Moreno recaps offseason, discusses Angels' expectations for '25
Rhett Bollinger
@RhettBollingerTEMPE, Ariz. -- Angels owner Arte Moreno indicated early in the offseason that his plan was for his team to be a contender in 2025 despite losing 99 games a season ago.
Moreno, though, wouldn¡¯t quite make any predictions about the upcoming season when speaking to reporters on Monday but indicated he¡¯s pleased with the overall direction of the franchise under general manager Perry Minasian and manager Ron Washington.
He believes in the young core of his club, which also added several veterans to the mix this offseason, such as left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, closer Kenley Jansen, DH Jorge Soler, catcher Travis d¡¯Arnaud, right-hander Kyle Hendricks, third baseman Yo¨¢n Moncada and infielder Kevin Newman.
¡°I¡¯m really happy with the way it¡¯s going,¡± Moreno said. ¡°Perry has done a good job, Wash is really focused. I like the coaches. Just sit and watch these young guys throw bullpens and where they came from and what programs they came through. And we have a second baseman [No. 68 overall prospect Christian Moore] who just won a championship in college. You have to continue to put up good building blocks. And then the reality is being able to supplement everything.¡±
Moreno, however, did say he understands the frustration from fans that comes with not making the postseason since 2014. He said he believes it¡¯s on him as the owner to build a winning franchise and said the blame can be cast on him for the team's recent struggles.
¡°At the end of the day, it's probably me,¡± Moreno said. ¡°I can spend the money on [Mike] Trout. But I can¡¯t go up there and bat for him. I can spend the money on a pitcher, and I can't tell you how healthy he¡¯s going to be. You have to have the right players, and you've got to be healthy and they've got to play together. There's 30 teams trying to accomplish the same thing every year.¡±
Moreno came away pleased with the additions the club made this offseason but lamented not being able to add another slugger to the roster. The Angels did trade for Soler early in the offseason but did not add another impact bat. Moreno said the Angels just never lined up financially with hitters on the free-agent market, and the situation was similar for frontline starting pitchers. He estimated that due to an elevated payroll, compared to last year, and declining revenue, his club will lose $50 million to $60 million this season.
¡°We accomplished a lot of stuff,¡± Moreno said. ¡°The one thing that, really, we were targeting that we didn't get accomplished was a middle-of-the-order bat. The economics and the years, we were just unwilling to pay five or six years' worth of money for a DH because a couple guys that we wanted are not fielders. But we decided to go early with Soler as the DH, just to make sure we had someone there.
¡°And so we were looking at starters and we're looking at bats, but starters are multiple years for $30 million. So the question is, 'Do we have enough depth to go pay $200 million?' And [Anthony] Rendon has two years left on his deal, and he¡¯s obviously not going to play this year.¡±
Rendon is still owed $38.5 million this year and next season but might not play again for the Angels, as he¡¯s set to undergo left hip surgery later this week. Moreno wouldn¡¯t speculate on if Rendon will play in ¡¯26 but believes he¡¯ll be out for ¡¯25.
¡°I can¡¯t objectively comment on someone¡¯s health and how they¡¯re going to be health-wise,¡± Moreno said.
Moreno added that he has no plans to sell the club after exploring a sale in 2022, and that there is nothing new on a potential stadium deal with the City of Anaheim. The Angels extended their lease at Angel Stadium through 2032, and Moreno said he¡¯ll continually make upgrades to keep it safe and clean every offseason, but that no major redevelopment is in the works.
¡°I put money into that stadium every year,¡± Moreno said. ¡°We try to keep it clean, and it needs money, but I put in $5-7 million every year. But I'm not going to put $200 or $300 million into a stadium that a city owns without any of their participation. Maybe we'll get a new mayor and council that want us to stay.¡±
Moreno said his relationship with the City of Tempe has been much better, and he was proud of new renovations completed at the club¡¯s Spring Training complex. He said the next phase will be upgrading Tempe Diablo Stadium, and he¡¯s hopeful it¡¯ll be ready by next spring.
¡°We've been partners with the city,¡± Moreno said. ¡°In a perfect world, it¡¯ll be ready [in 2026]. We're going to redo the bowl, redo the seating. We want to have outfield seating -- we're going to do that in right field -- and redo concessions, restrooms, things like that.¡±