The Angels may be about to get the kind of ownership change that can alter a division, and that should put the Texas Rangers on alert.
For more than a decade, Los Angeles has been stuck in a cycle that became familiar around the American League West: the Houston Astros usually win the division, the Rangers usually come up short, and the Angels usually find a way to unravel. Under Arte Moreno, that last part has become especially pronounced. He has owned the franchise since 2003, arriving right after the Angels won their first World Series in 2002, but the club has slid into one of baseball’s least enviable situations, with no winning season since 2015.
Now Moreno is selling, and he already has a buyer. Per MLB.com and other outlets, Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke has reached an agreement to purchase the Angels from Moreno.
The sale still needs approval from MLB owners, and the expectation is that the team will change hands in the first quarter of next year. The move comes as MLB and the MLB Players’ Association are heading toward a near-certain work stoppage in December.
The price tag is significant, too. The Athletic reported Moreno is selling for $4 billion.
Moreno’s run was defined by spending, but not the kind that built lasting stability. The Angels won six division titles during his early years, which helped win over fans at first.
But the front office churned, the contracts got worse, and the organization never found a way to keep Shohei Ohtani. He left in free agency for the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2023 season, and Moreno also blocked a trade of Ohtani at the 2023 deadline - a move that would have at least brought back something in return.
By the end, the franchise looked stuck. There was no clear direction, no sense of a long-term plan, and fans were left waiting for answers that never seemed to come.
Kroenke brings a very different track record. Since becoming majority owner of the Rams in 2010, his team has made the playoffs seven times and won a Super Bowl.
He’s also invested heavily in the franchise, both in payroll and in SoFi Stadium, which the Rams share with the Los Angeles Chargers. Even with the backlash he drew in St.
Louis after moving the team to Los Angeles in 2016, his organization has been steady.
That steadiness is part of what makes this potentially important for the Rangers. Sean McVay has been the Rams’ head coach for nine years, and Les Snead has run the front office since 2012. That kind of continuity is exactly what the Angels have lacked under Moreno.
If Kroenke brings that same stability to Anaheim, the Angels could become much more dangerous in the AL West. With the right ownership, resources and plan, they could matter in free agency and in the trade market. That’s especially relevant now, with Rangers owner Ray Davis having asked president of baseball operations Chris Young to trim payroll.
Kroenke won’t be running the Angels immediately, but once the deal is finalized, the Rangers will have another division rival worth watching closely.
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