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Angels Rumors

Nine Players Elect Free Agency

By Darragh McDonald | October 15, 2025 at 5:17pm CDT

Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. Unless otherwise credited, these free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

Catchers

  • Eric Haase (Brewers)
  • Chad Wallach (Angels)

Outfielders

  • Akil Baddoo (Tigers)
  • Dominic Fletcher (White Sox) (per Scott Merkin of MLB.com)
  • Corey Julks (White Sox) (per Merkin)

Pitchers

  • Carl Edwards Jr. (Rangers)
  • Trevor Richards (Diamondbacks)
  • Keegan Thompson (Cubs)
  • Randy Wynne (Reds)

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images

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2025-26 MLB Free Agents Arizona Diamondbacks Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Detroit Tigers Los Angeles Angels Milwaukee Brewers Texas Rangers Transactions Akil Baddoo Carl Edwards Jr. Chad Wallach Corey Julks Dominic Fletcher Eric Haase Keegan Thompson Randy Wynne Trevor Richards

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Sandy Alomar Sr. Passes Away

By Steve Adams | October 13, 2025 at 1:27pm CDT

Former All-Star infielder Sandy Alomar Sr. has passed away, per an announcement from the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League. He was 81 years old and would have turned 82 this coming weekend.

The father of big leaguers Roberto Alomar and Sandy Alomar Jr., Sandy Sr. enjoyed a 15-year playing career of his own. From 1964-78, he suited up for the Angels, Yankees, White Sox, Braves, Rangers and Mets. The elder Alomar made the 1970 All-Star team as a member of the Angels during a season in which he batted .251/.302/.293 and played in all 162 games while providing quality defense and 35 stolen bases.

In all, Alomar hit .245/.290/.288 in 5160 major league plate appearances across his decade and a half as a big league player. He played primarily second base but also logged more than 1200 innings at shortstop and made a handful of appearances at the hot corner. Alomar was known for his glove and speed more than his bat; he totaled just 13 career home runs, 126 doubles and 19 triples but piled up 227 career stolen bases. He’s one of just 300 players to ever steal at least 225 bags in his career.

Beyond his career as a player, Alomar logged parts of 16 season as a coach in the major leagues, spending time with the Padres (third base coach), Cubs (first base coach), Rockies (third base coach) and Mets (bench coach, first base coach). He also managed in the minor league ranks for both the Cubs and the Mets and spent several seasons coaching and managing teams at home in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

Our condolences go out to each of the organizations Alomar impacted, as well as the Alomar family and friends, and the countless fans he accrued over a baseball career that spanned more than 50 years.

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Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Angels New York Mets New York Yankees Obituaries San Diego Padres Texas Rangers Sandy Alomar Sr.

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Angels, Albert Pujols Discussing Managerial Deal

By Darragh McDonald | October 10, 2025 at 6:22pm CDT

6:22pm: Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes that the Angels have not yet made Pujols an official offer, though he confirms that the interview went well.

6:00pm: It seems the Angels have made up their mind about their next manager, though he still has to agree. According to a report from Sam Blum and Katie Woo of The Athletic, the job is going to go to Albert Pujols as long as he wants it. Per the report, Pujols met with general manager Perry Minasian last night and the meeting went well. Discussions on a deal are in the works but there’s not yet an agreement in place.

It was reported just over a week ago that Pujols would interview for the job and would be a frontrunner. That was just a few days after it was reported that neither Ron Washington nor Ray Montgomery would be back in the job. Washington opened the 2025 season as the skipper but was away for most of the year due to quadruple bypass surgery, with Montgomery covering for him on an interim basis. Torii Hunter has also been reported as a candidate but today’s reporting indicates that Hunter would only be a real consideration if things fall through with Pujols.

Per Blum and Woo, the Angels hope to make an official announcement before the World Series, though there are still some contractual things to work out. The report suggests that Pujols’s personal services contract could be a factor.

The ten-year, $240MM contract he signed with the Angels in 2011 included a ten-year, $10MM personal services contract for after his retirement as a player. He finished his playing career after the 2022 season. He had been released by the Angels and then spent some time with the Dodgers and Cardinals. In February of 2023, he rejoined the Angels as a special assistant to honor that personal services pact. Since he’s only three seasons into that deal, there are seven years left. It’s not clear how the existing contract would impact whatever is being negotiated for him to take the skipper job.

Pujols has previously expressed an interest in becoming a manager but has no experience in affiliated ball, either as a manager or as a coach. He managed Leones del Escogido, a Dominican winter ball team, last offseason. The Leones won the Serie Final over Tigres del Licey in seven games. Pujols is slated to manage the Dominican Republic national team in the upcoming World Baseball Classic but would presumably have to bow out of that gig if he signs with the Angels.

Assuming the sides are able to cross the T’s and dot the I’s, then Pujols will be in the Angels dugout yet again. It feels like a fait accompli at this point, as Blum and Woo report that the coaching staff negotiations are also already in motion. The report notes that former big leaguer Ramón Martínez, brother of Pedro Martínez, is Pujols’s top choice for pitching coach. Barry Enright has been the Halos’ pitching coach for the past two years but it’s fairly common for new managers to make some coaching changes.

The Halos haven’t had a winning season since 2015. Mike Scioscia had a long run as the club’s skipper, from 2000 to 2018. Since then, as the club has struggled, there has been a lot more turnover. Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin, Washington and Montgomery have been at the helm in recent years. It seems Pujols will likely be the next guy to get a chance to turn the ship around.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Albert Pujols Barry Enright Ramon Martinez Torii Hunter

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Torii Hunter Expected To Be Considered In Angels’ Managerial Search

By Nick Deeds | October 5, 2025 at 9:03am CDT

Both Ron Washington and Ray Montgomery have been evicted from the manager’s office in Anaheim, as the Angels plan to hire a new manager rather than tabbing either their manager or interim manager from this season to return in 2026. Most of the attention has been focused on the candidacy of Albert Pujols to this point, but Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported yesterday that one other expected candidate is Torii Hunter.

Hunter, 50, played 19 seasons in the majors. He made it to the All-Star game five times, won nine Gold Glove awards for his work in the outfield, and enjoyed an impressive five-year run with the Angels from 2008 to 2012 where he slashed .286/.352/.462 in 713 games. Hunter being a candidate for the job is hardly a surprise, given the fact that he was reportedly in the mix for the job following the 2023 season before Washington was hired. At the time, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale highlighted Hunter as “tremendously regarded” by club owner Arte Moreno, which was enough to make him an option even in spite of his lack of coaching experience at a time when the Angels were specifically focused on bringing in a more experienced voice at the time.

While Hunter did not ultimately land the job, that didn’t end the organization’s interest in bringing him into the fold. They pursued him as a potential member of Washington’s coaching staff, and while he declined to be considered for that role he was hired as a special assistant to Minasian in April of 2024. He’s remained in the organization ever since, and the relationship that role has surely created with Minasian over the past two years could help give Hunter a leg up in the hunt for the job if Minasian has a say in the hiring process despite his status as a lame duck GM.

Still, it’s must be remembered that Pujols is held in a similar regard by Moreno and is also already employed by the organization as a result of his ten-year personal services contract with the club signed at the time of his free agency as a player. Some reporting has gone as far as suggesting that it might be the Hall of Famer’s decision to make whether or not he serves as Anaheim’s next manager. Even with Pujols emerging as an early favorite, however, that doesn’t mean he’s a lock to be in the dugout next year. There’s certainly a chance that someone with Pujols’s profile might prefer to hold out for a team with stronger prospects than the Angels currently have coming off their tenth consecutive sub-.500 season. The turnover rate of Angels managers might also be a concern. After all, the team has churned through five managers (Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin, Washington, and Montgomery) in the last seven years since Mike Scioscia left the club following the 2019 season.

Even aside from those potential concerns on Pujols’s end, it’s not impossible to imagine GM Perry Minasian pushing for a different candidate or even Moreno himself having a change of heart. All of that is to say, keeping other candidates in mind for the position is sensible, and Hunter has a lot of the same qualities that have made Pujols the early favorite for the job. Given that, it stands to reason that Hunter might find himself in strong position to land the gig if Pujols were to decline to be considered. What’s more, every indication points to Hunter having interest in both managing generally and leading the Angels specifically. He not only interviewed for the role in 2023, but also told reporters at the time that he would relish the “challenge” of helping turn the Angels franchise around.

On the other hand, it’s worth noting that Hunter is arguably even more connected to the Twins organization than he is to the Angels after playing 12 seasons in Minnesota. The Twins also have a managerial opening after their decision to fire Rocco Baldelli, and while there’s not yet been any solid connection between Hunter and that gig it would certainly be one worth considering from Hunter’s perspective. The organization’s massive sell-off this past summer would certainly provide a challenge if Hunter is looking for one, but the team’s history suggests that Twins managers have more job security than those in Anaheim. Every manager in Minnesota in the past 35 years has had at least four full seasons on the job to prove themselves, while Scioscia is the only Angels skipper since inaugural manager Bill Rigney to be afforded that same opportunity.

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Perry Minasian Discusses Angels’ Offseason Plans

By Nick Deeds | October 4, 2025 at 9:10pm CDT

Angels GM Perry Minasian spoke to reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register) today about the club’s disappointing 2025 season, as well plans for the future of the club. Much of the conversation was focused on the decision to move on from both manager Ron Washington and interim manager Ray Montgomery in the dugout and search for a new skipper to lead the club. While Minasian didn’t tip his hand much on the club’s managerial search beyond noting that they’d like to find a new voice in the dugout sooner rather than later, he did make a number of intriguing comments about the state of the team headed into the offseason.

With Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Anderson both headed into free agency this offseason while Anaheim’s array of young pitching arms have yet to establish themselves as viable regular starters, Minasian suggested that there are three pitchers he has penciled into next year’s rotation: Yusei Kikuchi, Jose Soriano, and Reid Detmers. Kikuchi and Soriano are hardly surprising as both veterans turned in perfectly solid season in the rotation and remain under control for next year. Detmers, by contrast, is something of a surprise given his rocky tenure in the organization. The lefty was once among the game’s very best pitching prospects and pitched quite well in the rotation from 2022 to ’23 after a shaky debut in 2021.

Things changed last year when he was torched to the tune of a 6.70 ERA in 17 starts and spent much of the season in the minors. This year, Detmers pitched out of the bullpen and enjoyed a solid enough season where he posted a 3.96 ERA with a 3.12 FIP across 63 2/3 innings of work. While that role of single-inning reliever mostly worked out for the lefty, the Angels will now have him try his hand at starting once again. Minasian suggested he’s “earned” a spot in the rotation and that Detmers was “a different guy” last time he pitched as a starter for the club. While it may seem unorthodox to put Detmers back into a role he struggled in after he found success in the bullpen, it’s worth noting that the Angels did the same thing with Soriano to some success. The right-hander hadn’t made even 10 starts at any level since his stint at Single-A in 2019 when the club decided to put him in last year’s rotation, and he’s turned out quite well in that role.

With Detmers and Soriano joining Kikuchi in the rotation next year, that leaves two spots left unsettled. Caden Dana, Mitch Farris, Sam Aldegheri, and Jack Kochanowicz all pitched as starters in the majors for the club this year and remain young and at least somewhat intriguing, but none posted an ERA lower than 6.40 at the big league level this season and all four can be optioned to the minors, making them perhaps best served as depth options to protect against injury. Perhaps the club could invest in the rotation via free agency this winter, but the club’s budget remains a mystery. When asked by reporters about the club’s payroll flexibility this winter, Minasian said (as relayed by Sam Blum of The Athletic) that he and owner Arte Moreno “haven’t gotten into” the details about the club’s budget for next year.

It stands to reason at least some money will be available given that RosterResource projects the club for just $129MM in salary for next year, more than $75MM below where they were this year. Of course, arbitration salaries for both pricey veterans like Taylor Ward as well as first-time eligible players like Logan O’Hoppe and Zach Neto could make up some of that difference in a hurry, so it’s unclear whether or not Anaheim will be able to shop at the top of the market for arms like Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, and Zac Gallen. This year’s crop of starting pitchers is somewhat thin after that top layer, but there are some solid back-of-the-rotation types like Zack Littell and Adrian Houser available as well.

Turning towards the positional side of things, Minasian made clear that the club plans to try and upgrade both center field and third base this winter. That’s not necessarily a surprise given Bryce Teodosio’s lackluster performance at the plate, Yoan Moncada’s impending free agency, and the fact that (according to Fletcher) Anthony Rendon hasn’t yet resumed baseball activities after undergoing surgery earlier this year. Minasian suggested the club also hopes to get more left-handed in the lineup and that Christian Moore would be in competition for a spot in the lineup, which would logically mean there’s room for an addition at second base as well. Aside from simply reuniting with Moncada or Luis Rengifo, the pickings in free agency for left-handed or switch-hitting infielders are somewhat slim. Jorge Polanco would be the cream of the crop if he can return to playing the field regularly, with Adam Frazier, Cavan Biggio, and Willi Castro joining Moncada and Rengifo among the next tier of options.

The idea of making a splash by adding a lefty-swinging center fielder is far more plausible with both Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger likely ticketed for free agency coming off strong seasons, not to mention the availability of Cedric Mullins. Adding one of those three players (or someone similar) becomes harder to imagine when you consider the state of the club’s outfield mix, however. Minasian suggested that the Angels hope to get Mike Trout back into the outfield next year, but that would be a corner outfield capacity rather than moving him back to center.

Jorge Soler is under contract for next year and would be ticketed for regular at-bats at DH, and Minasian suggested that Jo Adell is an option in center field but the club would prefer to leave him in a corner. Taylor Ward enjoyed his best season since 2022 this year while playing exclusively left field. Given that logjam of right-handed outfield bats, it stands to reason that an addition to the outfield mix would either need to be a complementary player who shares time with Adell in center or be paired with a move to deal away one of the team’s other outfielders, though Trout obviously isn’t going anywhere and Soler likely has little value after an injury-marred season. Making a trade to clear room to bring in a free agent center fielder would likely stretch the club’s budget, of course, but perhaps the trade return for someone like Ward or Adell could address a need elsewhere on the roster to lighten that blow.

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Los Angeles Angels Anthony Rendon Christian Moore Jo Adell Mike Trout Perry Minasian Reid Detmers

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14 Players Elect Free Agency

By Darragh McDonald | October 3, 2025 at 5:13pm CDT

Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents.  Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back.  These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion.  These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

Catchers

  • Jason Delay (Braves)
  • José Herrera (Diamondbacks)

Infielders

  • Jacob Amaya (White Sox)
  • Trenton Brooks (Padres)
  • Zack Short (Astros)

Outfielder

  • Sam Hilliard (Rockies)

Pitchers

  • Luarbert Árias (Marlins)
  • Luis Castillo (Orioles)
  • Mike Clevinger (White Sox)
  • Chris Devenski (Mets)
  • Joe Jacques (Mariners)
  • Tyson Miller (Cubs)
  • José Quijada (Angels)
  • Jake Woodford (Diamondbacks)

Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images

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2025-26 MLB Free Agents Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Colorado Rockies Houston Astros Los Angeles Angels Miami Marlins New York Mets San Diego Padres Seattle Mariners Transactions Chris Devenski Jacob Amaya Jake Woodford Jason Delay Joe Jacques Jose Herrera Jose Quijada Luarbert Arias Luis Castillo (b. 1995) Mike Clevinger Sam Hilliard Trenton Brooks Tyson Miller Zack Short

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Albert Pujols To Interview For Angels’ Managerial Vacancy, May Be “Leading Choice”

By Mark Polishuk | October 1, 2025 at 11:48pm CDT

Albert Pujols could be returning to Anaheim, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Angels are planning to interview the future Hall-of-Famer for their managerial opening.  Beyond just being a candidate for the job, Pujols already looks like a favorite, as The Athletic’s Sam Blum, Katie Woo, and Ken Rosenthal write that “Pujols is believed to be the leading choice” for Angels owner Arte Moreno.  A source close to Pujols says “the decision may be Pujols’ to make” in regards to whether or not he’ll take the job.

Reports emerged yesterday that the Halos were making a change in the dugout, as neither Ron Washington nor Ray Montgomery would be managing the team in 2026.  Washington took a leave of absence in June after undergoing a quadruple bypass, and Montgomery (previously the team’s bench coach) took over as interim manager for the remainder of the 2025 campaign.

Montgomery told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that he is deciding whether or not to accept an offer to remain in the Angels organization in another role.  As for Washington, the Angels held a club option on his services for next season, but chose to decline that option in favor of a new face as skipper.

Or, perhaps not an entirely new face if Pujols ends up as the hire.  Pujols spent parts of 10 seasons playing with Los Angeles, hitting .256/.311/.447 with 222 home runs after signing a 10-year, $240MM free agent contract in the 2011-12 offseason.  Much more was expected from Pujols given the size of the deal and his past superstar-level production with the Cardinals, but between injuries and age (Pujols was entering his age-32 season at the time of the signing), the slugger hit the decline phase that most players experience during their 30s.

In theory, the tandem of Pujols and the emerging Mike Trout (and by 2018, Shohei Ohtani) would’ve promised a glorious era of Angels baseball.  Los Angeles did post winning records in four of Pujols’ first five years with the team, though only the 98-win 2014 squad made the playoffs, and the Angels were swept out of the ALDS by the Royals.  That remains the Halos’ last postseason appearance, and the team hasn’t had a winning season since 2015.

With Pujols’ numbers falling off and Ohtani’s presence covering the DH position, the Angels decided to designate Pujols for assignment in May 2021 and then released him soon after.  Pujols moved across town to sign with the Dodgers for the rest of the 2021 campaign, and then played one final season in St. Louis, turning back to the clock to hit .270/345/.550 with 24 homers in 351 plate appearances during his farewell.

Since retiring, Pujols has still been an Angels employee, due to the 10-year personal services contract that was attached to his free agent deal for his post-playing days.  He been open about eventually wanting to return to baseball as a coach or manager, and he has been a special instructor during the Halos’ spring camps, and a skipper in the Dominican Winter League.  Pujols’ most high-profile managerial gig is slated for this coming spring at the World Baseball Classic when he is slated to helm the Dominican Republic’s team, though those plans will naturally change if he is hired to manage the Angels.

Pujols’ lack of direct MLB managing or coaching experience doesn’t make him all that different from some other recent managers who were hired to run teams shortly after their careers were over.  It is increasingly rare to see a true superstar-level talent move into a managerial role, though naturally plenty of Hall-of-Famers have also become skippers (or, back in the day, even served as player-managers).

The idea of Pujols returning as manager to try and restore the Halos to prominence carries some natural intrigue.  If the ball is truly in Pujols’ court about whether he wants the job or not, he may view his past history in Anaheim as part of the challenge, and beginning his managerial career in a familiar environment undoubtedly holds some appeal.  In a sense, there is nowhere to go but up, given how the Angels are on a decade-long run of losing seasons.  Since seven other teams besides the Angels are also looking for managers this offseason, it is possible Pujols could emerge as a candidate for one of those positions as well.

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22 Players Elect Free Agency

By Mark Polishuk | October 1, 2025 at 3:23pm CDT

Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents.  Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back.  These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion.  These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

Catchers

  • Matt Thaiss (Rays)

Infielders

  • Sergio Alcantara (Diamondbacks)
  • Keston Hiura (Rockies)
  • Vimael Machin (Orioles)

Outfielders

  • Jordyn Adams (Orioles)
  • Connor Joe (Reds)
  • Jose Siri (Mets)

Utility Players

  • Scott Kingery (Angels)
  • Terrin Vavra (Orioles)

Pitchers

  • Scott Blewett (Orioles)
  • Noah Davis (Twins)
  • Kevin Herget (Mets)
  • Nick Hernandez (Astros)
  • Brooks Kriske (Twins)
  • Richard Lovelady (Mets)
  • Corbin Martin (Orioles)
  • Darren McCaughan (Twins)
  • Triston McKenzie (Guardians)
  • Cionel Perez (Orioles)
  • Jose Ruiz (Rangers)
  • Jordan Weems (Astros)
  • Bryse Wilson (White Sox)
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2025-26 MLB Free Agents Arizona Diamondbacks Baltimore Orioles Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Houston Astros Los Angeles Angels Minnesota Twins New York Mets Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Transactions Brooks Kriske Bryse Wilson Cionel Perez Connor Joe Corbin Martin Darren McCaughan Jordan Weems Jordyn Adams Jose Ruiz Jose Siri Keston Hiura Kevin Herget Matt Thaiss Nick Hernandez Noah Davis Richard Lovelady Scott Blewett Scott Kingery Sergio Alcantara Terrin Vavra Triston McKenzie Vimael Machin

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Angels To Have New Manager In 2026

By Darragh McDonald | September 30, 2025 at 11:59pm CDT

The Angels are going to have a new skipper next year. Sam Blum of The Athletic reports that neither manager Ron Washington nor interim manager Ray Montgomery will return as manager in 2026.

The Halos hired Washington as their skipper ahead of the 2024 season, a two-year deal with a club option for 2026. After a 63-99 showing last year, he began 2025 back in that job. In June, it was reported that he had to step away from the club indefinitely due to an unspecified health concern, with Montgomery moving from his bench coach role to take over as interim manager. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Washington would stay on leave for the remainder of the season.

In August, Washington revealed that he had undergone a quadruple bypass to remove blockages from his heart valves. He said the health scare prompted him to quit smoking and make other lifestyle improvements. He also said he expected to be fully cleared medically in December and hoped to be back in the dugout next year.

It seems the Angels have other plans, however, and will be making a change. The club didn’t perform especially well under either manager. They were 36-38 when Washington began his leave but, as mentioned, they almost lost 100 games last year. They finished this season with a 72-90 record. Of course, a manager can only work with the roster they are given, so it’s up for debate whether the club’s lack of success has anything to do with Washington or Montgomery.

Blum adds that it’s unclear if general manager Perry Minasian will return. He is signed through 2026 with a club option for 2027. Minasian first got the gig in November of 2020. During his tenure, the club has flirted with competitive baseball but has always come up short. They won 77 games in 2021 but dropped to 73 wins in each of the next two seasons. As mentioned, they dropped to 63 last year. Getting to 72 wins in 2025 was technically an improvement over last year but it was only a return to the same unsatisfactory level of the preceding campaigns.

In time, more should be revealed about the club’s plan. They will at least need to conduct a managerial search. Whether that search is conducted by Minasian or someone else remains to be seen. If he is removed, then a front office search will likely be conducted before the managerial search. Washington and Montgomery, meanwhile, will presumably be looking for new coaching gigs elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

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Ron Washington Discusses Surgery Rehab, Future With Angels

By Nick Deeds | September 27, 2025 at 4:55pm CDT

The Angels have been without manager Ron Washington since late June after he went on medical leave away from the team, and he revealed to reporters last month that he was recovering from quadruple bypass surgery. Even in spite of that recovery from major surgery, however, the 73-year-old still hopes to manage the Angels in 2026. Washington reaffirmed that desire in a conversation with Sam Blum of The Athletic, who reports to today that Washington has not yet spoken to Halos owner Arte Moreno about his future but hopes to do so in the next few days.

“I just want to sit down and talk baseball with him,” Washington told Blum of Moreno. “I’ll let them decide if I’m the guy to lead the club.”

Washington added that he also hasn’t spoken to club GM Perry Minasian about his future with the club. The Halos hold a club option on Washington’s services for the 2026 season, while Blum notes Minasian himself has one year left on his contract with Anaheim. According to Blum, much of the club’s leadership is facing uncertainty headed into the final days of the regular season, as interim manager Ray Montgomery has also expressed uncertainty about his future in the organization but remains in the mix to manage the team in 2026.

There’s a number of factors at play that could be weighing on Moreno’s mind as he decides what direction to take the club moving forward. The most obvious, perhaps, is the team’s lengthy playoff drought and disappointing results in recent years. The Angels have 88 losses with two games left to go in the 2025 season, and that performance comes on the heels of last year’s 99-loss campaign and back-to-back 89-loss seasons in 2022 and ’23. For years, the Angels have hung their hopes on the idea that a healthy season for Mike Trout could help them get back to October, but Trout has played in 128 games this year and turned in results that are less than stellar by his lofty standards even as he remains an above average bat overall.

Perhaps Trout can build on this year and turn in a season more like his vintage, MVP-caliber performances of a decade ago in 2026. Failing that, however, the Angels will need to change at least somewhat if they’re going to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2014. It’s hardly unthinkable that Moreno could look see the uncertain contract situations of Washington, Montgomery, and Minasian over the next year as an opportunity to shake up the organization and bring in new voices. With that being said, there are some factors at play that create an argument for sticking with the status quo.

Notably, the team was doing better than this record would suggest when Washington was actually at the helm of the club. He took medical leave when the club had a 40-40 record and sat just one game back of an AL Wild Card spot. It’s difficult to argue that the team’s poor record this year lies at Washington’s feet when he was away from the organization for their 25-39 stumble after the All-Star break. What’s more, Blum suggests that Moreno may not be interested in bringing in new leaders for the organization on multi-year agreements with a likely lockout on the horizon following the 2026 season.

That could be due to financial reasons, as a lockout that bleeds into the season would result in cancelled games and lost revenue, but another factor could be the uncertainty surrounding the landscape of the game when the dust settles on the next round of collective bargaining. If a salary cap is put into place, as whispers around baseball have indicated MLB is hoping to accomplish, that would surely have significant repercussions about how teams all around the league conduct their business. Knowing what sort of financial system MLB will be operating under for the foreseeable future would surely be helpful when deciding who is best suited to lead the organization for what could wind up being the rest of the decade or longer.

Another factor, Blum writes, figures to be Washington’s health. Washington is already the oldest manager in the majors by a few years. 70-year-old Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy is the only other septuagenarian leading a dugout at the moment, though Brian Snitker of Atlanta will celebrate his 70th birthday in October and has not yet made a decision about his future beyond the 2025 campaign. Between Washington’s age and him coming off major heart surgery, there’s risk for both him and the club in bringing him back into the dugout next year and hanging him a stressful job with a difficult schedule and plenty of responsibility like that of a big league manager.

Despite those possible concerns, Blum notes that Washington has no interest in moving into a front office role at this point. He called himself a “hands-on guy” who prefers to work directly with the players in conversation with Blum, and noted that he was confident he would be working for one of the league’s organizations next year in that sort of role, whether that’s a managerial job or a different role. Outside of his stints managing the Rangers and Angels, Washington spent seven years as third base coach of the Braves and won a World Series with the organization in 2021.

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