You know who is going to be a big free agent player? The Los Angeles Angels are going to be a big free agent player. Why? Because they don’t care if they lose money or not. Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles:
According to a baseball source, the Angels expect to lose about $10 million this season. So will Moreno go deeper into his pocket to get [Carl] Crawford? Or will the Angels try to shed payroll to accommodate that contract?
Well, just about every team in baseball that’s losing money (or that at least says it’s losing money) would say it’s time for austerity. Not the Angels. Here, quoted by Saxon, is Angels GM Tony Reagins:
“You always have to take account of how the finances work, but we’re not limited financially in any way. Whatever we need to do that makes sense and that’s reasonable, we’ll address.”
I’m reminded of my man Charlie Kane when told that he was losing a million dollars a year in late 19th century money:
“You’re right, I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars next year. You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I’ll have to close this place in . . . 60 years.
That’s pretty much Arte Moreno’s m.o., it would seem. No, not fomenting wars with Cuba and forcing his wife to do jigsaw puzzles in front of a comically over-sized fireplace, but in keeping year-to-year losses in perspective while realizing that overall value is where it’s at.
I don’t know how much the Angels are really losing, but let’s say it’s $10 million. Given Moreno’s investments in marketing and the ballpark and the payroll and everything else, how much more are the Angels worth today than when he bought the team a few years ago? I’m betting quite a bit. Certainly enough to absorb a $10 million loss. And certainly enough to afford Carl Crawford.