TEMPE, Ariz. _ Arte Moreno wants no part of Major League Baseball's growing tank battalion.
No matter how far out of playoff contention his team might be, the Angels owner can't stomach the idea of trading away the bulk of his proven talent for prospects and going into total rebuild mode, even though the strategy worked for the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros, baseball's last two World Series winners.
It's not in his DNA.
"The reality is, if I have to do that, then I'd get out," Moreno said Thursday after watching his latest marquee acquisition, Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani, throw his first bullpen session of spring training. "I don't think it's fair to the fans."
Moreno's comment probably elicited fist bumps in the MLB Players' Association office.
Players and owners have been at odds all winter over who is to blame for the glacially slow-moving free-agent market, the union citing the rising number of "tanking" teams _ there are eight to 10 that appear to have little interest in winning _ and baseball blaming agents' misreading of the market.
There isn't much grumbling in Angels camp. The club spent $178 million to add Ohtani, third baseman Zack Cozart and second baseman Ian Kinsler and to extend left fielder Justin Upton's contract.
The Angels are projected to have a 2018 payroll of about $187 million and a luxury-tax payroll of $175 million, well under the $197-million threshold.
"It's interesting how teams are going different routes, and I know some go through rebuilds," pitcher Matt Shoemaker said. "We're fortunate where we are, to see what we've done in the offseason to get better and do the best we can to win."
Moreno is already pondering another massive investment in star center fielder Mike Trout, who is entering the fourth year of a six-year, $145-million contract that expires after 2020.
Moreno would love for Trout, who is 26 and could command more than $300 million in his next deal, to play his entire career in Anaheim. At what point do the Angels need to engage his agent in negotiations?
"Let's put it this way: It's always in our minds, we're always thinking about it," Moreno said. "If you look at long-term plans, you're always trying to position yourself. But we have three years. We try not to do anything in an urgent way."
