“Arte loves the game of baseball, and he loves this team and he wants to deliver a championship here. … He likes being part of the process. In my opinion, he deserves to be part of the process. He’s the owner.”

Moreno made the decision to fire Eppler last weekend, Carpino said, two months after giving a contract extension to the former Yankees executive. The Angels’ 17-9 surge in the second half under new manager Joe Maddon wasn’t enough to make up for their miserable 9-22 start, and it wasn’t enough to save Eppler’s job despite Maddon’s strong backing for him.

“We have the base of a strong team,” Carpino said. “We’re not that far away. A couple of right decisions being made, and we’re playing this week instead of being here, which doesn’t make any of us happy.”

Eppler revitalized the Angels’ farm system, landed Shohei Ohtani and played a big role in persuading Trout to sign a $426.5 million deal to stay in Anaheim. But the Halos didn’t have a winning season during his half-decade in charge, and that’s why Moreno is starting over, Carpino said.

“It was a difficult decision, but at the end of the day, it was a business decision,” Carpino said. “We’re in the business of winning baseball games, and we just didn’t win enough over the five-year period.”

Moreno plays a major role in the Angels’ fortunes, of course. The owner made the decisions to hand out his roster’s biggest contracts, from the $240 million given to Albert Pujols and the $125 million given to Josh Hamilton several years ago to the $245 million given to Anthony Rendon last winter.