ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno said Tuesday he is exploring the possibility of selling the franchise, a move that surprised superstar slugger Mike Trout and was welcomed by Hall of Famer Rod Carew.

Moreno purchased the team for $184 million in 2003, a year after it won its first World Series championship. The club was then known as the Anaheim Angels, a name that Moreno changed in a move that drew ire in the Orange County city.

The Angels haven’t made the postseason since 2014 and they haven’t had a winning season since 2015, even with the likes of Trout and Shohei Ohtani.

“I’m still trying to process it,” Trout said before the Angels played at Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. “Looking back, I’ve been here my whole career. Had some great times with Arte. He took care of me, my family. I appreciate all he has done for me. I guess he’s moving on.”

Moreno, a 76-year-old Mexican-American born in Arizona, is the only nonwhite controlling owner in Major League Baseball. The Angels are the second MLB team currently for sale, joining the Washington Nationals.

Longtime Angels fans were on board with Moreno early in his tenure as the team won five division championships. But the current state of the moribund franchise has hurt attendance and turned off many supporters, who at times have been vocal about wanting Moreno out as owner.

No less than Carew, an 18-time All-Star infielder, expressed pleasure about a possible sale. He starred with the then-California Angels from 1979-1985. He later worked as the team’s hitting coach and is credited with helping develop such Angels stars as Garret Anderson, Jim Edmonds and Tim Salmon.

“Well this is happy news,” Carew posted on Twitter. “I have renewed hope that my relationship with the (at)Angels organization can be fully restored.”

Moreno spent aggressively on aging free agent stars like Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, but the club hasn’t been back to the Fall Classic since he became owner.

Los Angeles is set to miss the postseason for the eighth straight year despite featuring AL MVPs Trout and Ohtani. The Angels were 52-70 going into Tuesday night.

“It has been a great honor and privilege to own the Angels for 20 seasons,” Moreno said in a statement. “Although this difficult decision was entirely our choice and deserved a great deal of thoughtful consideration, my family and I have ultimately come to the conclusion that now is the time.”

Moreno’s announcement comes at a critical juncture for the franchise, with Ohtani set to be a free agent after the 2024 season. Ohtani, a two-way sensation who left Japan and joined the Angels in 2018, has made it clear he wants to play for a contending team. If the franchise can’t sign Ohtani to a long-term deal, it may decide to trade him before he has a chance to leave as a free agent.

Trout, a three-time MVP, is signed through the 2030 season on a $426.5 million, 12-year deal. He’s appeared in just three postseason games with the Angels, all in 2014, despite having been the best player in baseball for most of the last decade.

Anthony Rendon, a high-priced free agent signed after helping Washington win the 2019 World Series, had been injured most of his time with the Angels.
Phil Nevin, who took over as interim manager after Joe Maddon was fired in June, praised Moreno.

“He’s been great to me. I’ve known him for longer than I’ve been with the Angels, but he’s been a great owner for this organization and still is. Six division titles in the 20 years,” he said.

“He’s been really good to the community, he really has. Done a lot of great things for this organization. I know this is a tough day for him, a sad day. To be honest, I’m really focused on the game today. It doesn’t change anything we do here. Arte is a great man, and it has been a pleasure to work for him,” he said.

The team has retained Galatioto Sports Partners as financial adviser for the process and said it will not have any additional comment.

WHITE SOX: The Chicago White Sox put right-hander Michael Kopech on the 15-day injured list with a left knee strain.

Chicago recalled left-hander Tanner Banks from Triple-A Charlotte before Tuesday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Kopech started Monday’s game at Kansas City but faced only four batters before leaving with knee soreness. He is 4-9 with a 3.58 ERA in 23 starts this season for the White Sox.

ROYALS: Pitcher Amir Garrett’s suspension for throwing a drink on a fan was cut to two games from three under an agreement between Major League Baseball and the players’ association that avoided an appeal hearing.

Garrett was penalized by MLB senior vice president Michael Hill for the incident during an Aug. 2 game against the White Sox in Chicago. He began serving the penalty Tuesday night against Arizona and will complete it in Wednesday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Garrett also received an undisclosed fine.

TWINS: The Minnesota Twins placed All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton on the 10-day injured list with a low grade strain of his right hip.

Buxton, who is tied for third in the American League with 28 homers, left Monday’s loss to the Rangers with tightness in the hip.

Buxton is hitting .224 with 13 doubles, three triples and 51 RBI. An All-Star this season, Buxton has a.306 on-base percentage, a .526 slugging percentage and an .833 OPS in 92 games this season.

The Twins selected the contract of right-hander Aaron Sanchez from Triple-A St. Paul, recalled catcher Caleb Hamilton and optioned left-hander Devin Smeltzer.

RAYS: Ace Tyler Glasnow reached 97 mph while throwing his second live batting practice and hasn’t ruled out returning this season.

Glasnow threw 21 pitches to a pair of minor leaguers before the Rays played the Los Angeles Angels. Glasnow had Tommy John surgery on Aug, 4, 2021. The 6-foot-8 right-hander made his last appearance on June 14 2021, at the Chicago White Sox.

“I think it’s like easy to be very optimistic,” Glasnow said. “I felt really good, my velo was good, execution was good but again if I’m not comfortable and I don’t feel like 100% and ready to go then I’m not. I’m not going to push it.”

The regular season ends on Oct. 5.

“It’s going to be the hardest thing for me to come to the decision,” Glasnow added. “I really do want to come back. I want to help the team, especially the position we’re in, but I’m not going to jeopardize the rest of my career.”

PADRES: Fernando Tatis Jr. apologized privately to his teammates for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, then publicly expressed remorse for the 80-game suspension that will keep him off the field well into next season.

“I’m really sorry for my mistakes,” the star shortstop said during a news conference in the Padres’ dugout on Tuesday.

“I’ve seen how my dreams have turned into my worst nightmares. There’s no other one to blame than myself. I haven’t made the right decisions in these past two weeks, month, even the start of the year. I made a mistake and I regret every single step I have taken,” the 23-year-old Tatis said.

Tatis, one of baseball’s brightest stars, was suspended 80 games on Aug. 12 after MLB said he tested positive for Clostebol, an anabolic steroid. Tatis originally said he accidentally took a medication to treat ringworm that contained the banned substance.

Asked about the ringworm story, Tatis offered a clarification, saying he had been dealing with a skin infection for some time, took some medication and tested positive soon after.

“There’s no excuses,” he said. “I need to do a way better job knowing what is going inside my body.”

Tatis was getting close to making his season debut after rehabbing following surgery on his fractured left wrist in mid-March. He was injured in a motorcycle accident in early December in his native Dominican Republic.

Tatis said he will have surgery on his troublesome left shoulder as soon as possible.

PHILLIES: Bryce Harper homered to right-center field in his first at-bat for Philadelphia’s Triple-A team as part of his rehabilitation assignment from a broken left thumb.

Harper was the designated hitter and hit second in the lineup for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the start of a six-game series against Gwinnett. He drilled the fifth pitch of the at-bat against Atlanta Braves prospect Jared Shuster high over the wall at Coca-Cola Park in front of what was announced as a sellout crowd of 10,001 fans.

Harper, who won his second NL MVP award last year, hasn’t played for the Phillies since he broke his left thumb on June 25. He is expected to play in Lehigh Valley through Saturday and possibly return to the Philadelphia lineup on Monday when the playoff-contending Phillies begin a series at Arizona.

DODGERS: All-Star pitcher Walker Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, leaving Los Angeles to head into the postseason and next year without a key member of the rotation.

The team disclosed earlier this month that the 28-year-old right-hander would be having season-ending elbow surgery. At that time, the team did not say Buehler would have the Tommy John surgery. The typical recovery time for the ligament-replacement procedure is 12 to 18 months.

Buehler was shut down in June because of a flexor strain and also had a bone spur removed. The prognosis called for Buehler to recover in 10 to 12 weeks, and the Dodgers were hopeful he would be back for the postseason.

YANKEES: Giancarlo Stanton took live batting practice against Luis Severino. He also ran the bases. The Yankees slugger then went out to the bullpen to track pitches. These were the final hurdles for Stanton before he can come off the injured list and rejoin the Yankees lineup.

Barring any late setbacks on the off day Wednesday on the West Coast, Stanton, who was dealing with Achilles tendinitis, will play Thursday against the A’s.

• Zack Britton, who had elbow reconstruction surgery in October, will pitch in a minor league rehab game on Wednesday, just over a year since he last pitched in any game. The left-handed reliever will start for the low Class-A Tampa Tarpons in a very limited capacity.

The 34-year old Britton is in the final year of his contract with the Yankees. He made just 22 appearances last season before he was shut down to have Tommy John surgery that also including the insertion of a brace inside the elbow around the ligament. Britton has 154 career saves and had a 1.89 ERA in 2020, his last full season.

• Matt Carpenter, who fouled a ball off his foot, fracturing it, on Aug. 8, is still in a large boot and using a scooter to get around. The Yankees and the veteran slugger had been optimistic that he would return this season. With just 39 games left, however, Manager Aaron Boone admitted he is racing the clock.

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