10:10am: The Angels have confirmed that Maddux will be their new pitching coach, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.
9:38am: Pitching coach Mike Maddux won’t return to the Rangers in 2026 and will instead be hired to new Angels manager Kurt Suzuki’s staff in Anaheim, reports Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports. It’s expected to be a one-year deal. The Angels haven’t formally announced the hiring, but Wilson adds that the Rangers have confirmed they were unable to reach a new deal with Maddux. Texas granted its division rival permission to speak to Maddux but also made an offer to retain him even after the Halos had inquired about his availability, per the report.
Rangers president of baseball ops Chris Young tells Wilson that his club is “forever grateful” to Maddux, who “played a major role” on the team’s first-ever World Series victory during the 2023 season and oversaw a dominant Texas pitching staff in 2025. Rangers starters led the majors with a 3.41 ERA this past season. Their bullpen’s collective 3.62 mark placed fifth in MLB despite being composed almost entirely of short-term free agent acquisitions from the prior offseason.
Following the season, Young expressed interest in retaining Maddux, whether in a new contract as pitching coach or another role within the organization. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News adds that the team indeed discussed alternative roles in addition to extending an offer to return as pitching coach. Instead, he’ll head west and join the fifth team of his lengthy coaching career.
Maddux, who turned 64 in August, had a 15-year career as a big league pitcher but has had an even more notable run as one of the most prolific pitching coaches in the league. He pitched for nine teams during his decade and a half in MLB, compiling a 4.05 ERA in 861 2/3 innings while working both as a starter and a reliever.
Lengthy as his career was, Maddux has now been a big league coach for an even longer stretch of time. He’s spent the past 23 seasons as a major league pitching coach, beginning with a six-year run in Milwaukee from 2003-08. Maddux then jumped to his first of two stints in Texas, spending the ’09-’15 seasons as pitching coach in Arlington, primarily under Ron Washington (who only just departed the Angels’ managerial role). That was followed by two years in D.C. as Nationals pitching coach and a five-year run in St. Louis. Maddux returned to the Rangers in 2023, Bochy’s first year on the job, and guided the staff en route to that year’s World Series championship.
Maddux will have a tough task ahead. The Angels don’t boast nearly the same level of pitching talent as their division rivals. Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano are solid arms locked into the rotation, but the rest of the starting staff is a question mark. Former first-rounder and top prospect Reid Detmers will move back to a rotation role after a successful 2025 in the bullpen, and the Halos will hope that former top prospect Caden Dana can break through this season. Other rotation candidates include Mitch Farris, Sam Aldegheri and prospect George Klassen, but starting pitching figures to be a focus for GM Perry Minasian this winter.
In the bullpen, things are even shakier. Flamethrower Ben Joyce underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum in May. Robert Stephenson, the team’s big-ticket addition in free agency two winters ago, missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery and pitched just 10 innings late in the ’25 season. Lefty Brock Burke had a nice season, but closer Kenley Jansen is a free agent and the rest of the staff is lacking in both experience and sustained MLB success.
Of course, Maddux is one of many voices who’ll be working with the staff. The game has evolved in many ways since the pitching coach was the primary influence on a team’s staff. Maddux may be the lead voice for the group, but he’ll have assistant coaches, advance scouts and input from the team’s analytic department as well in trying to reshape a Halos staff that posted MLB’s third-worst ERA (4.89) in 2025.
I think this is a great move. I’m shocked.
This guy loves to see moving vans coming and going in front of his so called home.
Hiring him while taking from the Rangers is Yuge! Helps set a foundation which the Halos sorely lacked
Agreed! Because this is the Moreno Angels, I’m still waiting to hear “the catch,” but this does look like a great move. A proven quality pitching coach can do so many good things for this team.
Well that feels unexpected even though Maddux has moved around several times before. Maybe it’s because Texas isn’t usually the type of organization to shy away from a fair wage. Coaches do not get paid much at all so even an outrageous ask wasn’t going to break the bank, so it must have been something else. And sometimes those vague other reasons don’t get aired out so we may never know why he wasn’t renewed.
He seems to be choosy about what manager he works with. I don’t blame him at all. It’s a great hire for the Angels. Miles Mikolas should be considering a similar move west.
In this particular case it probably has something to do with Bochy leaving and Schumaker getting the job. Great addition by the Angels. Haven’t been able to say that in awhile.
Best to go to a team with no chance of being good so his lack of any positive impact is less noticeable. The Angels continue down the path of irrelevance.
@Never Remember How is this hiring irrelevant for the Angels? In fact it is quite the opposite for them.
If you are going to come in and troll at least be relevant to the topic at hand.
Never Remember has always been a troll on this site. He was banned numerous times under the screen name blackpink (and several others.) Paying the fee has apparently given him carte blanche to resume his previous troll activities. His habit of blocking anyone who disagrees w/him hasn’t changed.
Thank you for your support as well Jeff
NashvilleJeff: The last sentence in your post reminds me of the dude who’s doing some remodeling back east. Lol.
Thanks for your support Angels fan. I’ve been right along with you for that ride since 1971 or 72 myself..
Never.
Your wrong on this one my friend. Brilliant hire
Not sure why such a successful coach would want to join such a dysfunctional organization, but money talks.
I think it has to be money. He was on stint 2 with the Rangers, they love him, he had his kids there. He grew up in Ohio sp as far as I know he doesn’t have ties to LA/California. If it’s not money the only other thing I can think of is that maybe he’s really close with Suzuki? I don’t even see any time the two would have overlapped though.
I believe Mike and Greg grew up in Las Vegas, where at least Greg and his family still are. Mike was born in Dayton, but went to high school in LV.
Lloyd, in this case I think your point is laughable. He’s an established coach that will get a multi year deal and the bar is set so low he’s sure to far surpass it.
He like.y will have great influence on the organizations philosophy and will have more power than with any other team in baseball.
Great move for both coach and team.
And we all know it will be just one year in both cases. Change of GM and pending lockout are both indications this is the most likely outcome.
@rex you really think the lockout isn’t going to drag on into the season? Indications are it may. We got lucky last time and it only affected part of spring training..
These threads are not static. They keep growing.
If he only gets a one year deal, then it’s not a laughable point.
More indication to me tat a Oreo nips selling the team and Minasian is out.
I full expect Maddox to stay. I fully expect this staff to make huge improvements.
I think I’m going to start referring to Arte as Oreo nips from now on.
Auto correct…weird auto correct results…but I like it.
Orange County is a great place to retire if you can afford it.
Just because a sports franchise is successful doesn’t mean it isn’t dysfunctional and vice-versa. Astros had their drug controversies along with drafting mishaps, and then the trash can incident and were still a juggernaut. Yankees have been mostly a dysfunctional organization ever since George Steinbrenner first took over. A’s were upside down internally with a horrible owner during their dynasty in the early 70’s. And every organization turned a blind eye to steroids for a time and you still had your winners. Dysfunction doesn’t actually correlate with success or lack thereof. These are big businesses with inflated egos in places from the dugout to the owner’s office. The number one reason the Angels have struggled the last ten years is because when running out of organizational depth, which even the Dodgers have started to run out of, Arte didn’t skyrocket his payroll to ensure a competitive team in a large market and bearing the LA name. At this point, organizational depth has returned to a degree, and having a Dodgers-like payroll would have thrust the Angels to where the Dodgers went in 2017 when Bellinger and Seager came up. For Maddux, it’s a job few people get the opportunity to have.
Its been pretty well documented that the major problem with the Angels is Moreno and his refusal to spend in two areas.
First and foremost, on long-term contracts for frontline pitching. No Ace is coming to a team that won’t commit to them for longer than 3 years.
2nd, and almost equally important, on baseball development staff and analytics staff where the Angels rank either last or 2nd to last in MLB.
Moreno has always been willing to spend on the big names. Guys that draw fans to the park on an everyday basis. Pitchers are only on the mound every 5 or 6 days so don’t fit that description and so he won’t spend to get them on the roster.
Baseball development, scouting, and analytics staff don’t draw fans to the MLB park so Moreno has been unwilling to spend on them. The Angels were the last team to have a pitching lab and even that one is only at the spring training facility.
I think there are Angels fans here that can speak more in detail to to Moreno’s failings so I will leave it at that.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with making more money, but that’s such a cynical view. Maybe Mike Maddux sees this as a pivotal challenge he wants to take on?
Maybe there are things going on behind the scenes in Arlington that fans don’t know about. Bochy retired rather than stay with a Rangers team that is reportedly cutting spending. I could see not wanting to be part of that as well as working with a new manager towards the end of my career if I was Maddux. I question whether coming to the Angels was a good landing spot for Maddux, but it was undoubtedly a good hire for the Angels.
Good coaches turn around dysfunctional organizations all the time. See Blue Jays ‘24 to ‘25.
Serious positive move for the Angels. Looks like the beginning of the end for the Rangers. While i don’t expect it, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a tear down in Texas, after this has happened.
Haha… what? What team blows up the roster because they couldn’t resign a pitching coach?
Okie,
Media reports team cutting spending
WS winning manager retires before contract is up
Pitching coach takes a job with rival in the West
Stands to reason that they may blow up their roster. They may not, but being snarky about it makes you look bad, not Stymeed.
What ace should he have spent money b that would have made a bit of difference.
When only one position has an fWAR above 29th, you have no chance.
Our farm system also stinks and no help is on the way.
Even in retrospect, you can’t name a star pitcher that would have made a bit of difference. .
Cole comes to mind, but they did make him a high offer, he just chose the Yankees.
No that was a silly comment that deserved some snark. The Rangers are not going to tear down the roster with 5 years left on Seager’s contract and finished last year with one of the better rotations in baseball. Just signed a great manager, they will try to compete for a long time.
In this case Stymeed was on the money. Your comments are not.
The Rangers said they will be lowering payroll. Their manager that took them to the WS retired with years still on his contract because of it. Their long-time pitching coach left for a division rival because of it.
The Rangers finished with a .500 record and are losing 13 players to free agency.
Part of those FA they are losing are SP that made 84 starts. The players that made more than half of the starts by that rotation you are vaunting will be playing on a different team next season. One of the starting pitchers that may return in 2026 is a soon to be 36-year-old that had a season ending rotator cuff injury. A shoulder injury is much more serious than a UCL injury. Another is one of the all-time greats when he is healthy. Unfortunately, he is going into his age 38 season in 2026, and he has not pitched a full season since 2019 due to a series of injuries.
They had a payroll of $225 million last season and are at $194 million now, so since we know the payroll is going down that means no significant additions to a team that was not playoff caliber last season.
What deserves snark is your comments. It’s one thing being a fan of your team. It’s another to bury your head in the sand and refuse to acknowledge reality.
I’ll never forget Maddux yelling at himself on the mound when he pitched for the Mets.
I approve this message.
I think they are going to grant him tremendous power. He has more stability than Minasian, Suzuki or anyone in the system.
It’s a great move for both.
Arte, I think you got it
Maddox will be the Angels Manager in 2027.
Garry?
Interesting take. I wonder if its a position he really wants? He’s been a pitching coach for over 20 years in the majors.. surely there was a point where the opportunity was given to him ?
For all of those who trashed on the Suzuki hiring, this move alone brings a lot of instant credibility to Suzuki.
I didn’t trash the Suzuki hiring. I thought it was nice to bring in an Angel fan and give him a chance.
This is a great hire. This can be an organizational change hire. I love it.
Now give him the power to turn this franchise around.
I know you didn’t trash on it. surprisingly I think it is one of the few things we actually see eye to eye on! ha ha
I hope the hiring of Maddux can help lure a few free agent pitchers.
Pretty sure there are a lot of people who trashed the Suzuki hire. Most of us lifers are aware of the situation and know that the hire wasn’t going to move the needle much, so there’s no need to trash it.
If Maddux can do for the Angels what he did when he was hired in Milwaukee (lowering the team ERA), this will be a very welcome hire.
Now, if they could only get a GOOD hitting coach, I feel like that would move the needle.
Stupid of Texas to allow him to walk. They should have topped any offer. Has to be due to ownership being content with one World Series win and now cheaping out.
Nope
Maddux is the best pitching coach the Cardinals have had since Dave Duncan. I have to think that the Cardinals’ pitching wouldn’t have collapsed across the board in 2023 (aside from Montgomery, Helsley, and Romero) or at least not as badly as it did had Maddux stayed.
@lanidrac
Wish he never left just like dunc he found a way to unlock another level of pitchers ability, then again I don’t blame him for leaving maddux doesn’t seem to be the yes man type
Holy crap. A quality, respected coach is coming here.
Crazy.
Wow. Surprising move. I like it!
Now that’s a move. Do more please
Excellent step forward. Now bring in a better drafting team.
They need a better hitting coach, first. Probably more in line with what fArte is willing to spend.
As a Rangers fan, I think this sucks. One year deal too on the Angles. Maybe he wanted the manager role in Texas but was skipped for Skip. Who knows. Maybe he thinks he has a better chance at managing the Angles down the road. Maybe Skip wanted to bring in his own team. Which I why it says the Rangers even offered additional roles or whatever.
Regardless, I do think Texas tried to keep him.
More likely the first and last. They still have the stupid name so I am happy that they are losing.
Maddux is old school, but uses the modern information and tools pretty well.
He’s a good add for the Angels. Even if just for the year.
Finally, a Step in the Right Direction for the Angels
I’ll be honest — I didn’t expect to feel optimistic about the Angels this offseason. After years of missteps, overpays, and half-baked rebuilds, I had just about given up hope that this organization would ever find real direction again. But hiring this new pitching coach? That actually feels like a good move. Maybe the first truly positive step the Angels have made in a long time.
It’s early, of course, but this hire feels different. The Angels have lacked real pitching development for what feels like forever. Every few years, we’ve watched the same story unfold: sign a few veterans, cross our fingers, and hope the rotation magically figures itself out. It never does. This move, though, suggests they’re finally acknowledging that player development — especially on the pitching side — is the only sustainable path forward.
Let’s be honest: this team isn’t one smart coaching hire away from contending. There are still a couple of ugly contracts that need to come off the books, and the farm system has to start producing impact players consistently. The front office needs to resist the temptation to throw big money at 30-something free agents just to “make a splash.” We’ve seen how that story ends — usually in frustration by mid-June.
If the Angels can stay patient, build through their young arms, and make steady progress, we might actually be looking at a legitimate contender around 2028. That might sound like a long wait, but after a decade of spinning our wheels, I’ll gladly take a slow, smart rebuild over another quick fix.
Honestly, I’d be thrilled with a 79–83 season in 2026 — not because mediocrity is something to celebrate, but because it would mean we’re trending upward for once. Growth has to start somewhere.
Maybe this new pitching coach marks the end of the “Curse of Arte.” I’ve been burned too many times to get carried away, but for the first time in years, I feel something I haven’t felt watching this team in a long time: cautious optimism.
Do you get paid by the word?
If you ever met me you would at some point say, “don’t you ever stop talking”
urnuts, that was a great post. Very inciteful and showing a good understanding of the organization.
To our division rivals… I hate this, but good luck for Maddux. He helped us to a World Series.
Does he live in California?
Great hire, but give the guy a pitching staff!
I hope he can talk them into going for more than just one year contracts with other team’s cast offs. Maybe to sign a decent starter or two to multi year deals.
Now sign Kyle Hendricks again. Reasonably priced, great pitcher.
4.76 ERA / 4.59 FIP. Probably would be their #1 starter.
@dave both Soriano and Kikuchi had better stats last year. He’s more than likely not coming back with Detmers being moved back into the rotation. If Detmers can stay out of his head, this will be one upgrade in the roatation.
For once the Angels actually do something beneficial for their team. In 23 seasons as a pitching coach Maddux has helped lead his teams to the postseason 12 times (including 3 World Series appearances, all with Texas) and every team he has coached has made the playoffs at least once
While he’s done amazing things with lowering team ERAs over the last 20 years, this wont be a huge benefit if they dont follow up with a hitting coach that can get the best out of every hitter, instead of a “copy/paste” model of “swing for the fences” approach the last guy had.
Hey….this is very stylish!!!
Mike is a terrific pitching coach
Honestly for a team looking to go in a better direction this is a great move because it’s showing the pitchers that they care about getting them where they need to be. A great pitching coach could be the turning point in either another losing season and the start of a bigger turnaround towards being a great franchise again.
Steve, one of the problems for the Angels is that they don’t have much of an analytics staff. We have as much tech and more guys analyzing data at one of our baseball academies than the Angels have. As far as I know they have two guys on the pitching side as part of the pitching lab at their spring training facility. Maddux is being hired to be an authoritative voice in that area, not just another voice.
In my opinion this is a very good hire of a guy that is a mix of old school and new school and hopefully can help move the Angels into the 21st Century when it comes to the use of analytics.
I assume Maddux will be heavily relied on in selecting which pitchers to go after. He is critical to the development of Detmers and the other young guns. Living in Southern California most likely came into play. Elite pitching coach.
He lives in Texas
Suzuki and maddux will lead the playoffs
This is a great match. The Angels minor league pitching is actually starting to build up. It’s still a year or two away from truly helping and providing meaningful depth, but someone like Maddux can hopeful give it that final push.
AAA rotation should have Klassen, Dana, Aldegheri, Mederos, Jack K, Hurtado, and Mitch Farris all fighting for spots.
AA should have Ryan Johnson, Walbert Urena, Chris Cortez, Austin Gordon. Chris Clark, and Ryan Costeui.
A+ might have the best staff of all – Bremner, Trey Gregory-Alford, Barrett Kent, Dylan Jordan, Ubaldo Soto, and others.
No more need to backfill with guys like Dakota Hudson, Ian Anderson, or Shaun Anderson.
Maddux’ influence might be a case of the right guy at the right time for this organization.
Agree with all of those points. Jansen, Chafin, heck even Luis Garcia. If Joyce and Stephenson are healthy, and Burke continues to be solid, the bullpen could be decent?
To your point about Maddux – he isn’t perfect nor is anyone. I get it.
What I’m hoping for is at least some philosophical and accountability improvements from the pitching staff. I mean, the Angels were excruciatingly hard to watch sometimes, with pitchers walking the most batters of any team, and the hitters swinging at everything.
I’m hoping Maddux can do this. We’ll see.
Suzuki 10 war. 2025
Maddux 10 war 2025
90 win season in 2025
I mean 2026
This seems like a great move. Now he just needs a pitching staff to coach.
Proven Track Record
Mike Maddux has coached for over two decades, with stops in Milwaukee, Washington, St. Louis, and Texas.
He helped guide the Rangers to their first World Series title in 2023, and in 2025, their staff posted a league-best 3.41 ERA
His teams consistently outperform expectations, especially with mid-tier talent and short-term bullpen arms.
What He Brings to Anaheim
The Angels finished 2025 with one of the worst pitching ERAs in MLB Maddux’s arrival signals a clear shift toward structure, accountability, and tactical development.
• He’s known for tailoring game plans to individual pitchers, improving command, and managing workloads—critical for a team that’s struggled with injuries and inconsistency.
Under new manager Kurt Suzuki, Maddux is the first major hire, suggesting he’ll have significant input in shaping the staff
Maddux isn’t flashy, but he’s deeply respected across the league for his cerebral approach and calm demeanor.
Sounds like the moneys running out
I would think he’s a coach that attracts a variety of pitchers: established and pitchers looking to re-establish themselves.
This is a great, great hire. OMG, we got someone that is at the top of the list of coaches. Stunned!!
I will forever cherish the 2023 season. What a time.
So it looks like’s Jo Adell is emerging as a prime trade candidate. Despite a breakout season with 37 home runs and elite bat speed metrics, his defensive limitations and short team control window (only two years left) make him a likely piece in trade talks for starting pitching
“Lengthy as his career was” is NOT proper English. You can’t just leave “as” out to start the sentence because you feel like it. Correct grammar isn’t optional, especially if you’re a professional writer.