Angels Players 'Took Notice' of Arte Moreno's Remarks About Winning, Fans, MLBPA Director Says

Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno's recent comments about fans not prioritizing winning didn't sit right with his team.

While speaking to reporters on Friday ahead of the Angels' first spring training game of the season, Moreno said, "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."

The Athletic's Sam Blum spoke to MLB Players Association director Bruce Meyer, who met with Angels players on Sunday morning and indicated that they were not pleased with Moreno's assertions.

"Let's just say players took notice of it," Meyer told Blum. "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."

The Angels haven't made the playoffs in the last 11 seasons. The team doesn't appear to be going anywhere in 2026 after slashing significant payroll this offseason. Los Angeles lost its television deal with Main Street Sports Group, and Moreno claimed that the loss of revenue contributed to the conservative spending this winter.

"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."

Still, Meyer made it clear that the Players Association feels the Angels should have no issues in being committed to winning in a media market like Los Angeles.

"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."