TEMPE, Ariz. -- Angels owner Arte Moreno gave a state of the organization address on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Cactus League opener and explained why the club lowered its payroll compared to last season.
The Angels have a projected payroll of $180 million heading into this year after an estimated $206 million payroll in 2025, per Fangraphs.com, and that doesn't include Anthony Rendon's deferred contract. Rendon was due $38.5 million this year but it will now be deferred over a reported five years.
Moreno cited the club’s broadcast rights situation, as they are terminating their contract with Main Street Sports. They are losing significant money from that TV deal for a second straight year and are now in the process of deciding whether to produce their own games or allow MLB to produce the broadcasts as it does for roughly half the league. The club is hopeful it’ll come to a resolution soon but this current uncertainty is why the Angels aren’t planning to broadcast any Cactus League games this spring.
“Part of it is because of TV,” Moreno said of the drop in payroll. “We’ll be on TV, but put it this way, it hasn't been easy. We took a cut when we went from FOX to Main Street/FanDuel and it’s going down again. But right now, we’re a free agent.”
Moreno, though, said he liked what general manager Perry Minasian did this offseason under the circumstances, making trades for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez and outfielder Josh Lowe while taking risks on players with upside on one-year deals like right-hander Alek Manoah, third baseman Yoán Moncada and relievers Kirby Yates, Jordan Romano and Drew Pomeranz.
Moreno said he’s been pleased with Minasian, who has been the GM since before the 2021 season, but that he’d like to see some notable improvements this season because they haven’t had a winning record since 2015. Minasian is heading into the last year of his deal, which is why Kurt Suzuki was given a one-year deal as manager.
“I really like Perry,” Moreno said. “At the end of the day, you have to start adding up wins and losses. But it’s an unfortunate thing when [Ron] Washington got sick. We were a competitive team [at 36-38]. But then we just kept losing games because of mental mistakes.”
Moreno believes the Angels can compete this season despite the drop in payroll and noted it’ll be up to the younger players to continue to develop. He said new pitching coach Mike Maddux was a big hire and thinks Minasian has done a good job of improving the organization’s overall pitching depth.
“I think we can compete,” Moreno said. “We’re gambling on a couple pitchers we brought in, but some of our pitchers are a year older. [Robert] Stephenson makes a big difference on the back end, and [Ben] Joyce is back throwing and is healthy and we spent some money on the bullpen.”
Moreno, who turns 80 this year, also indicated that he’s not actively looking to sell and isn’t looking for outside investors like the Twins did this offseason. He said he prides himself on not carrying any debt since he bought the club in 2004.
“I love being an owner,” Moreno said. “But then age gets to be a big part of it. But let's put it this way. I'm not shopping.”
He also said they spent $5 million on renovations to Angel Stadium, including new seating in the Diamond Club and they also repaved the parking lot. Extensive improvements to Tempe Diablo Stadium were recently approved by the city and could start after this spring or next. It’s the second phase of the project, following the new clubhouse and player development center completed last year.
Moreno added that payroll will go up again in the future once the television deal is solidified and that the organization’s settlement with the family of Tyler Skaggs did not affect payroll. He also noted the club only has Mike Trout’s contract on the books beyond next season. But they will have to start paying younger players like Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel and José Soriano more through arbitration. The Angels are also open to extensions if they make sense, but it doesn’t appear any are imminent.
“We’re in a good place where we don’t have any long-term contracts,” Moreno said. “Economically, we have just a lot of flexibility.”