Angels sale could put Rangers in a perilous position in the AL West

After 23 years, Arte Moreno agreed to sell a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels to Stan Kroenke, who owns the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, and the NHL's Colorado Avalanche. Just the mere absence of Moreno and his clown show is a disappointing development for the Texas Rangers.

The Angels made the postseason only six times during Moreno's tenure as majority owner. Los Angeles hasn't been in the playoffs since 2014, despite having two of the best players of all time, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, together on the team for six years.

Now that the Angels are under new ownership, the organization finally appears to be heading in the right direction after a dozen years of disappointment. Los Angeles could become a threat in the American League West once again, which is bad news for the Texas Rangers.

Angels' sale puts Rangers' ownership in spotlight

The Angels' sale puts a spotlight on the Rangers' ownership. Sure, Texas won the World Series in 2023 after signing numerous big free agents, including Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. However, Rangers owner Ray Davis has made significant cuts since then. Texas ranks 14th among all MLB teams in total payroll at roughly $189.56 million. In 2023, the Rangers' payroll sat at around $250 million, the fourth-highest in the league.

The Angels rank 15th in total payroll at $172.26 million, roughly $17 million less than the Rangers. The public has scrutinized the Angels for not giving Mike Trout more help over the years. One has to imagine they will increase payroll under Kroenke's new leadership. Unless Davis has major plans to increase the Rangers' payroll substantially, the Angels will likely surpass them in total spending within a year or two.

The Angels have long been an incompetent organization, but that may be changing. The other major sports teams that Kroenke owns - the Rams, Nuggets, and Avalanche - have been very successful in recent years. One would think Kroenke acquired the Angels, hoping the team would join the Rams, Nuggets, and Avalanche on the list of his successful organizations.

Kroenke instantly becomes the richest owner in MLB, bumping New York Mets owner Steve Cohen from the top spot with an estimated net worth of $24.3 million. As Cohen and the Mets have taught us, simply spending big doesn't guarantee wins.

What is important is spending on the infrastructure and bringing competent people to manage the roster building, scouting, and on-the-field direction, and as we've seen with Kroenke's other franchises, that's something he excels at.

Furthermore, the Angels have a geographic advantage. Despite Moreno's mismanagement, they were winners of the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes when he came over from Japan, in part due to their location. They've also signed big-money free agents over the years like Vladimir Guerrero Sr., Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson, and Anthony Rendon. Most of those deals went poorly, but the point is that Anaheim is a place where top talent would like to play.

The Rangers are still in the playoff race despite their recent payroll cuts, entering Thursday's series against the Rays just one game behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final American League Wild Card spot and 2 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. If the Rangers had a payroll similar to 2023, they'd very likely be in a postseason spot right now. Now that the Angels are under new ownership, returning to the playoffs could become much more difficult for Texas in the near future.

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