Angels owner Arte Moreno’s potential sale of team sparked so much speculation about Shohei Ohtani

Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno announced on Tuesday that he will explore a possible sale of the team, and the implications for Major League Baseball are already looking enormous.

Moreno purchased the Angels back in 2003 from Disney for around $180 million. And despite putting together a stunning 20-year run of mediocrity (two playoff series wins since 2003 and no playoff appearance since 2014) and dishing out terrible contracts, the team’s value has skyrocketed to $2.2 billion.

The Angels also have two generational talents on roster in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Trout is under team control until 2030 after signing a 12-year, $426.5 million deal. But Ohtani’s future with the Angels could become even murkier with new ownership as he nears his final season of team control.

Ahead of the trade deadline, Ohtani’s name was floated in trade rumors. But aside from some MLB Network speculation, no legitimate effort to trade Ohtani was reported.

If Moreno ends up following through with the sale, the entire calculus of the Angels’ plans for Ohtani could change. Is he going to sign a massive extension to stay or will this green light an Ohtani trade? As expected, MLB fans were already dreaming of Ohtani leaving the Angels.

This will be something to keep an eye on in the coming months.