The Los Angeles Angels could be sold by Opening Day of next season, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has revealed.
The Angels have been owned by Arte Moreno for over 20 years, but the 76-year-old announced in August that the club would explore 'strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the team'. Reports have been conflicted over a sale, with the Angels still going about their business and signing pitchers Tyler Anderson and Carlos Estevez to multi-year contracts.
But Manfred has claimed that the Angels are looking to handover the organisation before Opening Day, which takes place March 30. "My understanding is that the club would like to have the sale resolved by Opening Day," Manfred said at the annual meeting of the Baseball Writers' Association of America during the Winter Meetings on Tuesday.
"Whether that happens depends in part on the bidding process and how quickly they get documents signed." And it's likely that All-Star Shohei Ohtani will also be keeping a close eye on proceedings.
The Angels star is back in his native Japan for the off-season, and has reportedly been in frequent contact with Angels general manager Perry Minasian about their off-season moves. Ohtani was set to become a free agent at the end of last season, but signed a $30million (£24.5m) one-year deal so the Angels avoided arbitration.
Ohtani was once again named as the team's Los Angeles Angels Player of the Year of 2022 while also winning the team's Nick Adenhart Pitcher of the Year Award, as voted by his teammates. He is one of the stand-out stars on the team, and fans will be hoping that with a new wealthy owner he could be tied down to a long-term deal.
And he's clearly keeping a close eye on proceedings as he begins to think about his future. "We talk a lot. He’s asking me daily who we’re getting," Minasian said during baseball’s winter meetings.
"He’s into it. We have a lot of players like that. Mike (Trout) and Anthony (Rendon) are like that. I think it’s a very motivated group. They want to see activity.
"They want to see the organization making a commitment to making the team better. We’ll see how it shakes out when we get to spring training what exactly we have, but we’re going to continue to look for opportunities to improve."
