Angels owner has a lot to gain from a lost MLB season
By Seth Carlson
Angels owner Arte Moreno was one of four MLB owners to vote against an increase to the luxury tax earlier this week, sparking controversy.
As the dreaded MLB lockout rages on without an end in sight, we might be able to pin blame on four culprits. One of them is Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno.
Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported earlier this week that Moreno, along with owners Ken Kendrick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Christopher Ilitch of the Detroit Tigers and Bob Castellini of the Cincinnati Reds all voted against raising MLB’s luxury tax threshold to $220 million for the 2022 season.
Sources: Angels, Diamondbacks, Reds and Tigers owners opposed MLB luxury tax increase to $220 million. MLB also proposed including player meal money in calculation of luxury tax, which irked players. https://t.co/gBKrqAx9wV
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) March 4, 2022
Angels owner Arte Moreno continues to show his incompetence even during a lockout
It’s surprising that Moreno, typically one of MLB’s more aggressive owners, took this stance. His haphazard spending tendencies have infamously landed him bad contracts over the years with aging players like Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and more recently, Anthony Rendon. Those deals have routinely put the Angels at or near the luxury tax threshold every year
Moreno’s spending hasn’t been all bad though, as he extended superstar Mike Trout and won the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes in 2018. But the majority of his expenditures over the years have been ill-advised.
It would stand to reason that Moreno’s Angels, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, would want more room in their budget, and a higher threshold would help make that happen. And it’s not like Anaheim’s billionaire owner couldn’t afford a larger bill if he so desired, yet it seems that there’s more for Moreno to gain by rejecting the tax increase.
The Angels have already wasted prime years of Mike Trout, and they seem hellbent on doing the same with Shohei Ohtani. Continuing to spend recklessly around those two elite talents is something Arte Moreno has done best over the years, instead of addressing major areas of need like the pitching staff. That there’s more to gain for personal finances then there is for actually having tangible success on the field says all you need to know about how the Angels are run.
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When it comes to saving a few bucks on player meals, however, all bets seem to be off.