The Major League Baseball (MLB) Los Angeles Angels have withdrawn their intention to sell the club. Attention is also focused on the future direction of Shohei Ohtani (29, Japan), a star representing the team.
The Los Angeles Angels club released a statement on the 24th (Korean time) and said, “We are suspending the sale process of the club.”
“The sale made it clear that there was still work to be done,” said Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno.
He added, “Thank you to Galatioto Sports Partners for their efforts during the sale process. Thanks to them, we have shown a lot of interest in our club from various places.”
Owner Moreno bought the Los Angeles Angels from Disney in 2003 for $184 million. Having owned the team for over 20 years, he publicly announced his intention to sell the club in August of last year. At the time, the value of the Angels club was estimated at about $2.5 billion (3.95 trillion won).
As a result, it seemed that the owner would change this year, but due to the change of heart of the owner, this has not happened. 메이저놀이터
Owner Moreno explained the background of the withdrawal of the sale, saying, “As I went through the sale process, I felt that the Angels were still in my heart. I realized that I was not ready to part with the club staff yet.”
He emphasized, “There are things we haven’t finished yet. I want to achieve my goal of returning the World Series championship to the fans.”
The Los Angeles Angels have not won a championship since winning the World Series in 2002. He only experienced six American League West championships under the ownership of Moreno. Since 2015, he has not even been able to step on the fall baseball stage. Likewise, Ohtani, who entered the big league stage in 2018, has no choice but to be thirsty for his first fall baseball.
Owner Moreno said, “This team’s total annual salary is the highest in the club’s history.” However, the owner of Moreno has a strong image of a ‘trickster’, such as being the most active opponent of the increase in the luxury tax standard. It is true that they have been stingy with their investments in recent years.
Attention is focusing on how the suspension of the club sale process will affect Shohei Ohtani’s future. After completing the 2023 season, Ohtani will obtain FA (free agent) qualifications.
However, there is a prospect that Ohtani, who has obtained FA qualification, will move to a team closer to winning in the future. There is even talk of a $500 million (619 billion won) contract for the first time in the major leagues.
Japanese media Full Count saw that Ohtani was in danger of parting ways with the Los Angeles Angels. The media said, “The Los Angeles Angels are overshadowed by the renewal of the contract with Ohtani,” and “The Los Angeles Angels are criticized for not investing to strengthen the team. There may be, but (with the sale back) now we don’t know what his future holds.”