Owner Moreno stopped trade with Dodgers

Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno acknowledges he scrapped the proposed trade that would have landed Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling from the Dodgers.

Moreno also says the Angels can make an even bigger trade for an elite starting pitcher if they get a chance this season.

Moreno covered many topics in his annual informal conversation with reporters on the training fields outside Tempe Diablo Stadium. He is excited about the potential impact of $245 million third baseman Anthony Rendon and optimistic about his pitching staff’s ability to improve after a poor season.

Moreno also is eager to move on from the scuttled trade that would have sent infielder Luis Rengifo and a prospect to the Dodgers for Pederson and Stripling earlier in the month.

Both veterans likely would have played immediately for the Angels, but Moreno called off the talks around the deal while the Dodgers’ blockbuster deal with Boston was delayed for several days.

“It wasn’t all impatience,” Moreno said. “There were other things involved, too . ... I just would rather not talk about it. That wasn’t going to happen, and it’s not happening.”

Later in the interview, Moreno said he realized Angels fans wanted more information about what went down.

“There’s a lot of things that people would like to know, and they’re not going to know,” Moreno said. “It’s water under the bridge. We’ve moved on.”

Moreno has previously acknowledged he has a temper that sometimes affects his decision-making, but he was calm and upbeat throughout his discussion of the potential deal and the Angels’ prospects for the upcoming season, which appear considerably brighter than they were last year.

The Angels added Rendon at third base to an already solid lineup, and they added starters Dylan Bundy and Julio Teherán after they struck out on Gerrit Cole.