ANAHEIM -- The Angels shook up their coaching staff prior to Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Rangers, dismissing pitching coach Mike Maddux, bullpen coach Dom Chiti and assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott.
The Angels named Tim Leveque as interim pitching coach and Michael Wuertz as interim bullpen coach with 43 games remaining this season.
Interim general manager John Mozeliak said he made the decision after talking with manager Kurt Suzuki -- who is on a one-year deal -- along with other coaches and players. It became clear that the pitching coaches weren’t using the technology available to them the way the organization and players wanted it to be implemented.
“My goal was not to make any staffing changes until the season ended,” Mozeliak said. “However, after discussions with the coaches, interviews with players, reflection, self-reflection on where we are, we decided it was time to make a change. We have 48 days left in this season. We're going to play 43 games. I view this as an opportunity. I see this as a chance for us to make a difference. Expectations to implement our processes and use all our tools will be mandated.”
The Angels have had a rough season, posting the worst record in the Majors at 46-74 even after their win on Tuesday, and their pitching staff has struggled despite a solid showing against Texas. Angels pitchers have posted a combined 4.49 ERA that ranks as the seventh-worst mark in the Majors. And they’ve issued an MLB-high 512 walks this season.
But more importantly, Mozeliak said he believes the organization has the proper technology to help their pitchers and a front office that understands that data, but it wasn’t being utilized enough by the coaches.
“Our research and development team upstairs, they're providing a lot of really useful things we can be taking advantage of,” Mozeliak said. “And I think moving forward, which is really where our energy has to be, is how to make this a state-of-the-art place for player growth. Because what you don't want to do is have players outsourcing those types of things. You want it to be in the internal model, and hopefully we can accomplish that.”
Mozeliak, though, said he doesn’t plan to make any more coaching staff changes before the end of the season, as the club’s hitting coaches are safe and have been using the technology given to them properly.
“Hitting is hard in this game,” Mozeliak said. “When you're looking at successful teams, they tend to have a real identity of what they are offensively. … We're not really clear yet on what we should look like, and I think that's like one of the next steps.”
The organization dismissed general manager Perry Minasian in late June and acted as sellers at the Trade Deadline, trading away players such as right-hander José Soriano, catcher Logan O’Hoppe, right fielder Jo Adell and relievers Ryan Zeferjahn, Kirby Yates, Brent Suter and Chase Silseth.
Leveque moves up from Double-A Rocket City, where he served as pitching coach. He spent the past 20 years in the Cardinals’ organization, so Mozeliak is plenty familiar with him. He was previously a pitching analyst in St. Louis’ scouting department in 2025 after working the previous nine years as senior Minor League pitching coordinator.
Wuertz has been with the Angels for 11 years and was previously the club’s Minor League assistant pitching coordinator. He was the pitching coach at Double-A Rocket City for five seasons before Leveque moved into that role this season. He also pitched in the Majors for eight years with the Cubs and A's, with a career 3.71 ERA in 414 1/3 innings.
Maddux was brought in to help turn around the pitching staff after success in previous stops with the Rangers, Cardinals, Nationals and Brewers. And while several starting pitchers like Reid Detmers, Walbert Ureña and Soriano (before he was traded) made strides this year, it wasn’t enough.
Detmers said he’s a fan of using data and technology but didn’t start using Trackman to chart his bullpen sessions and analyze his pitch shapes until after the All-Star break. He also indicated his interest in biomechanics to see how his body is positioned when he’s pitching well. And while he said it was difficult for him and his teammates to see the coaches get let go, he’s looking forward to using more technology going forward.
“If we have it, we might as well use it, right?” Detmers said. “Not saying I didn't use it all the time, but there's definitely times I didn't really use it. But in my eyes, it's only going to make you better.”