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The Los Angeles Angels aren’t for sale.
The Moreno family announced Monday that it would end the exploratory process to sell the American League West team and plans on remaining in the ownership position.
“As discussions advanced and began to crystalize, we realized our hearts remain with the Angels, and we are not ready to part ways with the fans, players and our employees,” Arte Moreno said.
Moreno’s comments also highlighted the fact that the family “committed to a franchise record player payroll” this offseason and has “unfinished business,” such as the “goal of bringing a World Series championship back to our fans.”
The Moreno family purchased the Angels from The Walt Disney Company in 2003 for $182.5 million.
In March, Forbes listed the Angels as Major League Baseball’s ninth-most valuable team with an approximate value of $2.2 billion. That seemed to open the door for the Moreno family to bring in quite the return compared to what it paid for the franchise when it revealed it would explore a sale in August.
That revelation led to some notable reaction:
Alas, Los Angeles will remain with the same ownership that has failed to produce a consistent winner in 20 years. The team won the World Series the year prior to the Moreno family’s purchase but has yet to advance to the Fall Classic since.
In fact, the Angels have been to the playoffs just one time since the 2009 campaign despite a number of high-profile players, including Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.
The franchise enters the 2023 season with seven consecutive losing years and a payroll that is 10th in the league at $172.7 million, per Spotrac. Ohtani is under contract for just one more season, and there is plenty of pressure on the front office and ownership to turn things around following an extended period of losing.
And that ownership will be the same family that has been there for the last 20 years.
