OC Register: Angels owner Arte Moreno says he’s around ‘for the long term’

[AngelsWin.com]

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arte Moreno has no regrets about the change of heart that led him to pull the Angels off the market 13 months ago.

The Angels owner said Wednesday that he has no plans to revisit a sale of the team that he’s operated since 2003.

“I am here long term,” Moreno said in an interview with the Southern California News Group. “There are some people that came back and some people that knew I had it on the market (in 2022). I basically said it’s not on the market.”

Moreno added that it was always possible that someone would come back and make an offer that he couldn’t refuse.

“I’m a business person,” he said. “If someone gets really stupid, then you have to go.”

Moreno said a year ago that he had turned down offers, including three that surpassed the $2.4 billion that Steve Cohen paid for the New York Mets. One of the offers was reportedly over $3 billion.

Moreno, 77, paid $183.5 million to buy the Angels more than two decades ago.

Although his ownership was a success initially, with the Angels annually contending and selling more than 3 million tickets per season, the franchise has been struggling on the field lately.

Despite the presence of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, the Angels haven’t had a winning season since 2015 and they haven’t made the playoffs since 2014.

Ohtani signed a heavily deferred 10-year, $700-million deal with the Dodgers over the winter, ending his six-year run with the Angels.

When asked if the Angels were willing to meet that price, Moreno said: “No.”

Moreno, however, would not say whether he believed the Angels had a chance to keep Ohtani at the various points when they made the decision not to trade him. The Angels could have traded Ohtani at the 2022 trade deadline, during the following offseason, or at the 2023 deadline.

“From a fan perspective, they pay for tickets and watch the games and listen to the games, this is a special guy,” Moreno said. “I’d like to see him play. We’re in the entertainment business. We made a decision, a group decision, that the best thing was to keep him and make a run.”

The Angels played better through late July last summer and were as close as three games from a playoff spot when they decided to add several players — bringing the projected payroll above the luxury tax threshold — in an effort to make the postseason.

Instead, they started August by losing seven games in a row, and by the end of the month they were out of the race. The Angels then placed seven players on waivers in an effort to get back under the threshold, eventually finishing less than $30,000 below the $233 million threshold.

This winter, with Ohtani gone, they have not even approached last year’s payroll. According to FanGraphs, the Angels are currently set to have a payroll of about $188 million, for purposes of the luxury tax.

Moreno said the plan was to “set the budget lower. … I’m not going to spend money just to show that we’re going to spend money unless it’s going to substantially change the team.”

Moreno said he’s encouraged by the potential of young players like catcher Logan O’Hoppe, shortstop Zach Neto, first baseman Nolan Schanuel.

“I am in it because I believe we can build a team to win,” he said.

Moreno also addressed the failed attempts to reach a development deal with the city of Anaheim regarding Angel Stadium. In 2022, the Angels had a plan to purchase the ballpark from the city in exchange for the right to develop the surrounding area. The agreement fell through when Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu became embroiled in a corruption scandal.

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Now, Moreno said there are no current talks about reviving that deal, with no expectation that it would be revisited.

“Right now I’d say no,” Moreno said. “I don’t like the word never. Right now I don’t believe (Anaheim officials) have an appetite for it.”

The Angels currently have a lease through 2029 at Angel Stadium, with three-year options that run through 2038. Asked if he can forecast what will happen then, Moreno said: “Do you know where you’re going to be in 2038? Do you know how old I am? This year I’ll be 78. That’s a long time.”

The Angels are, however, proceeding with plans to make upgrades to their spring training home in Tempe. Moreno said the practice fields and training facilities will undergo renovations starting at the end of this spring. Improvements to Tempe Diablo Stadium could begin next year, to be completed in time for spring training 2026, Moreno said.

View the full article

[jsnpritchett]

"Moreno said the plan was to “set the budget lower. … I’m not going to spend money just to show that we’re going to spend money unless it’s going to substantially change the team.”

So, what you see right now is what you get, basically.

[Fullmer17]

Jesus, this sucks. Lowered payroll, kept Ohtani for “fan entertainment” and there’s no ballpark plan. Why is he keeping the team then? There is no plan.

[Dgar24]

Just now, Fullmer17 said:

Jesus, this sucks. Lowered payroll, kept Ohtani for “fan entertainment” and there’s no ballpark plan. Why is he keeping the team then? There is no plan.

Unknown Reasons.

 

[Angel Oracle]

Sooo, they are currently $49 million under the AAV tax threshold.

Still plenty of room to sign Burnes a year from now.

Use 2024 to properly assess all of the young players, and then go for it a year from now.

[ShotimeDynasty]

Captivating stuff as per usual with this team. Arte really seems to be embracing the villain role

[T.G.]

Moreno said the plan was to “set the budget lower. … I’m not going to spend money just to show that we’re going to spend money unless it’s going to substantially change the team.”

I'm okay with this approach.  I think this is a HUGE change in philosophy from Moreno. 

Keep drafting and developing talent.  Add when the player can have an impact without subtracting from the prospect pool. 

[jsnpritchett]

1 minute ago, T.G. said:

Moreno said the plan was to “set the budget lower. … I’m not going to spend money just to show that we’re going to spend money unless it’s going to substantially change the team.”

I'm okay with this approach.  I think this is a HUGE change in philosophy from Moreno. 

Keep drafting and developing talent.  Add when the player can have an impact without subtracting from the prospect pool. 

This isn't a huge change at all.  He's said things like this all along. Won't go over budget unless it's for "the right guy," etc.

[T.G.]

2 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

This isn't a huge change at all.  He's said things like this all along. Won't go over budget unless it's for "the right guy," etc.

Well, I took it to mean they're not going to sign someone like Bellinger... which is fine by me.

[BTH]

1 hour ago, jsnpritchett said:

"Moreno said the plan was to “set the budget lower. … I’m not going to spend money just to show that we’re going to spend money unless it’s going to substantially change the team.”

So, what you see right now is what you get, basically.

We’ll see what the budget is once we hit the start of the season and whether they made any more moves.

But if the payroll is anywhere near what it’s at right now, Perry deserves a ton of scrutiny for his allocation of resources.

If you have this many holes on the roster, you can’t be spending $8M on García, Cimber, Cisnero, Plesac, and Kolarek.

[jsnpritchett]

29 minutes ago, T.G. said:

Well, I took it to mean they're not going to sign someone like Bellinger... which is fine by me.

Right, I agree--but that's not a huge change.

[Stradling]

I didn’t like the interview at all. I still think they’ll look to add in free agency. He’s not going to let Perry spend $30 million for this years bullpen and then not add anywhere else. 

[Angels 1961]

I hope this not take us out of signing you know who.

[jsnpritchett]

5 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

I hope this not take us out of signing you know who.

Lorenzen?

[Chitown27Fan]

6 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

I hope this not take us out of signing you know who.

Im sure Bauer is still in the right price range. 

[T.G.]

27 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

Right, I agree--but that's not a huge change.

It's a big change to me.  I think if Moreno had this mind set a while back, he wouldn't have signed Rendon.  We can just agree to disagree.  I'm not going to go back and forth on this.

[Stradling]

I don’t have a subscription to the Register anymore, it ran out.  But Fletch said that the story is updated with quotes from the mayor.  Anyone want to share what that is?  

[Reveille1984]

2 hours ago, Fullmer17 said:

Jesus, this sucks. Lowered payroll, kept Ohtani for “fan entertainment” and there’s no ballpark plan. Why is he keeping the team then? There is no plan.

He doesn't seem to have a long term plan for anything.  I think he's just a bored, rich old man that wouldn't know what to do with himself if he actually sold the team.  His response about the stadium seems to coincide with this, which was practically "I'll probably be dead in 2038, who cares?"

It's funny that he's so big on selling "entertainment", yet winning is likely the biggest part of a team being interesting and drawing new fans.  Entertainment for him is a splashy name, not an actual good baseball team.  This is the entire root of the franchise's problems. 

He's had two all-time, HOF level players fall into his lap and has zilch to show for it.  Garbage, penny pinching player development, continually a garbage tier farm system.  A lot of people are huffing the hype pipe on Schanuel, Neto, and O'Hoppe, but these are more complementary pieces, not guys you build a team around.

Sorry to be such a downer, but man this a dark time for Angels fans.

[T.G.]

The narrative that Arte doesn't have a plan is funny to me.  We don't know what the plan is and so fans assume he doesn't have one.

[Dtwncbad]

3 hours ago, AngelsWin.com said:

“I’m a business person,” he said. “If someone gets really stupid, then you have to go.”

<Insert Jim Carey dumb and dumber meme here>

[Angelsjunky]

[Dtwncbad]

3 minutes ago, T.G. said:

The narrative that Arte doesn't have a plan is funny to me.  We don't know what the plan is and so fans assume he doesn't have one.

I agree with you technically.  I don’t think anybody can certainly conclude that he has no plan.  But he is being somewhat foolish if he fails to see how important it is for him to provide to the fans some sense that he is competent and capable of leading the organization.

He doesn’t seem to be doing anything to breed optimism that HE is the right owner going forward.

 

[DMVol]

7 minutes ago, T.G. said:

The narrative that Arte doesn't have a plan is funny to me.  We don't know what the plan is and so fans assume he doesn't have one.

Since Stoneman left, the only discernible plan I can make out has been whim signings of shiny toy FA’s, with a lack of commitment to development, at least until recently with Perry. You’re welcome to educate me otherwise.

[T.G.]

2 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

I agree with you technically.  I don’t think anybody can certainly conclude that he has no plan.  But he is being somewhat foolish if he fails to see how important it is for him to provide to the fans some sense that he is competent and capable of leading the organization.

He doesn’t seem to be doing anything to breed optimism that HE is the right owner going forward.

 

Your perspective is very different from most Angel fans.  AW is home of fans who think differently than most fans.  Most fans, don't give a rip about a plan.  We're (AW) in the minority.  You see him not sharing his plan as foolish, but in reality - most fans probably don't care.

[T.G.]

1 minute ago, DMVol said:

Since Stoneman left, the only discernible plan I can make out has been whim signings of shiny toy FA’s, with a lack of commitment to development, at least until recently with Perry. You’re welcome to educate me otherwise.

I'm not here to educate you.  I don't know what the plan is.  I just find it funny that people assume there isn't one.