ANAHEIM -- With three games left in the regular season following their 9-4 loss on Thursday, the Angels have some important decisions looming, especially with their front office and coaching staff.
The Angels are wrapping up their 10th straight losing season, including their fifth straight under general manager Perry Minasian. Minasian remains under contract through next season after signing an extension last year, so he could be retained, but no decision has been made just yet.
The Angels have been holding their exit interviews with the coaching staff, and interim manager Ray Montgomery said everything remains up in the air, including his status with the organization. The Angels hold an option on Ron Washington to manage next year, but it remains unclear if he’ll be medically able to handle the role after undergoing a quadruple-bypass on June 30. They’ll also have to decide on what to do with the coaching staff, especially if they move on and hire a new manager.
Montgomery, who first joined the Angels as their director of player personnel before the 2021 season before moving into a new role as bench coach the next year, said it’s something he’s trying not to think about just yet with three games looming against the Astros, who are in the thick of the AL Wild Card chase.
“They've treated me well over the five years that I've been here,” Montgomery said. “I feel terribly fortunate to have been able to sort of keep this train on the tracks with what Wash had to go through. Because again, it was a transactional piece. That kind of stuff will take care of itself as we get to the conversations post-season. But it's not lost on me that I have had the opportunity to do this. I’m terribly appreciative of it.”
Montgomery said he’s enjoyed his time as manager, and it’s a role that he’d like to continue whether it’s with the Angels or another club.
“Once you've had the opportunity to lead people, and vice versa, it’s certainly something that appeals to me,” Montgomery said. “I wouldn’t have gotten into this five years ago if it hadn’t. But that stuff we'll just figure out as we go.”
Montgomery previously worked as both a scout and scouting director with the D-backs and Brewers and said he’d be open to just about any role in baseball. He said he believes his time in the front office helped him in his role on the bench, especially with communication skills because he knows what it’s like to be a liaison between the front office, coaches and players.
“Everything in the game appeals to me,” Montgomery said. “I've been really fortunate that I've been able to do some of these things. I think a [front-office] job is an incredibly difficult job, as all of them are in this game. I can tell you doing this job -- because there is no substitute for actually sitting in the chair -- it’s different than being in the two-hole as the bench coach or even an assistant GM. So we’ll see.”
Montgomery acknowledged that it’s been a tough finish to the season for the Angels, who have struggled with injuries to key players down the stretch. It’s been another rough September for the Halos, who hung around for several months only to fade late in the year, much like in recent seasons. He said the goal organizationally is to build enough depth and experience to get through a full season.
“It's probably been the most trying thing I've been through in the game, other than being a fairly incapable player,” Montgomery said. “Because you feel for the people who are still in the fight. These games still matter. These careers matter. Every day here matters for every one of them. There's a responsibility to uphold that for 162.”
If the Angels do hire another manager, they have two internal candidates who have both expressed a desire to manage earlier this year.
Torii Hunter is a special assistant to Minasian and joined the Angels on a few of their recent road trips and the final homestand of the season. Hunter, who has spent time in the dugout with the club over the last month, has said he’d like to manage if the right opportunity presents itself.
Expected future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols is also a special assistant, as his 10-year personal services contract began before the ’23 season. Pujols is set to manage the Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic and said during Spring Training that he’d like to manage in the big leagues as soon as possible.
Of course, the Angels could look at several other candidates, especially if they move on from Minasian, but they are two names to keep an eye on.