Angels owner Arte Moreno says he's looking to sell team

Published

The Los Angeles Angels announced on Tuesday morning that the team is for sale.

In a public statement on the team's Twitter account, owner Arte Moreno said that "now is the time" to explore a sale of the team.

"It has been a great honor and privilege to own the Angels for 20 seasons," Moreno said. "As an organization, we have worked to provide our fans an affordable and family-friendly ballpark experience while fielding competitive lineups which included some of the game's all-time greatest players.

"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. 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 Co. in 2003 for $184 million. Los Angeles has earned a postseason berth six times since the purchase but failed to reach the World Series. Moreover, the Angels haven't made the playoffs since 2014 and haven't had a winning season since 2015.

Superstar outfielder Mike Trout made his MLB debut with the franchise in 2011. Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani made his debut in 2018. Trout has one postseason series on his Hall of Fame résumé, while Ohtani has yet to appear in the playoffs.

The Angels are 52-70 this season, good for fourth in the AL West. They fired manager Joe Maddon in June and moved starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard and reliever Raisel Iglesias at the MLB trade deadline.

Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who has been critical of Angels ownership and claims he is not welcome to be involved with the franchise, celebrated the news.