Arte Moreno Says He Will Increase Angels Payroll This Offseason

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 9, 2024

Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

When Los Angeles Angels let Shohei Ohtani walk last winter, many were quick to question owner Arte Moreno. Was he not willing to spend the money to keep him? Did he not have the money?

The Angels trimmed around $40 million from their 2023 payroll, which had been close to surpassing the luxury tax threshold. A significant portion of that reduction came from Shohei Ohtani’s $30 million salary coming off the books.

Moreno cleared the air during a phone interview with the Southern California New Group on Saturday when he mentioned that the team plans to increase spending in 2025 compared to 2024, though not to the same level as in 2023.

“We won’t go there again,” Moreno said. “It’s just an automatic loss. If I start piling up (financial) losses, then the next year I’m going to cut.”

There are various methods to gauge a team's payroll, and the Angels have consistently been above the league average, though not among the top spenders. Moreno appears comfortable keeping the team’s payroll below that of baseball’s highest spenders.

“The teams that are spending the money they’re spending, they’re losing a lot of money,” Moreno said. “Not a little bit of money. They’re losing a lot of money. And some teams are selling equity to keep their payroll up.”

Moreno didn't say which teams specifically are selling equity but he doesn't want to be one of them. He also seems to have a plan for how to make his club competitive again and that begins with general manager Perry Minasian.

“We have a plan to try to add players that are going to help us compete,” Moreno said. “Perry’s marching orders are we need to build a team that can compete for a playoff spot. When you get to playoffs, anything can happen.”

Despite growing criticism during this challenging season, Arte Moreno remains optimistic about the future of the franchise. He’s encouraged by the development of the young players and is committed to backing them with a higher payroll moving forward.

There is only one way Moreno can make sure next season is better than this one and he has vowed to make sure it happens.

“It’s going to go up,” Moreno said about the payroll.