In his first offseason as the Angels’ owner, Arte Moreno landed the best player available in free agency: Vladimir Guerrero, the only player to wear an Angels cap on a Hall of Fame plaque. Could Stan Kroenke do the same thing in his first offseason as the Angels’ owner? Kroenke is not expected to be approved as Moreno’s successor until early next year. By then, players might be in spring training — or might still be sitting home, awaiting the end of a lockout and a subsequent free-agent signing frenzy. The best player in this fall’s free-agent class is certain of one thing: Whenever Kroenke takes over, Anaheim instantly becomes a preferred destination for stars across the major leagues, with a new owner not just promising to spend to win but a demonstrated history of doing so. “Absolutely,” Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal told The Times. “Not only an owner that has obvious financial backing, but an owner that has turned the Rams into what the Rams are. I think they’re the Super Bowl favorite this year. There’s an owner that cares about winning. “The impact he brings to the Angels? You bring an owner that really cares about winning and is willing to do whatever it takes to win and invest, not only with players on the field but all the stuff behind the scenes, like clubhouse renovations. I’m sure there will be a lot of stuff there that changes to make it state-of-the-art, because all that stuff matters.” Under Perry Minasian, the Angels’ general manager from 2021-26, the largest free-agent signing approved by Moreno: pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, for $63 million. Kroenke would be the richest owner in baseball, with a net worth estimated by Forbes at $24 billion. Skubal said he is focused on helping the Dodgers toward a third consecutive World Series championship and has not thought much about his free agency. Speaking generally, he said, it is likely that players that might not have considered signing with the Angels might now do so. “You want to feel wanted,” Skubal said. “And you have an owner that is willing to do whatever it takes to win. Winning is the most important thing in sports. When you get yourself in that environment, I think guys do want to play there. “Just look around the league: Guys tend to gravitate toward teams that are winning and teams that are in the playoff hunt every single year, with World Series aspirations every single year. I think free agents gravitate toward that in general. I’m sure that will be the case.” From the players’ viewpoint, the successive sales of major league franchises at record values — the San Diego Padres at $3.9 billion, then the Angels at $4 billion — reflects good economic times. From the owners’ standpoint, the mid-market Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA just sold at a $4.5 billion valuation. Commissioner Rob Manfred has cited lagging franchise values in baseball as a reason owners want a salary cap, which the NBA has. Yet the Padres and Angels sold before their owners found out whether they could secure the salary cap the league insists is a primary objective in collective bargaining. “I think it’s pretty obvious what that says, right?” said Skubal, one of eight players on the union’s executive subcommittee. “If that’s the complaint that ownership and MLB is holding onto, I think they’re proving themselves wrong by selling these teams for record values. I think those clubs selling continues to support the argument that our game is in a really good spot.” The owners also pitch a salary cap as a tonic for competitive balance, citing what they say is a $441-million gap between the Dodgers’ top-ranked payroll and the Miami Marlins’ bottom-ranked payroll. The players point to franchise sales as another economic indicator. The Padres last sold for $800 million, in 2012. The Angels last sold for $183.5 million, in 2003. “It’s a very profitable business venture,” Skubal said. “The sport itself is great. The product on the field is outstanding.”
