Angels retaining Shohei Ohtani last season was ‘the best thing,’ says owner

Despite popular belief that Shohei Ohtani would depart from the Los Angeles Angels via free agency following the 2023 season, owner Arte Moreno made a decision at the trade deadline to retain the two-way superstar. 

However, the notion that Ohtani would sign elsewhere came to fruition this winter when he inked a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers that put an end to his six-year tenure with the Angels. 

When speaking with reporters Wednesday, Moreno stated that the Angels were not willing to match the Dodgers’ offer to Ohtani this offseason, per the OC Register. Moreno would not tell reporters whether he believed the Angels had a chance at keeping the Japanese star during points in which they could have traded him, which included both the 2022 and 2023 trade deadlines. 

“From a fan perspective, they pay for tickets and watch the games and listen to the games, this is a special guy,” Moreno explained to reporters. “I’d like to see him play. We’re in the entertainment business. We made a decision, a group decision, that the best thing was to keep him and make a run.”

Thereafter, the Angels improved through late July and came within three games of a playoff spot. They began August on a seven-game losing streak, however, which ultimately knocked them out of the playoff race by the end of the month. 

During their short-stint of success, the Angels also added several players in an effort to increase their chances of making a playoff spot, which also increased the projected payroll above the luxury tax threshold. 

Nonetheless, when the Angels playoff push ended, they ultimately placed seven players on waivers in order to get up back under the threshold and eventually finished less than $30,000 below the $233 million threshold. 

Now, with Ohtani out of the picture, the Angels have not even approached last year’s payroll. The Angels are currently set to have a payroll of about $188 million, for the purpose of luxury tax, according to FanGraphs.

Moreno said to reporters that the plan was to “set the budget lower.”

“I’m not going to spend money unless it’s going to substantially change the team,” he said.

He also spoke about his encouragement in regard to the talent of the Angels’ young players, such as catcher Logan O’ Hoppe, shortstop Zach Neto, and first baseman Nolan Schanuel. “I am in it because I believe we can build a team to win,” Moreno stated to reporters.

Moreno, who has operated as owner of the Angels since 2003, told reporters that he has no plans to sell the team, despite having explored a sale last offseason. 

The Angels experienced initial success as a contender early in Moreno’s tenure, but have failed to finish with a winning season since 2015, and they haven’t made the playoffs since 2014. 

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