The Los Angeles Angels will have a new manager in 2026. Ron Washington took a medical leave from his managerial duties and underwent a quadruple bypass heart surgery in June.
The Angels, who finished in last place in the American League West standings this season, informed Washington they would not pick up his option for next year. Ray Montgomery, who served as the Angels‘ interim manager the remainder of the season, will also not return in that role.
Los Angeles now has an essential search on its hands. The club’s next leader will have a difficult task in leading them back to the postseason for the first time since 2014. A few former Angels players could be candidates.
Torii Hunter Joins Albert Pujols as Angels Candidates
According to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post last Wednesday, the Angels plan to interview future Hall of Fame first baseman Albert Pujols for their managerial vacancy. The 45-year-old played 10 years with the Angels from 2012-21.
Since retiring, Pujols has become a global ambassador for Baseball United, the first professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia. He also has managerial experience, having led the Leones del Escogido to a LIDOM championship and a Caribbean Series title against Mexico.
The Athletic’s Sam Blum, Katie Woo, and Ken Rosenthal wrote last Wednesday that Pujols “is believed to be the leading choice for the job for Angels owner Arte Moreno.
However, former Angels outfielder Torii Hunter may also be in the running. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported on Saturday that Hunter’s name is in the mix. The 50-year-old played 19 Major League Baseball seasons, five of them with the Angels from 2008-12.
In April 2024, the Angels hired Hunter as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian. He declined to join Washington’s coaching staff two years ago.
“Heâs 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,” Nick Deeds of MLB Trade Rumors wrote Sunday.
“Still, it 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 Famerâs decision to make whether or not he serves as Anaheimâs next manager.”
The Angels Need Stability
If the Angels do not make Hunter their manager, perhaps his other former team, the Minnesota Twins, would. Minnesota fired Rocco Baldelli after a fourth-place finish in the AL Central and just 70 wins.
Whether they choose Hunter or Pujols or someone else, the Angels could benefit from stability at the manager position. They last finished with a record above .500 in 2015.
Mike Trout is not getting any younger. And since longtime manager Mike Scioscia left the team after 2019, they’ve had five managers (Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin, Washington, and Montgomery).
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