Angels Get Much-Needed ‘Fresh Start’ As Arte Moreno Plans Sale To Stan Kroenke

ANGEL STADIUM (Anaheim, Calif.) — The only direction from here is up, Angels fans. Amid an 11th straight losing season, after a decade of destitution, owner Arte Moreno is finally heeding his fans’ advice and selling the team. Stan Kroenke, the owner of the Los Angeles Rams, is acquiring a controlling interest in the Angels for a reported $4 billion, a Major League Baseball record. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to MLB approval, according to the Angels and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. Moreno, who bought the Angels in 2003 for $183.5 million, will retain a minority stake in the club. But it’s the dawn of a new day in Anaheim. “Fresh start,” said Mike Trout. “You kinda felt that was needed. No hard feelings against Arte, but we’re super excited. The guys are excited. There’s a good vibe around the clubhouse, vibe around the stadium.” Trout was among the many Angels players and executives stunned by the news but encouraged by what it could mean. The Rams have made the playoffs seven times in the last nine years. In 2016, Kroenke moved the team from St. Louis to Los Angeles. The Rams hired Sean McVay as their head coach in 2017, went to the Super Bowl in 2018 and won it in 2021, a year after moving into their brand-new SoFi Stadium. (For what it’s worth, the Angels’ lease at Angel Stadium runs through 2032.) KSE, Kroenke’s holding company, also owns the Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Arsenal F.C. (Premier League) and the Colorado Rapids (MLS), among its vast sports portfolio. The Rams, Nuggets, Avalanche and Arsenal have all won championships since 2022 under KSE’s ownership. “What a track record,” Trout said. “Wherever he buys, he wins.” Trout, who has never won a playoff game in 16 years with the Angels, and teammate Zach Neto both reached out to Rams players shortly after hearing the news of the sale. The feedback they received about Kroenke was encouraging. “Most important thing that they said is he just wants what’s important for us,” Neto said. “That’s to make the clubhouse better, in the sense of whatever we need, we get — whether that’s amenity-wise, speakers, whatever it is. He’ll make sure we get those.” That has not always been the case under Moreno, whose tumultuous tenure started promisingly and ended hopelessly, with the owner unwilling to invest in the resources or put the infrastructure in place to return the Angels to relevance. Moreno bought the team in 2003, a year after the Angels won the World Series. The next year, he brought in Vladimir Guerrero and watched him win MVP. The Angels made the playoffs five times from 2004-09. Since 2010, however, they’ve made the postseason just once, in 2013, when they were swept in the American League Division Series. They wasted the primes of Shohei Ohtani and Trout, unable to get them to the postseason over their six years together or acknowledge the reality of their plight. The Angels sought quick fixes, routinely rushing prospects through the system. Moreno’s unwillingness to make the difficult choice to rebuild prevented the kind of change necessary to chart a prosperous path forward. In July 2023, instead of trading Ohtani to get the requisite pieces to reshape the farm system, the Angels dealt more prospects away and finished the year 73-89. Ohtani left in free agency and won the World Series in each of his first two seasons with the Dodgers. This year has marked a season of change in Anaheim. The announcement of the ownership sale comes months after team president Molly Jolly dismissed general manager Perry Minasian in June. John Mozeliak, who spent 18 years running baseball operations for the Cardinals — a stretch that included 10 postseason appearances, six division titles and a World Series championship — took over as the interim GM and began charting a new path forward. In an effort to revive a rudderless franchise, he started making the wholesale changes the team refused to do for years, including a deadline fire-sale that injected the Angels’ lagging farm system with needed talent. He has also started making changes to the coaching staff — pitching coach Mike Maddux, bullpen coach Dom Chiti and assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott were fired in August — and reshaping the front office. Just a day before the announcement of the ownership sale, Mozeliak promoted Matt Swanson and Michael Lord as assistant general managers while restructuring the scouting department. Then, on Tuesday morning, Jolly dropped a folder down on his desk and let him know his day was going to change. “Obviously, this was news to me,” Mozeliak said of the ownership change. “When I first came here, I spoke with Arte, and he had mentioned that this was a possibility. But to learn it this morning from Molly, I was definitely surprised. But it wasn’t a shocker. I think it’s exciting news for everybody. I think change is what I came in to try to start doing.” Mozeliak plans to continue to do that with an eye toward the future, until he’s told otherwise. “Obviously, the new ownership is going to have to give us some direction on what they want to see that to look like,” Mozeliak said. “But I do think they should be part of that calculus.” Moreno explored a sale in 2022 before ultimately remaining in place, much to the chagrin of fans whose chants to “sell the team” have reverberated throughout Angel Stadium in recent years. If a change was going to be made, many expected it would come after the next collective bargaining agreement. The timing took most by surprise. Jolly was one of the few who did not sound shocked. She didn’t divulge exactly how long Moreno had been in talks with Kroenke, other than to say it did not come together quickly. “I knew he was contemplating it as far as, what is your legacy and your exit strategy?” Jolly said. “So, that didn’t surprise me at all that, at some point, he was going to transfer to the right next person.” How long Mozeliak and the current Angels regime remain in place is to be determined. Kroenke could start with a clean slate, should he choose to do so. Mozeliak’s contract goes through December. Kurt Suzuki is managing on a one-year deal. The only players under contract beyond this year are Trout and Yusei Kikuchi. For many years, the Angels under Moreno maintained a top-10 payroll in the sport. That has since changed in recent seasons. But under Kroenke, who now becomes MLB’s richest owner, there is hope for a brighter future. “We’re excited for the new guy to come in and hopefully change things around and get some new life in here,” Neto said. It couldn’t be much worse. “You look at the track record, I know the No. 1 thing on his mind is going to be to get to the World Series and win a championship,” Trout said. “As a player, it makes you feel good to have that and to feel that.” Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.