Tuesday newsletter time: Angels no longer for sale, which might be a good thing for Rangers

(AP photo/Ashley Landis)

Interesting news came down late Monday afternoon from Anaheim, where longtime owner Arte Moreno announced that his has taken the Angels off the market and will not sell the club.

There is unfinished work, he said. Progress has been made this offseason that has built momentum for another World Series. The Angles haven’t won one since 2002.

This might be good news for the Rangers, who share a home in the American League West with the Angels.

Moreno just can’t help himself when it comes to handing out big — and sometimes bad — contracts.

The biggest piece of unfinished work is what will Moreno do with Shohei Ohtani. History suggests he will try to keep the two-way star.

Moreno has thrown money at big-name players without much success. Albert Pujols wasn’t worth the money, ultimately. The Josh Hamilton signing was a fiasco. Anthony Rendon isn’t looking very good.

Mike Trout is in the midst of a $426 million contract. All the money Moreno has spent the past decade hasn’t done the Angels any good.

Some are speculating that Ohtani will get a deal worth $500 million.

Having Ohtani, Trout and Rendon, all $30 million-plus players per season, might limit just how much the Angels can put around them. If Moreno were to pass, Ohtani leaving the division wouldn’t be a thing for the Rangers.

The luxury tax threshold is higher these days, and Moreno has generally treated that as a salary cap. At 77, the billionaire might be willing to spend for a winner before he ends up on the wrong side of the grass.

Moreno also meddles with the baseball side of things, and that has been pretty disastrous.

He’s no Jerry Jones, but he has turned off a few general managers.

Again, this could be good news for the Rangers.

Calling all coaches

This is a pretty cool opportunity for area baseball and softball coaches: The Rangers coaching staff will be hosting a free coaches’ clinic Sunday at the Rangers Youth Academy in Dallas.

Thanks to the 49ers, everyone’s Sunday schedules have been freed up.

Manager Bruce Bochy will be one of five coaches on hand, along with pitching coach Mike Maddux, assistant hitting coach Seth Connor, strength and conditioning coach Jose Vazquez and former Rangers infielder Steve Buechele.

The clinic begins at 9:45 a.m. and runs through noon. It’s open to youth baseball and softball coaches across the region. The clinic will zero in on fielding, hitting, pitching and strength training.

Click here to register for the clinic while spots are still available. Registration closes Saturday.

New newsletter

Some of you might have noticed that the Monday newsletter looked a bit different. Don’t be alarmed. I finally got around to figuring out how to send from WordPress.

As is the case with everything new at Rangers Today, it wasn’t without some hiccups. Not all emails went out at once. Some didn’t get out until later in the day. The account was put on probation of some sort.

If you didn’t receive it, you might want to check your spam folder and un-spam it.

The new newsletter will be a better newsletter. More stories will be land in your inbox, especially for paid subscribers. How do I become a paid subscriber, you just asked yourself? Easy. Click here.

The plan is for me to make three trips to spring training, while John Moore and Rangers Today Baseball Podcast producer Joel Perez come out in early to mid-March.

Good things are ahead for this little website and YouTube channel. You really should subscribe.

Doggy video!

Me, when the family plows through the first basket of chips and salsa and I’m waiting for the refill. Enjoy.

It's dinner time..🐶🐾🥣😅 pic.twitter.com/XSMYYK3doM

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) January 22, 2023

Jeff Wilson, jeff@rangerstoday.com