The Angels have a new owner on the way, but Arte Moreno has already done enough to earn a permanent place in any Bad Owner Hall of Fame conversation.
That’s the ugly backdrop around Southern California sports ownership right now. Moreno is front and center, but he’s not alone. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has drawn heat for the backdoor corporate arrangement tied to star forward Kawhi Leonard, and both men were mentioned in Jon Greenberg of The Athletic’s recent deep dive into the worst-owner debate.
Greenberg’s broader point was that this is a crowded field. He also brought up the messy Lakers sale involving Mark Walter. Still, Moreno stands apart for all the wrong reasons, and Greenberg called his inclusion an easy yes, while describing Ballmer as a “wait and see.”
The most damaging part of Moreno’s run is impossible to ignore: the Tyler Skaggs case. That trial exposed a rotten internal culture, with drugs reportedly supplied in the clubhouse and, presumably, on team planes and in hotels on road trips. That was the world Skaggs was in when he died in 2019 during a trip to Texas.
Moreno and Angels officials tried to turn the focus onto Skaggs himself during the trial, but that approach blew up on them and ultimately led to a settlement. It’s fair to wonder whether the size of that settlement helped push Moreno toward selling, especially once the San Diego Padres fetched $3.9 billion this summer. Whatever the reason, he decided to take the money and run.
There’s also the situation involving former prospect Rio Foster, which deserves to be part of the same conversation. Foster was seriously injured in an auto accident while playing for the High-A Tri-City Dust Devils.
The Angels initially covered his medical insurance, then quietly stopped paying it, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic. Blum’s reporting prompted the team to resume the coverage after questions were raised, though there haven’t been any reported updates since.
If Moreno’s exit means one less decision like that hanging over the franchise, that alone counts as a win. For Foster, it at least raises the odds of continued quality care over the long haul.
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