Angels to hire new manager for 2026

Jeff Fletcher, The Orange County Register on Sep 30, 2025

Published in Baseball

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The Los Angeles Angels will not keep manager Ron Washington nor interim manager Ray Montgomery in their roles for 2026, a source confirmed Tuesday morning.

The Angels made no official announcement about the decision.

The Angels will be looking for their fifth full-time manager since Mike Scioscia stepped down following the 2018 season, following stints for Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin and Washington. Montgomery finished the last season at the helm while Washington was on medical leave.

General manager Perry Minasian remains under contract for 2026, although there has been no confirmation from the club that he will remain in his role.

It’s worth noting that when the Angels fired GM Billy Eppler – with a year remaining on his deal – they did so immediately following the last game of the regular season.

Assuming Minasian remains in his position, he is expected to address the media at some point this week.

The first order of business will be finding a new manager.

Washington, 73, underwent quadruple bypass surgery over the summer. He said last month that he wanted to return to the dugout in 2026, and he would be healthy enough to do so. The Angels held an option on the contract he signed prior to the 2024 season.

Montgomery will be offered a position to remain in the organization, a source said.

The Angels went 135-189 in two seasons with Washington officially listed as the manager. The Angels were 36-52 after Washington was placed on medical leave June 20. Those games count toward his official record.

Washington, who did not immediately respond to a message Tuesday, was in uniform regularly over the last five weeks of the season, including during the final homestand.

He spoke to the media Aug. 25 at Texas, leaving no question that he wanted to come back.

“Without a doubt,” Washington said of his hope to return. “It’s my passion. … I miss baseball. This is my life, and if Perry will have me back, I’m certainly wanting to come back and finish what we started.”

Former Angels Torii Hunter and Albert Pujols, who have expressed interest in becoming big-league managers, are considered candidates for the job. Both are currently employed by the Angels – Hunter as a special assistant and Pujols on a personal services contract.

Besides the in-house candidates, the Angels could also look to hire Skip Schumaker, who was the manager of the year with the Miami Marlins in 2023. Schumaker grew up in Orange County and attended UC Santa Barbara. Schumaker, however, is the bench coach with the Texas Rangers, so he is expected to be a leading candidate to take over that team now that the team has parted ways with manager Bruce Bochy.

Buck Showalter, who was a finalist for the job when Washington was hired two years ago, is also still available.

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