ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) 鈥� The Los Angeles Angels fired general manager Perry Minasian midway through their sixth consecutive disappointing season under his leadership.
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.
鈥淧erry has been a valued leader who worked tirelessly over the last six years to strengthen our baseball operations department,鈥� Jolly said. 鈥淚 am grateful for his dedication, insight and many contributions to our organization.鈥�
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.
鈥淚 was surprised,鈥� catcher Logan O鈥橦oppe said after the game. 鈥淵ou play the game long enough, and things that are unexpected happen. He brought me here. I鈥檓 appreciative of that. It鈥檚 just a tough situation.”
Minasian took over the Angels鈥� 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鈥� 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鈥� 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鈥檚 flurry of moves before and after the 2023 trade deadline seemed chaotic. The Angels kept Ohtani 鈥� a decision Moreno had a big hand in 鈥� 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鈥� 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鈥檚 tenure.
Minasian clashed with respected manager Joe Maddon early in his tenure, eventually leading to in the 2022 season. After Phil Nevin and Ron Washington also failed to hold the managerial job for more than two seasons, Minasian hired 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鈥檚 team with low-cost players 鈥� several returning from major injuries 鈥� 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鈥檛 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.
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