Tonight’s news out of Anaheim was hard to hear: the Los Angeles Angels manager, Ron Washington, will miss the rest of the 2025 season due to health issues. Angels GM Perry Minasian called the diagnosis “fortunate” under the circumstances, and everyone around the league is rooting for Wash to get healthy.
But let’s be honest—the Angels are in a brutal spot. Sentiment can’t guide decision-making when your franchise is stuck in neutral. As great a man and baseball mind as Ron Washington is, the Angels may need to prepare for a future without him quietly.
And that future might have to start sooner than anyone expected.
A Team With No Time to Spare
Washington is 73. He’s in the final guaranteed year of his contract. And even before stepping away, his second season wasn’t exactly turning the tide in Anaheim.
At the time of his leave, the Angels were 36-38. A .500 team in the standings but a bottom-five team by the numbers: 25th in ERA, 27th in defensive runs saved, and the most strikeouts in baseball. They can’t walk, they can’t pitch consistently, and they can’t stop aging stars from hitting the injured list every other week.
Mike Trout is getting older every minute. Shohei Ohtani is long gone. The core is decaying. And the roster is still being propped up by once-great veterans who are now just warm bodies in a clubhouse desperate for answers.
The sad reality is that this might already be the end of the Washington era, whether anyone wants to admit it or not.
The Other Team in Town Isn’t Waiting
Across the country, the Dodgers dominate headlines, attention, and ticket sales—even as they stumble publicly with their fanbase over cultural missteps and a billionaire owner more focused on basketball than baseball. Still, the Angels have failed to capitalize. They can’t figure out who they are, what they want to be, or who they’re building around.
If there was ever a moment to recapture the city’s baseball soul—to present themselves as L.A.’s alternative, not its afterthought—it’s now. But that requires bold decisions. Strategic resets. Vision. Unfortunately, waiting around for a 73-year-old manager with health concerns to possibly return next spring doesn’t align with that vision.
Sentiment vs. Strategy
None of this is easy. Ron Washington is one of the most respected figures in baseball, and what he’s done for players and the sport over the decades shouldn’t be erased by one medical setback.
But the Angels are on a clock. They’re chasing a Wild Card spot with a team that, by most measures, should be selling. They’ve lost superstars, watched others break down, and failed year after year to commit to a real plan.
Minasian is on the hot seat. Arte Moreno is always allergic to complete rebuilds. And another deadline is fast approaching.
Sticking with Washington—especially if it’s more out of loyalty than logic—feels like the latest version of a story fans have read too many times.
Turning the Page
There’s no shame in parting ways when it’s time. The Angels need a fresh direction. Maybe that’s around a young, modern voice. Perhaps it’s a GM hire away. But something has to change—again.
Ron Washington deserved better. So did Trout. So did Angels fans. However, the only way forward is by making a conscious choice.
Because if the Angels keep waiting for things to click magically, they’ll still be waiting when Trout retires.
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