When the original report that Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno planned to explore a sale of the franchise, former players and fans were among those most excited about the potential change.
However, the expected outcome didn’t come to fruition as the regular season is right around the corner.
In late August, Moreno announced that he would begin the process of finding a suitable bid to buy the Angels after 20 years of team ownership. His jaded history tied to his affinity to hand out large contracts to superstars in the second half of their careers marred his time in the driver’s seat.
Having failed to see any of his rosters make it past the first round of the playoffs during Mike Trout’s tenure as the face of the franchise, they’ve become a backseat team around Major League Baseball with their known dysfunction.
Commissioner Rob Manfred expected the sale to come prior to the 2023 regular season beginning, but on Jan. 23, Moreno announced he was taking the team off the market and retaining ownership.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, negotiations never took off in the right direction:
It was no surprise to Angels owner Arte Moreno’s friends that he changed his mind and decided not to sell the franchise. He recently had been discussing plans for the Angels through at least 2026.
Now that Moreno has cemented himself at the helm for at least the immediate future, the offseasons spending is a bit more justified. Steve Cohen most recently purchased the New York Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020 and given the Angels’ prime location in Southern California, Moreno was seeking a deal near or above that mark:
Moreno was seeking at least $2.5 billion for the franchise, and hoping for $3 billion. Yet, he never received a single proposal that interested him since he announced last October that he was putting the team on the market.
The Angels’ offseason additions were geared toward pushing the team into a new area they haven’t been in some time, prepared. Depth within their organization has plagued the club for years, and general manager Perry Minasian had seen enough.
MLB may take over broadcasts amidst Bally Sports uncertainty
Sinclair broadcasts their games through Bally Sports, which currently holds exclusive local rights to 42 pro sports teams including the Angels, but concerns over a potential bankruptcy route have grown larger.
It was reported in late January that Diamond Sports Group, owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, was considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to a growing $8.6-billion debt that could require restructuring.
Manfred and MLB have recently broached the topic of regional blackouts, citing how they’re working toward bringing the game to as many fans as possible. But an issue such as Bally Sports possibly going under presents a large problem for the 14 teams under their broadcast umbrella.
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