ANAHEIM -- The Angels’ search for a new general manager is down to two candidates, as Mariners assistant general manager Justin Hollander and Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian are the remaining finalists, a Major League source confirmed to MLB.com on Wednesday night.
Minasian is the favorite for the position, but nothing has been officially decided. An announcement is expected to come from the club on Thursday, which is well ahead of its timeline to make a decision before Thanksgiving. The club has held a wide-ranging search that initially included roughly 20 candidates.
Los Angeles narrowed its list to five candidates on Tuesday night, as Hollander and Minasian advanced past the group that also included Cubs senior vice president Jason McLeod and D-backs assistant GMs Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye. McLeod and Porter both had ties to Angels manager Joe Maddon from their time together with the Cubs.
Hollander previously worked with the Angels, spending nine seasons in the front office under general managers Tony Reagins and Jerry Dipoto, before following Dipoto to Seattle in 2015. Hollander began working with the Halos in '08, getting his start in scouting and player development. He had several roles with the Angels, including director of baseball operations and director of player personnel. In his role with the Mariners, he assists Dipoto in all areas of Major League operations, such as payroll, acquisitions, travel, budgeting, scouting and contract negotiations.
Minasian has been with the Braves since 2017, and spent his previous nine years with the Blue Jays. He comes from a scouting background, but he also has deep family roots in baseball, as his father was the longtime equipment manager for the Rangers and Minasian spent time as a batboy as a child before becoming a clubhouse attendant for Texas for six seasons. Minasian got his start in scouting in 2003, and served as Toronto’s director of scouting for six seasons before a promotion to assistant GM.