Angels Owner Arte Moreno Reportedly Declined to Match Dodgers' Offer to Shohei Ohtani

Moreno had a chance to possibly get Ohtani back...

Leading up to his free agency decision, there was a lot of talk that Shohei Ohtani could have returned to the Angels. The idea had been gaining steam for a few days, but many never believed it to be true.

However, it was reported by Jack Harris of the LA Times that Ohtani's camp went back to the Angels to speak with them before he agreed to go to the Dodgers. But owner Arte Moreno declined to match the offer that L.A. made the two-way superstar.

"However, Angels owner Arte Moreno wouldn’t budge. According to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, Moreno wouldn’t match the 10-year, $700 million deal that Ohtani eventually signed with the Dodgers. Not even the late effort from Ohtani’s camp to continue negotiations changed his mind."

Per Jack Harris of The LA Times

It remains unknown if Ohtani would have gone back to the Angels even if Moreno had matched the offer, but it's surprising that Moreno wouldn't even match the offer. He possibly had a chance to keep Ohtani in town, but chose not to make it happen.

This has to hurt even more for the fanbase, since they may have had a chance to retain Ohtani. Especially, considering the large amount of deferred money that Ohtani has in his contract, the Angels could have been given a lifeline with him.

Moreno isn't a popular guy by any means already, but this decision could result in even more hatred from the Angels' fans.

Ohtani gave his all to the Halos organization, but he couldn't get them over the hump. His agent Nel Balelo confirmed what we already knew about Ohtani's love for the Angels organization.

“It’s a place that he really loved to play. He loved the people there, everything. So we didn’t want to miss the idea of giving them an opportunity,” Balelo said “But at the end, it just wasn’t going to work.”

Per Nez Balelo via The LA Times

The goals of the team didn't align with Ohtani any longer, so it was time to move on. There will always be a "what if" about Ohtani, but the organization can't afford to dwell on him any longer.