Arte Moreno’s sale of the Angels has finally turned a long-running fan chant into reality.
For years, Angels supporters had been waiting for the day Moreno would give up the franchise. That day has arrived, and the team is now part of the Kroenke Sports and Entertainment group. The move marks a major shift for a club that spent more than a decade stuck in place despite a roster that featured stars like Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Albert Pujols.
The frustration around Moreno’s ownership never really hid. Fans pushed back through public protests, viral social media campaigns and the now-familiar “sell the team” chants that echoed through the stadium. Moreno briefly put the club on the market in late 2022, then stunned the baseball world in January 2023 by taking it back off the market and citing “unfinished business.”
At the time, plenty of people assumed that meant he wanted to win. But there were also bigger business issues hanging over the franchise, including a wrongful death lawsuit and the looming loss of the television deal. Those factors mattered, because they affected what the team could fetch on the market.
The real turning point inside the organization came when Moreno allowed longtime friend John Carpino to leave as president and brought in Molly Jolly, a move that was met with skepticism because of Moreno’s history of meddling. Fans knew the title change alone would not mean much if Moreno still controlled every important baseball decision.
Jolly, though, moved quickly. She launched a new TV network that kept the Angels on cable and satellite packages. No financial terms were disclosed, but the network is bringing in enough money to make the franchise more appealing to Kroenke and to carry LA Kings games.
She also replaced GM Perry Minasian with John Mozeliak, a move that gave the front office a far more experienced hand. Mozeliak, who had decades of experience with the Cardinals, let scouts drive the draft and oversaw a trade deadline fire sale that lifted the Angels’ farm system from bottom of the barrel to middle of the pack.
That reset has been paired with a clear change in philosophy. Instead of pretending they were one splashy signing away from the playoffs, the Angels finally accepted where they stood and started a rebuild. Payroll has fallen by more than $80 million since last year, and the organization has added top prospect Arjun Nimmala and others to the system.
The draft class reflected that new direction. Huntington Beach standout Jared Grindlinger headlined a group that also included a strong wave of hitters from the SEC and ACC. It was the kind of class built around upside, not immediate need.
The young talent has started to stack up across the system. Nimmala is joined by breakout performances from Austin Gordon and Jake Munroe at Double-A.
Newly acquired Jacob Cozart has been productive. Joel Hurtado followed Denzer Guzman’s blueprint by improving his control of his heater, then moved to Triple-A to keep developing.
Tyler Bremner has also been doing well at Double-A, while outfielders Nelson Rada and Raudi Rodriguez are at Triple-A. Christian Moore even stayed at Triple-A until injuries created an opening.
Mozeliak’s work has extended beyond player development. He fired pitching coach Mike Maddux for not using data, trusted the scouts in the draft, and made difficult trades involving Jose Soriano and fan favorite Jo Adell. Those are not the kinds of moves the old Angels usually made.
Kroenke’s $4 billion acquisition changes the picture immediately. His track record across major sports carries real weight, and the expectation is that the Angels will now be run with a modern, analytical front office backed by an owner willing to spend on both the major league roster and the farm system.
That is the kind of setup Kroenke-owned teams are known for: qualified executives making the baseball decisions, with ownership staying focused on results. Whether Mozeliak is the long-term answer or simply the latest test case, the Angels are headed into a different era. And for this franchise, that alone is a huge change.
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