Stan Kroenke is finally headed into Major League Baseball ownership, and the move only sharpens the contrast with the Rockies.
According to reports, the Nuggets and Avalanche owner has reached an agreement to buy the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno, with the deal expected to take effect in early 2027. Kroenke, whose full name is Enos Stanley Kroenke, was named after Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial, and now he’s about to add an MLB club to a portfolio that already stretches across the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLS.
For Rockies fans, that news lands with a thud. Penner Sports Group - led by Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner and tied, like Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, to the Walmart financial empire - bought a 40% stake in the Rockies in April.
But last month, Penner said there were no plans to extend that investment, leaving control of the franchise with the Monfort family. That was the part that bothered a lot of baseball fans, especially with longtime season-ticket holders reporting a 14% price hike for next season and the threat of a potentially nuclear work stoppage looming in early 2027.
The Rockies are already in a brutal spot on the field. They’re trying to avoid becoming the first MLB team since the 1965 Mets to string together four straight 100-loss seasons, all while sharing a division with the real Dodgers. Off the field, the club has built a reputation around real estate and alcohol sales, but not much else that would make Coors Field a happy place.
If KSE had somehow landed the Rockies instead, the fit would have been obvious. The games would help fill the dry summer programming stretch on Altitude TV and add fuel to the evening hours on Altitude Sports Radio. Nikola Jokic could be sitting in the owner’s box at Coors Field instead of watching Arsenal Football Club at the Champions League final across the pond.
Kroenke’s sports empire already runs deep. KSE owns the Rams, Nuggets, Avalanche and Rapids, and Arsenal gives the group a global reach that few sports brands can match. SoFi Stadium sits at the center of the Hollywood Park entertainment district in Inglewood, Calif., and KSE’s footprint keeps getting bigger.
Still, baseball may be the most interesting new test. Kroenke had reportedly been in the mix for the Dodgers before, and the Angels bring their own mess.
They’re on their sixth manager in eight years. Anthony Rendon has become the latest cautionary tale, landing a seven-year, $246-million deal after helping Washington win the 2019 World Series, then falling apart.
Rendon, now 36, has spent this season away from the club without formally retiring.
His agent is Scott Boras, the same agent who represents Kris Bryant.
Magic Johnson, a minority owner of the Dodgers, welcomed Kroenke to MLB ownership on X.com and thanked him for letting the NBA icon “rent their beautiful yacht named Aquila for 7 years!”
For now, the baseball bragging rights are Kroenke’s. And if this deal closes, the Angels will give him another team to manage - while Rockies fans are left wondering what it would look like if he’d bought theirs instead.
In Other News...
Rockies Are Sending An Uncomfortable Message About Ezequiel Tovar
The Rockies have started to tinker with shortstop in a way that says plenty about where they are right now. Ezequiel Tovar is being used in a platoon setup, with his place in the lineup now tied to the handedness of the opposing pitcher rather than locked in every day. After sitting against a right-hander, he was back in there against the Cardinals when a lefty was on the mound, a small lineup wrinkle that still carries a bigger message for a team trying to find some stability.
Mason Adams gets the start for Colorado as it looks to bounce back from a recent loss, and the shortstop arrangement only adds another layer to the evening. For a young player like Tovar, this is the kind of usage pattern that can be hard to miss, especially when it arrives this early in the season. The Rockies may see it as a practical matchup move, but it also reflects the uncertainty that has followed the club as it searches for answers. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Young Core Just Made Colorados Biggest Problem Even Harder To Ignore
For one night, the Rockies got exactly the kind of reminder a rebuilding club wants and maybe dreads in equal measure. TJ Rumfield and Cole Carrigg both delivered extra-base damage in a 7-6 loss to the Cardinals, with each rookie launching a triple and a home run as Colorado nearly climbed all the way back. Even in defeat, the game added to the sense that the organizations young group is starting to produce real major league moments, not just flashes.
Rumfield has quietly become one of the more productive rookie bats in baseball, leading qualified rookies in on-base percentage and batting average, while Carrigg has forced his way into the conversation too by ranking eighth among rookies in OPS. Put together, it is the sort of development that should brighten the long view, even if it makes the present-day puzzle harder to ignore. The Rockies have young hitters worth watching, but nights like this also underline how much the roster still needs around them. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Suddenly Face A Bigger Willi Castro Question Than Expected
The Rockies made a quick roster shuffle this week, selecting infielder Vimael Machin and putting Willi Castro on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Sept. 2 because of left heel inflammation. To make room on the 40-man roster, Tyler Freeman was outrighted to Triple-A, a move that underscores how much the club is trying to patch together infield depth as the season winds down.
Castros situation has become a little more complicated than a routine short-term injury, because he has also been dealing with plantar fasciitis and a sore right knee. Colorado had been using him all over the field this year, in multiple infield and outfield spots, so losing that kind of flexible piece leaves the Rockies with a tougher question than they expected when the issue first surfaced. [Read more 🡒]