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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mike Trout said he was just as shocked as everyone else when the news broke that owner Arte Moreno was exploring a sale of the Angels.

“I’m still trying to process it,” Trout said before the Angels played the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. “I found out when you guys found out. Looking back, I’ve been here my whole career. Had some great times with Arte. He took care of me, my family. I appreciate all he has done for me. I guess he’s moving on.”

The Angels’ three-time American League MVP is currently in the midst of a 12-year, $426 million contract that he signed in March 2019. At the time, Trout said the deal was an indication of his confidence that the Angels would build a winner around him.

So far that hasn’t happened. The Angels haven’t been to the playoffs since 2014 and they haven’t had a winning season since 2015.

When Trout was asked what he’d like to see from the next owner, he said it was too soon to get into specifics.

“I think once you find out who buys it, whenever that is, there are definitely conversations we’re going to have to have,” said Trout, who added “Obviously, I want to win.”

Trout said he appreciated the faith that Moreno showed in him with what is still the largest guaranteed contract in the history of North American team sports.

“I really appreciate what they’ve done,” Trout said. “They took care of me and my family. They trusted me and took risks, for sure. Anytime you sign somebody to a big contract, they believe in you. Obviously, I can’t thank them enough.”

The sale could also have an impact on Shohei Ohtani, who declined through an Angels spokesperson to address the news on Tuesday.

Ohtani is under contract with the Angels for one more season and then he’ll be eligible for free agency. It is likely now that any talk of an extension for Ohtani will have to wait until there is more clarity with the ownership situation, which could be settled in months or could drag on for more than a year.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian, who is with the team in St. Petersburg, also declined to comment on the Moreno news.

Manager Phil Nevin said that he was mostly focused on the Angels’ daily business on the field, but he thanked Moreno for the opportunity to manage the Angels. Nevin was promoted to interim manager after Joe Maddon was fired in June.

“For the owner to trust you with your players and his team means a lot to me,” Nevin said. “He’s been great to me. I’ve known him for longer than I’ve been with the Angels. He’s been a great owner for this organization, still is. Six division titles in the 20 years. People want to focus on the last part of the deal but he’s been really good to the community to Anaheim, Los Angeles, Orange County. He really has done a lot of great things for this organization to get us to where we are.”

The Angels are in the middle of a seven-game stretch of games on artificial turf, with four games against the Rays followed by a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Nevin said he’s planning to give all of his everyday players at least one day off during the stretch to protect them from the wear and tear of the surface.

“The outfielders are spending all that time on the carpet so it can cause some low back and some knee problems,” Nevin said.

It’s much better than the turf that Nevin played on back in the 1990’s, though.

“They used to just roll out half-inch carpet on top of concrete,” Nevin said. “This is really high-tech stuff. It’s as close to grass as you’re going to get.”

Angels (RHP Mike Mayers, 1-0, 5.22) at Rays (LHP Shane McClanahan, 11-5, 2.29), Wednesday, 4:10 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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