Angels owner Arte Moreno to explore selling team
Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno is exploring a sale of the team, the organization said in a statement Tuesday.
"Although this difficult decision was entirely our choice and deserved a great deal of thoughtful consideration, my family and I have ultimately come to the conclusion that now is the time," Moreno said in a statement. "Throughout this process, we will continue to run the franchise in the best interest of our fans, employees, players, and business partners."
Moreno bought the Angels from the Walt Disney Company for $180 million in 2003, months after Los Angeles won the 2002 World Series over the San Francisco Giants. He was the first Mexican American to own a major professional sports team in the United States.
His tenure owning the Angels has been marred by the team's inability to compete in the postseason, bad big-name signings, wasting the careers of stars like Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani and poor staff management that included firing scouts before the 2020 draft and furloughing employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Angels have made the postseason only six times since Moreno bought the team and have had no postseason appearances since 2014. One of the team's biggest bungles was giving Albert Pujols a 10-year, $254 million deal in 2012. Pujols batted .257 in 1,181 games during his time in Los Angeles and averaged 24 home runs per season.
The Angels aren't the only team that could be sold. The Lerner family is also exploring the sale of the Washington Nationals.
