Owner Arte Moreno On Selling The Angels: 'I Am Here Long Term'

Don't hold your breath on a new ownership, Halo fans.

It's been tough to be a Los Angeles Angels fan for the past decade. Despite having two of the best players in baseball in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, the Angels haven't sniffed the postseason since 2014.

Now Ohtani is gone. Trout is under contract through 2030 but injuries have robbed him of his status as the game's best player. The Angels' main selling point – star power – is all but gone. All eyes have shifted to owner Arte Moreno.

An increasingly vocal contingent of Angels fans have begged for Moreno to sell the team. Last year, he even put the team up for sale before taking them off the market in a shocking turn of events.

Unfortunately for Angels fans, it doesn't seem like there will be much change for the foreseeable future.

Moreno had an exclusive interview with Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group on Wednesday, and said he would retain control of the team "long term."

"I am here long term. There are some people that come back and some people knew I had it on the market (in 2022). I basically said it's not on the market."

Arte Moreno spoke to the @SoCalNewsGroup today. Among the topics: whether he's selling the team.

"I am here long term. There are some people that come back and some people knew I had it on the market (in '22). I basically said it's not on the market."

More to come...

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) February 14, 2024

Fans have become wary of Moreno for many reasons. The Halos have made the playoffs just once in the last decade. Their last postseason win was in 2009. He's shelled out large contracts that didn't pan out, while failing to develop the homegrown talent needed to paper over their free-agent blunders.

Angel fans clearly want Moreno to sell the team, but there's no serious traction there at the moment. Even though the team has made some 'serious' signings in the past, high player payrolls have yet to translate to wins. 

For the fans wanting Moreno to sell the team, don't hold your breath on that front. The question now is, can he articulate and execute a successful plan to turn the franchise around?