just about that. The narrative suggests, if we don't win Ohtani walks. Which, if true, it means that new ownership needs to decide if they are willing to spend not just on Ohtani but enough to make this a winning team in the short term. If not, we might as well start rebuilding immediately. If potential buyers are willing to spend, however, that might be why the budget has gone up, and it might imply there is more to come. 

[ukyah]

25 minutes ago, ettin said:

I think Ohtani factors into this sale equation more than people realize, as Pancake said. For Moreno it's probably millions added to the sale and for a potential new owner, getting in before the season starts and making a mega-deal offer for such a high-profile superstar makes a ton of sense and has terrific implications for sales and the teams chances of winning consistently with Mike Trout.

$$$$ for both sides and implications of winning a championship with someone like Ohtani. Honestly, everyone keeps talking about a SS, but my God they need to save that money for an Ohtani extension. He is the Ace everyone kept screaming for, previously, and his bat only adds to the value (and actually kind of gives great insurance if he hurts his arm again, because he can return and hit well, probably).

I don't mind if they run out Joe Blow at SS and extend Ohtani, the latter is all that matters to me, personally, he is a must sign. Trade other assets for a short-term SS and wait for someone like Neto to enter the picture.

if they don't win this season, then ohtani isn't going to be an angel the next season. joe blow at SS isn't going to cut it. it's time the angels put on their big boy pants and start acting like a marquee franchise. you got the kid ohtani from japan just looking to take a foothold in mlb. if you want to keep the legendary superstar, then start acting like the dodgers, red sox, yankees, etc. the one foot in, one foot out days of moreno are over.

[Docwaukee]

Somewhere in my head I want to believe that Shohei staying isn't just about winning this year.  We're likely going to see him make a 10yr commitment so I am hoping a strong push to make the team better this year, plus a new ownership group who is highly committed to doing things the right way will make him comfortable enough to want to stay.  I could live with him having an opt out if that's what it takes.  

It's encouraging that Arte is pressing to get this done.  

Also makes me wonder if Perry is trying to navigate several possibilities in terms of how much he's ultimately going to be able to spend.  

[TempeAngel]

I think it could be a Japanese ownership group and I think that could be a very good thing.