TEMPE, Ariz. — Before the Angels signed Mike Trout to a 12-year, $426-million deal in 2019, Arte Moreno spent “a lot of time” with Trout to determine if staying with the Angels was what he really wanted.

He’s still hasn’t gotten to that point with Shohei Ohtani.

Moreno said Saturday, in his first interview with local reporters in more than three years, that he has not had any discussions with Ohtani about his future beyond 2023.

Moreno has said he’d like to keep Ohtani, but it’s going to be up to Ohtani.

“Ohtani has to want to be here too,” Moreno said. “It’s a two-way street. When I started talking to Mike, and I spent a lot of time with Mike, I just said, ‘You have to make a decision. Is this is where you want to be? Is this is where you want your family to be?’ And when we start sitting down with the (Ohtani’s) agent, and Ohtani, he has to figure out if this is where he wants to be.”

Moreno said the Angels haven’t had that conversation with Ohtani, but for his part the Angels are prepared to go over the luxury tax if that’s what it takes.

“We’ve really positioned ourselves well,” Moreno said. “Other than Mike and (Rendon) after four years, we really have no long-term contracts, so we’ve really positioned ourselves to have financial flexibility.”

While Moreno said he would go over the luxury tax, he also pointed out that the penalties add up each year a team exceeds the threshold. He also said he is not in position to compete in terms of overall payroll with the biggest spenders in the sport.

“If somebody is just going to outspend us by $100 million or $200 million, there’s nothing you can do,” Moreno said. “We’re not in position to lose $100 …read more

Source:: Los Angeles Daily News