Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s pending purchase of the Angels has fans thinking of an immediate rise in payroll to improve the on-field product, but at least one long-time observer of the team feels resources should be directed in an opposite direction. The Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher said Angels execs “mostly need to spend money immediately on infrastructure and that kind of thing, that you know works.” That might not excite the fan base because it “doesn’t show up right away, doesn’t have a return right away.” However, Fletcher said, “They need to get caught up in terms of what their minor leaguers are (doing). What equipment they’re using, the food they’re eating, the coaching they’re getting, the technology they’re using — all that stuff they could immediately do. Then fill around the big leagues with some more capable guys to raise the floor.” Meanwhile, Fletcher noted the Angels still need to find a top baseball exec and said the organization likely wants to “get somebody experienced as a GM or somebody who’s come from a pretty successful organization.” Fletcher: “Obviously what the Angels have done has not worked great and they sort of acknowledged they need to change things” (“Loud Outs,” MLB Network Radio, 11/2).
FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS: THE ATHLETIC’s Ken Rosenthal writes his “first calls,” if he were Kroenke, would be to the Brewers and Rays to “ask permission to interview” Brewers GM & President of Baseball Operations Matt Arnold and Rays President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander. Neither “would necessarily be interested” so their respective teams “might not even allow them to depart.” Rosenthal: “The best way for the Angels to send a warning shot to the industry … would be to lure away the architect of one of the World Series participants. Or at the very least, try.” The Angels’ job is the one “every major-league executive wants, or should want, even if the exec already is a sitting head of baseball ops.” Kroenke Sports and Entertainment “cannot hire a head of baseball operations” until MLB approves its purchase of controlling interest from Angels owner Arte Moreno at a $4B valuation. That vote “could take place next month, after the start of a lockout that is expected to begin” when the CBA expires at 11:59pm ET on Dec. 1. Rosenthal: “A proven executive would be preferable, accelerating the franchise’s turnaround without needing to learn on the job” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/3).