Major League Baseball (MLB) Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno withdrew his intention to sell the club. This is expected to be a variable in the course of Shohei Ohtani, who will acquire free agent (FA) qualifications after the end of this year’s season.
The Angels said on the 24th 메이저놀이터 (Korean time), “The owner of Moreno has decided to stop the sale process. He will continue to own the club after the 2023 season.”
Owner Moreno, who acquired the Angels from Walt Disney in 2003 for $184 million, sold the club in August of last year, and there were people who actually expressed their intention to buy it, but the owner Moreno finally withdrew the sale of the club.
“We have unfinished business,” Moreno said in a statement. “We want to achieve our goal of returning the World Series championship to the fans.”
The Angels won the World Series in 2002, but have never been to the top since. After Moreno took over the club, he won a total of six American League West championships, but since 2015, he has not even risen to the postseason stage. As a result, Ohtani, who entered the major leagues in 2018, has never experienced fall baseball.
The owner of Moreno promised a major reinforcement, saying, “This team’s total annual salary is the club’s highest ever.” Naturally, it has no choice but to affect the future of Ohtani, the team’s top star.
Ohtani, who doubles as a pitcher, completed a contract renewal under the condition of an annual salary of 30 million dollars after the end of last year’s season, but is expected to leave as a free agent after next year’s season as a team that can ‘challenge for the championship’. Local media also predicted that Ohtani would be able to sign a $500 million contract for the first time in the major leagues.
Japanese media such as Sports Hochi and Full Count said, “As the owner of Moreno withdraws from the sale of the club, it is expected that Ohtani’s future will be affected. Interest in his decision is growing.”