MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred calls Angels owner Arte Moreno 'a good steward'

On a day Arte Moreno made his first appearance at Angels spring training, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred shared his thoughts on the Angels owner and his decision to take the team off the market last month.

Speaking at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel as part of a Cactus League Media Day, Manfred called Moreno "a good steward for the game" who has "been a valued member of the ownership group."

“There's a lot of success that had been had there,” Manfred said, highlighting the Angels' spending and previous run of years in which they drew over three million fans per season. “And I think a lot of the sort of negativity recently was a reflection back on the Angels, not a product of them doing anything inappropriate or improper.”

Manfred also said that Moreno, who announced in August that he was exploring the sale of the team, did have bidders and options.

Moreno did not address reporters at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Wednesday morning but did watch Shohei Ohtani’s bullpen session on the first day of official workouts for pitchers and catchers while sitting on a bench a few feet behind him.

A few people chatted with him, such as general manager Perry Minasian and former Angels catcher Bob Boone, whom manager Phil Nevin invited to camp as a special guest for the next few days.

After Moreno announced in January he would not sell the team, Minasian said he was excited he would be staying, then also pointed to the Angels' payroll over the years — the Angels have had a top-10 payroll for almost 20 years, albeit much of the money year after year has gone to just a few players.

On Tuesday, Nevin said he thought Moreno was a good owner for the organization and repeated that he helped put the Angels in the position they are now, but that it was up to them to win.

On Wednesday, Mike Trout said he wasn’t surprised Moreno decided not to sell, pointing to the amount of money the Angels were spending through the offseason to try to improve.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.