06/27/26 12:26:00
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06/27 00:24 CDT Angels fire GM Perry Minasian midway through a 6th straight
disappointing season in his tenure
Angels fire GM Perry Minasian midway through a 6th straight disappointing
season in his tenure
By MIKE DiGIOVANNA and GREG BEACHAM
Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) --- The Los Angeles Angels fired general manager Perry
Minasian midway through their sixth consecutive disappointing season under his
leadership.
The last-place Angels appointed former Cardinals GM John Mozeliak to be their
interim general manager and baseball operations consultant Friday. Mozeliak
will oversee day-to-day baseball operations while assisting the search for the
next GM, team president Molly Jolly said in a news release.
"Perry has been a valued leader who worked tirelessly over the last six years
to strengthen our baseball operations department," Jolly said. "I am grateful
for his dedication, insight and many contributions to our organization."
The Angels were informed of the move in a meeting with Jolly and manager Kurt
Suzuki about two hours before their 9-3 loss to the Athletics on Friday night.
"I was surprised," catcher Logan O'Hoppe said after the game. "You play the
game long enough, and things that are unexpected happen. He brought me here.
I'm appreciative of that. It's just a tough situation."
Minasian took over the Angels' front office in November 2020, but the
long-struggling franchise has made no discernible progress during his tenure
under mercurial owner Arte Moreno.
Los Angeles' streaks of 10 straight losing seasons and 11 straight non-playoff
seasons are both the longest in the majors, and its farm system is still
considered to be among the majors' worst, just as it was when Minasian arrived.
The biggest transaction of his tenure occurred when Shohei Ohtani left the
Angels after six seasons for the Los Angeles Dodgers in late 2023, the Angels
failing to trade Ohtani for prospects before Ohtani became a free agent.
Minasian's flurry of moves before and after the 2023 trade deadline seemed
chaotic. The Angels kept Ohtani --- a decision Moreno had a big hand in --- and
dealt away several prospects in an attempt to push for the playoffs.
But the Angels went 8-19 that August and fell so far out of contention that
they placed several players on waivers in order to bring their payroll under
the luxury tax threshold.
After holding the majors' worst record for much of the current season, the
Angels are tied for last in the AL standings at 34-48 heading into their game
against the Athletics on Friday night at Angel Stadium. Los Angeles lost a
franchise-record 99 games in 2024, its first season after losing two-time AL
MVP Ohtani.
The Angels never won more than 77 games or finished higher than third in the AL
West during Minasian's tenure.
Minasian clashed with respected manager Joe Maddon early in his tenure,
eventually leading to Maddon's firing amid an epic losing streak in the 2022
season. After Phil Nevin and Ron Washington also failed to hold the managerial
job for more than two seasons, Minasian hired first-time manager Suzuki from
his own front-office staff last fall, giving him a one-year deal with the
acknowledgment that their fates were tied.
Ray Montgomery served as interim manager in 2025.
A reduction in payroll forced Minasian to supplement this year's team with
low-cost players --- several returning from major injuries --- such as pitchers
Alek Manoah, Jordan Romano, Drew Pomeranz, Kirby Yates and Brent Suter,
outfielder Josh Lowe and infielders Yoan Moncada and Adam Frazier.
Most of the moves didn't pan out, as Romano and Pomeranz were released, and
Manoah, Lowe and Moncada have been busts.
The largest free-agent deal signed by Minasian was a three-year, $63 million
contract for left-hander Yusei Kikuchi before 2025. Kikuchi was an All-Star
last season but has been sidelined since late April because of a shoulder
injury.
Minasian also signed reliever Robert Stephenson to a three-year, $33 million
deal before 2024, but the right-hander is out for this season because of
another elbow injury.
Jolly and Mozeliak are scheduled to speak at a news conference on Saturday.
Minasian is a former Rangers clubhouse attendant who rose to positions in the
front offices of the Atlanta Braves and the Toronto Blue Jays as a protege of
Alex Anthopoulos.
Minasian had never interviewed for a GM job before he was chosen to replace
Billy Eppler by Moreno, who has repeatedly hired GMs with little to no prior
experience in the job during his two decades of ownership.
Mozeliak left the Cardinals last fall after three decades with St. Louis,
including the past 18 in charge of baseball operations.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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