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Kurt Suzuki

MLBTR Podcast: Bo Bichette’s Health, Kazuma Okamoto, And Dylan Cease’s Market

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • If the Blue Jays were to extend Addison Barger, would the Lawrence Butler deal be a good comp? (40:35)
  • If a veteran signs a minor league deal, are they eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft? (44:50)
  • Will the Red Sox trade Jarren Duran? (46:25)

Check out our past episodes!

  • The Phillies’ Outfield, Tarik Skubal, And Hiring College Coaches – listen here
  • Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More! – listen here
  • Rockies’ Front Office Changes, Skip Schumaker, And ABS Talk – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images

Angels To Make Significant Coaching Changes

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Manager Kurt Suzuki won’t be the only fresh face in the Angels’ dugout next season. Sam Blum of The Athletic reports that Los Angeles is expected to have an almost entirely new coaching staff in 2026. It’s unclear whether any coaches will return. Hitting coach Johnny Washington and pitching coach Barry Enright are among the coaches not being brought back.

The Angels’ managerial search has earned plenty of headlines in recent weeks after the team decided neither Ron Washington nor Ray Montgomery would return in 2026. Albert Pujols seemed to be next in line, but the sides couldn’t come to terms on a contract. Torii Hunter was seen as the fallback if Pujols didn’t work out, but he was also removed from consideration. Suzuki was announced as the new skipper on Tuesday.

Suzuki received a one-year contract. As Blum noted, the length of the deal could make it more difficult to put together a coaching staff. Candidates would likely be looking for more stability than a manager on a one-year deal (though it does have multiple option years).

After a few years as a minor league pitching coach in Arizona, Enright worked as the Diamondbacks’ assistant pitching coach in 2022. He held that role through 2023. He became the pitching coach of the Angels in 2024. Los Angeles ranked 26th in ERA in Enright’s first season. The pitching staff had the second-lowest strikeout rate and the second-highest walk rate. The Angels weren’t much better this past season, finishing 28th in ERA. They had the fourth-lowest strikeout rate and the highest walk rate.

Enright pitched in parts of four big-league seasons. He played for the Angels in his final two seasons, though he totaled just 12 innings.

Washington received his first big-league coaching gig with San Diego, serving as the first base coach in 2017. He became the team’s hitting coach in 2018, holding that role through 2019. After two years as an assistant with the Cubs, he was hired as the Angels’ hitting coach in 2024

The Angels ranked 28th in scoring in Washington’s first season. Only the Mariners and White Sox had a lower batting average. Los Angeles improved to 25th in scoring this past season. They jumped to fourth in home runs, though it came with a league-leading 27.1% strikeout rate.

Angels Hire Kurt Suzuki As Manager

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The Angels’ managerial search is over, as the club announced that they’ve hired Kurt Suzuki as their new bench boss. The former MLB catcher had been a special assistant in the Halos’ front office. It’s only a one-year contract, though the Angels announced that the deal has multiple option years.

Suzuki was one of multiple former Angels players who was linked to the managerial vacancy.  Albert Pujols emerged as the initial candidate for the job and was seen as the favorite, before news broke yesterday that Pujols wouldn’t be the hire.  As per reports from both Heyman and The Athletic’s Sam Blum, Pujols and the Angels couldn’t line up on a contract, as well as on “coaches and resources,” in Heyman’s words.  Longtime Angels outfielder Torii Hunter was another candidate for the job but he also fell out of race yesterday.

Other names linked to the search included candidates with past experience managing at the big league level, including Rocco Baldelli, Brandon Hyde, and Los Angeles’ own third base coach (and former Astros skipper) Bo Porter.  It isn’t known if the Halos actually spoke with any of these speculative candidates, or if the team was impressed enough by what they heard from Suzuki that they went ahead and made the hire.

Like Pujols and Hunter, Suzuki has no experience managing or coaching at the Major League or minor league levels.  Since his retirement following the 2022 season, Suzuki moved into his role as a special assistant to Angels GM Perry Minasian.  This wasn’t Suzuki’s only foray into a managerial search, however, as the Giants interviewed him about their own dugout vacancy earlier this month.  (It would appear that San Francisco is instead going with University of Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello for that job, though a deal between the two sides isn’t yet finalized.)

The 42-year-old Suzuki becomes the latest in a long line of ex-catchers to become MLB managers, and the Angels’ pick continues a more recent trend towards teams hiring fairly recently retired players without much or any of a managerial or coaching background.  The Guardians’ Stephen Vogt is perhaps the most prominent example of this, as Vogt retired after the 2022 season, and then spent a year on the Mariners’ coaching staff before Cleveland tabbed him as Terry Francona’s replacement.

In regards to the Angels, Suzuki’s hire is a departure from the organization’s preference towards experienced managers under Arte Moreno’s ownership.  Mike Scioscia was inherited as the skipper when Moreno bought the team in 2003 and Scioscia continued managing through the 2018 season.  From there, the Halos hired Brad Ausmus and Joe Maddon as their next two skippers, before Maddon was fired partway through the 2022 campaign and replaced by interim manager Phil Nevin (who had never managed a big league club).  Nevin remained in charge through 2023 before he too was let go, and longtime former Rangers manager Ron Washington was brought on board in advance of the 2024 campaign.

Washington’s own tenure was cut short by health reasons, as he went on a leave of absence this past June to recover from quadruple bypass surgery.  Bench coach Ray Montgomery took over managerial duties for the remainder of this season, and while Washington hoped to return to the job in 2026, the Angels instead decided to go in an entirely new direction by hiring another manager.

The fact that Suzuki will be the seventh different person to manage the Angels within a nine-year span speaks to the difficult challenge facing Suzuki in his new job.  Los Angeles has posted losing records in each of the last 10 seasons, and has been to the playoffs just once in their last 16 seasons.  A number of ill-advised signings, lack of farm system help, and a general sense of instability has plagued the franchise, with Moreno’s heavy-handed interference in baseball operations often cited as the reason for the team’s lack of success.  Minasian has been the general manager since November 2020 and is under contract through 2026, but he is also the Angels’ fifth GM under Moreno (Bill Stoneman had separate stints as the full-time GM and as an interim GM).

Suzuki naturally has an idea of what he’s getting into, having worked in the Halos’ front office for three years and spending his final two seasons as a player with the team.  The Hawaii native’s ties to the Anaheim area date back to his college days as a player with Cal State Fullerton, and his playing career began as a second-round pick for the Athletics in the 2004 draft.  Suzuki suited up for five different teams over his 16-year playing career, which was highlighted by an All-Star appearance with the Twins in 2014 and a World Series ring with the Nationals in 2019.

With the Angels’ position now filled, there are still seven other teams on the hunt for new managers in 2026.  The Giants, Padres, Orioles, Braves, Twins, Nationals, and Rockies all need new skippers, though Colorado will first be hiring a new top front office executive before turning its attention to a managerial search.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Suzuki hiring. Sam Blum of The Athletic reported that it was a one-year deal. Photo courtesy of David Banks – Imagn Images

Angels Planning To Interview Torii Hunter, Kurt Suzuki For Manager

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The Angels plan to interview Torii Hunter and Kurt Suzuki in their managerial search, reports Sam Blum of The Athletic. That comes less than a week after The Athletic reported that Albert Pujols was in talks for the position. Blum writes that while Pujols remains the favorite, owner Arte Moreno is now opting for a more comprehensive search.

Like Pujols, Hunter and Suzuki are former Angels players who remain affiliated with the organization. Hunter made two All-Star teams and won a pair of Gold Gloves during his run with the Halos between 2008-12. Suzuki spent the final two years of his playing career there from 2021-22. They’re now each special assistants to general manager Perry Minasian.

Neither has any MLB coaching or managerial experience. Hunter has spent nearly a decade in special assistant roles and was a candidate for the job that went to Ron Washington in 2023. Suzuki is on the radar of at least one other team this offseason, as he already interviewed with the Giants. Hunter has been very loosely floated as a potential candidate in Minnesota, where he was a star player and has previously worked as a special assistant. It’s not clear if the Twins plan to interview him.

While the three known interviewees all have ties to Moreno, they’re at least considering other possibilities. Blum lists Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, and former Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli as other potential targets. Hundley has already interviewed with the Giants and is reportedly the favorite for that job. Flaherty has been linked to the Orioles and Padres. Neither has managed in the big leagues before.

Hyde has said he hopes to continue to manage and was linked to the Giants’ opening. Baldelli told Dan Hayes of The Athletic this week that he’s open to managing again as well, though he indicated he’ll spend the early part of the offseason focusing on his family. Baldelli acknowledged that might not align with clubs’ timelines for hiring a manager but said he “fully (expects) to stay active” in some capacity with a team next year.

It may all end up being moot if the Angels hire Pujols. That’s not as certain as it seemed just a few days ago. Perhaps not coincidentally, the future Hall of Famer is also expected to interview with the Orioles.

Giants Interview Kurt Suzuki In Managerial Search

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The Giants interviewed longtime MLB catcher Kurt Suzuki as they search for a new manager. Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle first reported that Suzuki was scheduled to interview on Friday afternoon, and FanSided’s Robert Murray confirmed this evening that indeed took place.

Suzuki, 42 tomorrow, has worked as a special assistant with the Angels for the past three seasons. The longtime MLB catcher jumped right into front office work after retiring as a player following the 2022 campaign. Suzuki appeared in parts of 16 big league seasons. He was an All-Star with Minnesota in 2014 and won a World Series as a member of the 2019 Nationals. That included a go-ahead homer off Justin Verlander in Washington’s Game 2 victory over the Astros.

While Suzuki never played for the Giants, he’s plenty familiar with the Bay Area. He played more than 700 games over two stints with the A’s when they were in Oakland. Suzuki was an A’s draftee who played there between 2007-12. He was traded back for a brief stint at the end of the 2013 season as well.

Suzuki’s front office work has come under Angels’ general manager Perry Minasian, the brother of Giants’ GM and #2 executive Zack Minasian. He doesn’t have any coaching or managerial experience. He was highly respected as a player and had the added bonus of working as a catcher, a trait of many future managers.

It’s an unconventional but not unprecedented candidacy. Reigning American League Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt was hired by the Guardians going into 2024. Vogt had only retired as a player one season earlier, though he did spend the intervening year on Seattle’s coaching staff. Vogt has led the Guardians to consecutive playoff berths.

Former Giants bullpen coach Craig Albernaz has worked as Vogt’s bench coach and associate manager, respectively, over the past two seasons. Albernaz has long been viewed as a potential manager in his own right, and he was reportedly a finalist for both the Miami and White Sox vacancies last year. After Chicago hired Will Venable, Albernaz withdrew from consideration for the Marlins job. They subsequently hired Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough.

Given Albernaz’s previous ties to the Giants and to baseball operations president Buster Posey, he’s an expected candidate for the San Francisco job. Slusser writes that the 42-year-old is “likely to get a look” for the position, though it’s not known if he has an interview scheduled. Cleveland was bounced by the Tigers in the Wild Card Series yesterday.

Angels Hire Kurt Suzuki For Special Assistant Role

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The Angels have hired longtime catcher Kurt Suzuki as a special assistant to GM Perry Minasian, the team announced.  Suzuki moves into this new phase of his baseball career just months after ending his on-field endeavors, as he retired after the 2022 campaign.

Suzuki spent the last two of his 16 Major League seasons with the Angels, and he was also a member of the Braves in 2017-18 when Minasian was hired as Atlanta’s assistant general manager in September 2017.  When Suzuki announced his retirement in September, he said that he’d be interested in a new role “wherever I can help out” within the Angels organization.

The hiring continues Suzuki’s longstanding ties to the SoCal area, as beyond his two seasons with the Angels, he also played his college ball at Cal State Fullerton.  He made the move up to Northern California when he was a second-round pick for the Athletics in the 2004 draft, and Suzuki ended up playing 718 of his 1635 MLB games in an Oakland uniform.  Suzuki’s career highlights include an All-Star selection as a member of the Twins in 2014, and a World Series ring with the 2019 Nationals as Suzuki and Yan Gomes split catching duties for the champs.

Kurt Suzuki To Retire After 2022 Season

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Longtime big league catcher Kurt Suzuki will retire once the 2022 season concludes, he tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. That comes the day after the Hawaii native’s 39th birthday.

“I feel like it’s time,” Suzuki told Fletcher. “I’ve had a great run, won a World Series, All-Star Game. Played 16 seasons. I’ve accomplished a lot of things I never would have dreamed of. I felt like it’s time for the next chapter. My three kids, all they’ve known is baseball.”

Suzuki began his professional career in 2004. A second-round pick of the A’s out of Cal State Fullerton, he made it to Oakland three years later. Suzuki debuted in June 2007 and cemented himself as the A’s primary catcher from essentially that point forward. The right-handed hitter topped 130 games every year between 2008-11, generally hitting at a slightly below-average level overall but better than average for a catcher. Suzuki’s high-contact approach made him a solid offensive backstop for much of his time in Oakland, and the A’s dealt him to the Nationals in the summer of 2012.

After finishing out that season in Washington, Suzuki wound up back in Oakland via trade in August ’13. He qualified for free agency for the first time after that year, signing with the Twins. Suzuki bounced back from a couple down offensive years to hit .288/.345/.383 and earn an All-Star nod that year, and Minnesota signed him to a two-year extension that summer. His production dipped during his final two seasons in Minnesota, but he rebounded with one of the best years of his career after signing with Atlanta going into 2017. He popped a career-best 19 home runs and hit .283/.351/.536 through 81 games, earning a midseason extension for a second season with the Braves.

Suzuki didn’t quite replicate his 2017 production, but he posted another above-average offensive season to wrap up his time in Atlanta. After hitting .271/.322/.444 with 12 longballs, he landed another multiyear deal in free agency. Heading into the 2019 campaign, the Nationals inked Suzuki to a two-year, $10MM deal to pair with Yan Gomes behind the dish. That contract paid off in year one, as the veteran hit another 17 homers with a .264/.324/.486 line in 85 regular season games. Suzuki saw his most extensive playoff action during the Nats run a World Series title that year. That included a go-ahead homer off Justin Verlander in the seventh inning in Game 2 of the World Series, the biggest play in a win that gave Washington a 2-0 series lead.

After another solid showing with Washington during the shortened 2020 campaign, Suzuki has played the last two seasons on successive one-year pacts with the Angels. He’s had a couple down years to wrap up his career, working primarily as a backup in Orange County.

Suzuki’s career totals won’t be finalized until the season concludes, but he’s not likely to change his ledger all that much over the final two weeks. As he noted, Suzuki has played in 16 consecutive big league seasons and surpassed 1600 games. He owns a .255/.314/.388 line with 143 home runs, 729 runs batted in and 594 runs scored. Suzuki made an All-Star game and played a key role on a World Series team. Baseball Reference values his career around 20 wins above replacement. FanGraphs, which factors in Suzuki’s below-average pitch framing metrics, pegs him around nine wins.

Independent of that discrepancy in value, there’s little doubt about the impressiveness of a major league career that lasted more than a decade and a half. It’s possible he’ll continue his baseball career in some capacity, as Suzuki indicated he’d be happy to discuss the possibility of assuming a non-playing role with Halos general manager Perry Minasian (with whom he’s also familiar from their overlapping stints in Atlanta). MLBTR congratulates Suzuki on his lengthy career and wishes him all the best in his post-2022 endeavors.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Angels Notes: Suzuki, Stassi, Canning, Ward

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The Angels have reinstated catcher Kurt Suzuki from the COVID-related injury list.  Austin Romine was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Suzuki on the active roster, while fellow catcher Matt Thaiss will also remain with Triple-A Salt Lake on option after being activated from the minor league version of the IL.

With both Suzuki and Max Stassi sidelined on the COVID list, the Halos found themselves quite shorthanded behind the plate, leading to Romine and Chad Wallach each getting plenty of action over the last 10 days.  Suzuki is returning after a two-week absence, while Stassi hit the IL on May 10 and could himself be close to a return.  Angels athletic trainer Mike Frostad told The Athletic’s Sam Blum (Twitter links), and The Southern California Newsgroup’s J.P. Hoornstra that Stassi will likely play two more minor league rehab games before being activated.

The outlook isn’t as positive for Griffin Canning, as Frostad said the right-hander is considering surgery to address a stress reaction in his lower back.  No decision has been made, as Canning is meeting with a specialist on Monday and will then opt to go with a surgery or a less-invasive treatment.

It’s worrisome news for Canning, as these back problems have kept him from pitching from July 8, 2021 (when Canning last took the mound at Triple-A).  He had worked his way up to the simulated-game stage of his rehab earlier this month, but he continued to feel discomfort after his latest outing.  Depending on the type of procedure or how well Canning responds to rehab, it’s possible the entire 2022 season could now be in jeopardy for the 26-year-old.

A second-round pick in the 2017 draft, Canning has appeared in each of the last three seasons, starting 41 of his 43 MLB games and posting a 4.73 ERA over 209 1/3 innings.  Even without surgery, it’s hard to figure on when Canning might make his 2022 debut, leaving the Angels short an important depth arm for their six-man rotation.  Long a weak spot, the Anaheim rotation has been quite good thus far, but the club also has less margin for error given their need of an extra hurler.  With Canning sidelined and Jose Suarez ineffective, that depth has already been tested, the Halos recently promoted Chase Silseth directly from Double-A to the majors.

The Angels entered today’s action with a strong 24-17 record, despite an ongoing four-game losing streak.  Last night’s 4-2 loss to the Athletics also saw Taylor Ward leave the game in the ninth inning after colliding with the outfield wall following a catch.  Fortunately, Frostad said Ward didn’t suffer a concussion and only had a stinger in his arm after making the play.

Ward isn’t in tonight’s lineup but is only day-to-day, and seems to have avoided any major injury.  It has been a dream start for Ward, who leads the majors in all three slash categories (.370/.481/.713) and has hit nine home runs over his first 131 plate appearances.

Angels Place Kurt Suzuki On Injured List; Select Chad Wallach, Kyle Barraclough

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The Angels announced some roster moves, including the news that catcher Kurt Suzuki has been placed on the injured list.  Left-hander Jhonathan Diaz has also been optioned to Triple-A.  To fill the two roster spots, the Halos have selected the contracts of catcher Chad Wallach and right-hander Kyle Barraclough from Triple-A Salt Lake.

Since no designation was given for Suzuki’s injury, it would seem like his absence is related to COVID-19, whether a positive test, or possibly Suzuki just has symptoms or a close contact.  Suzuki has hit .179/.273/.282 over 44 plate appearances, splitting time behind the plate with Max Stassi for the second consecutive season in Anaheim.

Wallach will now fill that role for the time being, and after nine months in the Angels organization, Wallach is now on the verge of his first official game in a Halos uniform.  The Angels selected Wallach off waivers from the Dodgers last August but he didn’t receive any big league action; he also elected to forego free agency after the Angels outrighted him off their 40-man roster back in November.

Appearing in each of the last five seasons at the MLB level, Wallach has carved out a niche for himself as a solid defensive catcher, but his lack of hitting (.207/.271/.303 over 231 career PA) has limited his playing time.  Much of Wallace’s Major League career has come in a Marlins uniform, as Wallach played 72 of his 78 career games with Miami from 2018-21.

Wallach and Barraclough were teammates on that 2018 Marlins team, in what was Barrraclough’s final season in South Beach.  The righty posted a 3.21 ERA over 218 2/3 innings with the Marlins from 2015-18, despite some control problems that have plagued Barraclough throughout his career.  Since leaving Miami, Barraclough has also been hit hard by the home run ball, allowing 13 homers and posting a 5.59 ERA over 46 2/3 total frames with the Nationals, Giants, and Twins.  Los Angeles signed Barraclough to a minors contract in January.

Angels To Re-Sign Kurt Suzuki

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March 16: To make room for Suzuki on the 40-man roster, Chris Rodriguez was placed on the 60-day IL, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The move is just a formality, since it was reported back in November that Rodriguez underwent surgery that would keep him out of action for the majority of the 2022 season.

March 12: The Angels have agreed to bring back catcher Kurt Suzuki on a one-year, $1.75MM contract, pending a physical, per Robert Murray of FanSided.

It was January of last year that the Angels signed Suzuki for the first time, giving him a one-year contract worth $1.5MM. At the time, Suzuki was coming off an excellent four-year stretch from 2017 to 2020. He had a wRC+ above 100 in each of those four campaigns and secured himself a World Series ring with the Nationals in 2019.

Unfortunately, 2021 was a disappointing season for Suzuki, as he slumped to a line of .224/.294/.342, for a wRC+ of 76, relinquishing the starting duties to Max Stassi as the season wore on. Regardless, the Angels were evidently satisfied enough with the Suzuki-Stassi pairing to give it one more shot. Stassi will reach free agency at the end of this year.

It seems likely that Suzuki will serve in a backup capacity, given that he’s 38 years old and Stassi is about to turn 31. The latter also had an excellent campaign last year, hitting at an above-average rate and providing excellent defense for a 2.9 fWAR season.

It might seem a bit eyebrow-raising to for the club to be spending money on a 38-year-old catcher who’s coming off a down year. However, it’s worth pointing out that this year’s free agent catching market was exceptionally thin, with Yan Gomes and Manny Pina representing the top of the class. Those two signed before the lockout, leaving Suzuki as one of the few healthy catchers with a track record of success, even if he didn’t show it in 2021. The only other catcher on the club’s 40-man roster, Matt Thaiss, has only 64 games of MLB experience. Given that he has options, the acquisition of Suzuki will allow the 26-year-old to function as a depth option in Triple-A.

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