ANAHEIM Bruce Maxwell Jersey , Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels opted out of their Angel Stadium lease with the city of Anaheim on Tuesday, renewing the possibility they could build a stadium somewhere near their longtime Orange County home.The team and the city will negotiate on a new deal to keep the Angels in the fourth-oldest ballpark in the major leagues. The Angels also will renew their explorations of the feasibility of building a stadium elsewhere in Southern California.“As we look to the future, we need the ability to continue to deliver a high-quality fan experience beyond what the original lease allows,” Angels President John Carpino said in a statement. “It is important that we look at all our options and how we can best serve our fans now and in the future.”The Angels terminated their lease on the last day possible before 2028. The decision means the club has the ability to leave Angel Stadium after the 2019 season.The renewed possibility of the Angels leaving their longtime hometown could become an issue in the upcoming city elections: Anaheim will elect a new mayor and three city councilmembers next month.City of Anaheim spokesman Mike Lyster said the Angels’ decision was understandable.“We look forward to many great years of Angels baseball in Anaheim,” Lyster said in a statement. “We don’t believe there is a better place for the team than in the heart of Orange County’s most exciting city. … As fun as baseball is in Anaheim, this is a reminder that this is still a business. And we understand that the Angels need to preserve all options available. We welcome talking with the team about the future of baseball in Anaheim.”Owner Arte Moreno said before the 2017 season that he expected the Angels to stay at their ballpark for at least another decade, but the club is clearly open to the possibility of building a new stadium nearby if a favorable deal could be reached. Moreno also said last year that any move to a new stadium would require at least three years of preparation.After previous negotiations with Anaheim ended in 2014, the Angels actively explored building a new ballpark in Los Angeles, Irvine, Carson or Tustin, an Orange County suburb just a few miles southeast of Angel Stadium. The Angels ultimately decided to stay home http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-pinder-jersey , and they spent millions on improvements to the city-owned stadium.Only Fenway Park, Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium are older than the Anaheim ballpark also known as the Big A, which opened in 1966 on land formerly occupied by Orange County’s famed orange groves. Before that, the AL club founded in 1961 played its inaugural season at Los Angeles’ long-demolished Wrigley Field and four seasons at Dodger Stadium.The Angels have drawn at least 3 million fans in each of the past 16 seasons at Angel Stadium. They’ve kept up the remarkable streak even during their current nine-season drought on the field with no playoff victories and just one postseason appearance.Moreno irked many Orange County fans in 2005 when he changed his franchise’s name from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The “of Anaheim” suffix was dropped for the 2016 season, although the team rarely uses any geographical identifiers in its official communications. CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Agent John Boggs stood in the lobby at the hotel hosting the general managers’ meetings and talked about last winter, when dozens of free agents remained unsigned after spring training began, causing prices to plummet as opening day approached.“It’s the greatest thing for the owners because they’ve got a lot of players that are wanting to play and have a lot of game left in them, and all of a sudden are just sitting there dying to get an opportunity again, and so it’s a gigantic Macy’s basement sale,” he said. “I hope it is an aberration because I think there’s a lot of good players that are being deprived of getting an opportunity to continue their careers.”As the offseason starts Brett Anderson Jersey , teams and agents aren’t sure whether the market will revert to its previous pace or whether clubs will try to wait out players again.Miami’s efforts to trade Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani’s decision to leave Japan for the major leagues created roadblocks after the 2017 season.“I think the lesson to be drawn is don’t hold your vacation off until late January, because everybody seemed to be pretty busy last year,” Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels said.This year’s free-agent class is a far stronger group, led by outfielders Bryce Harper, A.J. Pollock and Michael Brantley, infielders Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson, starting pitchers Dallas Keuchel, Patrick Corbin, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Nathan Eovaldi, and closers Craig Kimbrel and Zach Britton.“The good ones will get their money,” Philadelphia GM Matt Klentak said. “They’ll sign. They’ll end up in good places. And whether that’s here in November or whether it’s in December Blake Treinen Jersey , January, February or even March, I don’t know.”Washington GM Mike Rizzo said the Nationals attempted to reach a deal with Harper before he became a free agent.“We utilized our exclusivity to negotiate with him late in the season through when he became eligible to sign with a team,” Rizzo said. “There is a reality that we would love to sign him but we may not.”Some teams have delayed their offseason planning because of front-office changes. Los Angeles Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi was hired just Tuesday as San Francisco’s president of baseball operations and Baltimore has not replaced Dan Duquette as its top baseball decision-maker.Brodie Van Wagenen, who had been an agent at CAA Baseball, replaced Sandy Alderson as the New York Mets‘ general manager. About two weeks before the start of spring training last winter, Van Wagenen suggested players considering boycotting spring training because of the slow market.“Hard to say about whether there will be any carry-over effect to this year,” he said. “I think there was an element last year where the trade market was slowed, as well, which also pushed the free-agent market back.”Teams now project their rosters well into the future, and players who could be free agents after the 2019 World Series could be dealt this offseason for a bigger return than they would get ahead of next summer’s trade deadline http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-chris-hatcher-jersey , especially if they don’t agree to long-term deals. Among the possibilities are Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado, San Francisco left-hander Madison Bumgarner and Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler.Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said a multiyear deal with Goldschmidt would take creativity, and a trade had to be considered.“He’s the consummate teammate, Diamondback. What he’s done for the organization both on and off the field is everything you want in a player,” Hazen said. “I met with Paul. I think there’s an understanding of where the organization is at present. But I think it would pretty tough.”CC Sabathia became the first free agent to reach a deal since the market opened Saturday, agreeing to an $8 million, one-year contract with the New York Yankees. The 38-year-old left-hander accepted a $2 million cut to return to the Bronx for an 11th season in a deal subject to a successful physical.New York is being more aggressive this offseason after falling below the luxury tax threshold for the first time in 2018.“Last year we had to be really careful about every step we took in terms of financial commitments, so it took longer because we were having to have that luxury-tax issue in the back of our minds,” general manager Brian Cashman said.The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped below the threshold for the first time since 2012 and won their second straight NL pennant — but lost the World Series for the second consecutive year. The only teams projected over this year were the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, who had the highest payroll for the first time in the free-agent era Sean Manaea Jersey , and Washington.Alan Nero, who negotiated first baseman Carlos Santana’s $60 million, three-year deal with the Phillies last fall, said agents have to be realistic with their clients.“I think you have to understand we’re in a changing market and you’re not going to get a 10-year deal,” he said. “It’s a matter of managing expectations.”