Angels News: Insider Reveals Two Buyers Looking to Purchase Halos
Angels owner Arte Moreno is looking to sell the team, and while we know he's hoping to get things taken care of quickly, we haven't heard many specifics. Thanks to Will Carroll, we have a little more information.
Carroll writes on Substack, and while he mostly writes about injury information, he had an inside scoop related to the Angels' sale. Carroll says at least one of the groups bidding for the Angels could fall back on the Diamondbacks as Plan B. Arizona isn't officially for sale, but owner Ken Kendrick is said to be exploring the idea. As Carroll says:
"The Angels have several bidders. Patrick Seong-Shoon, who owns a piece of the Lakers, a hospital system, and the LA Times is leading one group. A Japanese consortium is funding another and wants a good front man. At least one group from minority Dodgers owners is circling a bid, if not actually making one. There’s some smaller characters around, but this is following the typical pattern. They’d like to select one ownership group well ahead of the season due to the unique Shohei Ohtani situation. Sign him, trade him, it needs to be dealt with relatively quickly."
Carroll also said he expects the Angels to be the preferred landing spot over the Diamondbacks, and be sold before them.
"I expect the Angels to be first, perhaps getting to a preferred bidder ahead of spring training."
As Carroll notes, owning a professional sports team is as much about status as it is about a specific team. So any group that doesn't get the Angels could quickly pivot to Arizona (or other teams with owners who are currently on the fence about ownership). Hopefully, the existence of Plan B will help the Halos sale process work more quickly.
