Which pitching stats matter in Spring Training?
Rhys Hoskins got a minor league deal with the Guardians. The Dodgers claimed outfielder Jack Suwinski off waivers from the Pirates.
Twins right-hander Joe Ryan has lower back inflammation.
Bill Mazeroski passed away at the age of 89.
Here is how the ABS Challenge System works.
Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
I haven’t followed the games yet. Have the Angels challenged any pitches yet? Seems like you would want to challenge as much as you can now to get an idea of how your eye matches the ABS.
I’m also waiting for the claim that stadium x ABS doesn’t match stadium y. That should be interesting.
Talk about tone deaf. How this guy built a successful billboard business being this clueless is beyond my comprehension.
Moms don’t buy a lot of billboards.
Sam Blum has weighed in on Arte…..
Los Angeles Angels players “took notice” of Arte Moreno’s comments to reporters on Friday, in which the team’s owner said that winning isn’t among fans’ top priorities.
“Let’s just say players took notice of it,” MLB Players Association director Bruce Meyer told The Athletic after meeting with Angels players on Sunday morning. “And we took notice of it too.”
“The bottom line is players are competitors. They grew up competing every day. They go out, and they try their hardest to win every game. And players want to see owners doing the same thing.”
On Friday, Moreno told reporters, “The number one thing fans want is affordability. They want affordability. They want safety, and they want a good experience when they come to the ballpark. Believe it or not, winning is not in their top five.”
Moreno cited surveys they’ve conducted to provide that information, according to The Orange County Register.
It is unclear what survey Moreno was referring to in his answer. It is also unclear to whom the survey was given and what the specific question was that yielded those results.
The Angels declined to comment when asked about specifics of the survey.
This offseason, the Angels slashed payroll. In 2025, the team spent around $206 million on payroll, according to FanGraphs. It’s around $155 million this year when accounting for deferred payments to injured third baseman Anthony Rendon.
The team’s broken television deal with Main Street Sports Group has led to a loss in revenue, and Moreno cited it as a reason for the team’s conservative spending patterns. The Angels have yet to announce a television partner and are not broadcasting any spring training games.
“Will (payroll) get back to $200 million? Probably,” Moreno told reporters. “We’ve got to get our TV thing worked out, and we just have to improve our brand.”
The union views the Angels as a particular area of concern, given that they’re in a major market but are spending at much lower levels than teams like the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Phillies and Blue Jays.
Though Meyer expressed concern over several teams not going all-in on winning and spending, he said it shouldn’t be an issue in Southern California, which is one of the nation’s top media markets.
“If you can’t have a successful operation in Los Angeles, it’s hard to see what the problem is,” Meyer said. “It’s easy to make excuses, but certainly the Los Angeles Angels have resources to compete in every respect.
“To come out and say that winning is not a priority, not even in the top five priorities, is really pretty remarkable.”
The Angels declined to respond to Meyer’s comments. Moreno told reporters on Friday that his own personal priority was winning, but suggested it might not be financially feasible.
“For me, I’ve always wanted to win,” Moreno said. “It’s just, what’s the cost of winning right now?”
Last year, after the union’s then-director Tony Clark suggested that the Angels treat the luxury tax threshold as a salary cap, an Angels spokesperson told The Athletic, “That’s his opinion, and we don’t agree with it.”
The luxury tax threshold for 2026 is $244 million. The Angels have not surpassed the threshold since 2003, Moreno’s first season as team owner.
The survey was selectively given to mothers bringing their babies to the ballpark. 😎
I am hoping this is all pointing towards an eventual Angels sale. But in the meantime a few around here suggested that maybe Arte’s liquid portfolio is not as financially stable as once believed. Sure – he owns a multi-billion dollar asset. But beyond that? And that asset is generating much less free cash than previously.
So maybe Arte is having money problems and is making lane excuses for not investing more into the team.
I believe losing tv moneys dropped about $50m or more from the org revenue. That is not insignificant. You drop spending in response. Kinda normal.
Arte uses “Survey Monkey”: Kuhl, Carpino, Perry, Molly, and the actual Rally Monkey.
My perspective is that Arte was always “cash poor”. His assets may have a value in the $5B range, but he has minimal assets that create positive cash flow.
