Kurt Suzuki wrapped up his 16-year playing career with the Angels in 2022.
Now, three years later, he is starting his professional coaching career with the same team, as multiple media outlets are reporting that the Angels are set to hire Suzuki as their next manager.
The Angels have yet to finalize or announce the deal.
Suzuki, a World Series champion with the Washington Nationals in 2019, played for the Angels in 2021 and 2022. After retiring as a player, he has served as a special assistant to Angels general manager Perry Minasian.
Suzuki will be the Angels’ fifth manager since 2018, when the organization parted ways after 18 seasons with Mike Scioscia — who led the team to its only World Series title in 2002.
He will replace Ron Washington, who was manager the past two seasons but missed roughly half of the 2025 season after undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery. Ray Montgomery was interim coach in Washington’s absence but wasn’t considered for the job on a permanent basis.
The Angels went a franchise-worst 63-99 in 2024 after losing Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers in free agency. They were 72-90 in 2025, their 10th consecutive losing season.
Born in Wailuku, Hawaii, Suzuki hit the game-winning single that clinched the College World Series title for Cal State Fullerton in 2004. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the second round of the 2004 draft and spent his first five-plus MLB seasons with the organization. He also played for the Minnesota Twins.
The Angels are said to have considered fellow former team members Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter for the manager job as well.
Staff writer Steve Henson contributed to this report.
Ron Washington was beaming in his black suit, complete with a red tie, as he sat at a table perched on a platform in the Home Plate Club of Angel Stadium on Wednesday.
The 71-year old manager from New Orleans, the newest in Angels history, scanned the room, taking in his moment as his new general manager, Perry Minasian, boasted about him. Minasian gave him his official Angels gear and Washington affixed his newest cap to his head and meticulously buttoned each button on his newest jersey.
“Now I’m legit,” Washington said and smiled.
It had been nine years since Washington had been in this position, the manager of a major league baseball team. Now that he was back, he stated his message clearly: The Angels will be a force to be reckoned with while he’s in charge.
“Our whole focus is going to be to run the [American League] West down,” Washington said in front of a crowd of Angels players, alumni, media members and team employees. “And you can take that to the bank and deposit it.”
Washington, hired by Texas Rangers ahead of the 2007 season, has had a chip on his shoulder after not winning a World Series despite AL pennants in 2010 and 2011 and a wild-card berth in 2012.
He left the Rangers before the end of the 2014 season — stating, at the time, that his decision to leave was because he had been unfaithful to his wife. Of the nature of his departure from the Rangers, Minasian said Wednesday that he had done his due diligence and felt comfortable hiring Washington.
Washington had been trying to return to a managerial position since then, interviewing with at least three other clubs over the years, he said, but he never stopped believing his next opportunity would come.
He has a World Series ring, having been an integral part of the 2021 campaign of the Atlanta Braves, the team he had been the third base coach for since the 2017 season.
Angels new manager Ron Washington, left, and general manager Perry Minisian hug during a news conference Wednesday at Angel Stadium.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
And he spoke with more than just determination, but a conviction in the Angels, with his confidence in himself and down-to-the-soul belief in a better Angels future paving the way.
The Angels have not reached the playoffs since 2014 and have eight straight losing seasons. In addition, Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani is a free agent and could leave the team. While some view the roster as weak, Washington sees potential.
“I really have been, since I’ve been here these past three days, focusing in on these young arms we got,” Washington said. “I am very impressed with the young arms we got. That’s why we trying to find us a pitching coach to guide them in the right direction.
“Pitching and defense is the key to success. The rest of it, I’m going to take care of as we move along. … The defense, you’re looking at the best in the business, and that’s not patting myself on the back. That’s a fact.”
The Houston Astros have won the AL West six of the last seven seasons. The Rangers won this season’s World Series.
While some view beating the top teams in the division as a tall order, Washington says so what.
“Yeah, the Astros [have] been there,” Washington said matter-of-factly. “When I took over in Texas, guess who was the big dog? The Angels. And what happened? We ran them down. So my intent is to run Houston down.
“I’m not saying that’s gonna happen this year. But we don’t know when it’s gonna happen. I can tell you what, we’re gonna get back on top.”
Washington’s official candidacy for the Angels job began with a dinner with Minasian in New Orleans a few weeks ago — though Washington’s familiarity with the Minasian family dates back much further. After that, Washington was invited to meet with Minasian and other members of the front office in Scottsdale, Ariz., for a brunch on the Tuesday of the general manager meetings last week.
Team owner Arte Moreno picked Washington up from the airport and Minasian and the rest of the Angels contingent talked with him for more than three hours, Minasian said, and he was offered the job. The next day, the Angels announced Washington as their new manager.
Washington’s Angels have already secured their new third base coach, Eric Young Sr., who followed Washington from Atlanta, as well as their new infield coach, Ryan Goins. Washington also said Wednesday that he knows who his first base coach is, though he did not give a name. The Angels confirmed Bo Porter as their new first base coach on Friday. The Angels also confirmed on Friday that they promoted Jerry Narron to major league catching coach after previously serving as their minor league catching coordinator. The Angels subsequently named Johnny Washington as their hitting coach and Barry Enright as pitching coach.
Next up on Washington’s agenda: making calls to the team’s biggest leaders for the foreseeable future: Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon.
Washington and Dave Roberts of the Dodgers are the only Black managers in the majors, after Dusty Baker retired from his position with the Astros last month. Washington replaces Phil Nevin, whose contract for next season was not picked up by the Angels.
Ray Montgomery is just three weeks into his interim tenure as Angels manager. And as his responsibility grows, he’s well aware that so does the pressure.
“All blame, no credit,” he said Monday as the Angels began a seven-game homestand before the All-Star break. “And I get that. That’s just how it goes.”
Since taking over as manager on June 20 for Ron Washington — who will remain on medical leave until the end of the 2025 season — Montgomery has guided the Angels (44-46) to an 8-8 record entering Tuesday.
They’ve had the good: taking two of three from the Braves in Atlanta last week. And they’ve had the bad: getting swept by the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre over the weekend.
Montgomery said he understands the expectations aren’t what they were a few years ago — when the Angels lost 89 or more games from 2022 to 2024 — and that the Angels aren’t so far away from their first postseason berth since 2014 thanks to their young core having a few seasons under its belt.
“We’re not here to develop, although that’s a piece to what we do,” Montgomery said. “We’re here to win. And for the Angels, it’s important for us to have an opportunity where we are.”
If anything, there’s a case to be made that the Angels could be over .500 if a few plays had gone their way. Since Montgomery took over as manager, the Angels are 2-5 in one-run ball games, including all three games in the Toronto series.
When asked what the Angels need to do or adjust to end up on the other end of those one-run contests — of which they’d been 17-11 across the full season — Montgomery pointed to big swings and specific plays.
“You can point to the big hits, I get it, but you can also point to the execution on smaller plays, too, that prevent runs,” he said. “We made some mistakes in those games.”
The Angels got one of those big plays on Monday night. Nolan Schanuel drew a walk-off walk for a 6-5 victory over the Rangers, wiping away miscues such as a dropped third strike that led to a score-tying RBI double.
Montgomery, in his fifth year with the Angels — fourth as a member of the coaching staff — turned to a decision he made in Atlanta last week as proof that one moment can change the game.
Against the Braves last week, Yusei Kikuchi had been brilliant. The Japanese left-hander was two-thirds into the sixth inning of his then-scoreless outing. Instead of keeping Kikuchi — at 100 pitches — in to try to finish off the side as he worked through the Braves lineup for the third time, Montgomery pulled the left-hander in favor of right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn with two runners on base.
It backfired. Sean Murphy, who struck out twice against Kikuchi earlier in the game, hit a three-run home run to give the Braves a 3-2 lead, an advantage that would turn into an 8-3 loss.
“If I leave Kikuchi in Atlanta, right, and he gets a guy he handled pretty good during the game, we may sweep that series too,” Montgomery said. “[Games are] magnified now — I get it.”
Decisions like those are where Washington and Montgomery’s managerial strategies may differ. Washington, a longtime MLB coach, comes from an era of giving starting pitchers a longer leash (it goes hand in hand with the Angels using just five starting pitchers so far in 2025).
Montgomery, who comes from a scouting background in his post-playing career, may value analytical strategy more — holding pitchers from facing a lineup a third time through the order and playing matchups more.
Angels catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who has played for new-school managers that emphasize analytics such as Kevin Cash, as well as old-school managers such as Terry Collins, says Montgomery toes the line in between both managerial styles.
“He’s got a good feel,” d’Arnaud said. “He trusts the staff, which is really good, and also trusts the bullpen, which is also really good. He has really good communication with every player, lets them know when they’re playing — which is more of a younger thing — and so it’s a mix of both [new- and-old school].”
Strategy could be the difference between Murphy facing Zeferjahn rather than Kikuchi. Strategy may be the difference between a win and a loss — or staying in contention for an American League wild-card spot.
“It’s tough to say,” right-hander Jack Kochanowicz said when asked about the difference between Washington and Montgomery. “You feel like each game is different. It’s hard to really put an identity to either one of them, especially since Ray’s so new to it, too. It’s a small sample size.”
For Montgomery, he said he’s not going to dwell on the could-have-beens. Squarely in the chase — and in the zone between the franchise deciding between buying and selling at the trade deadline — he’s just happy the Angels are in the conversation.
“If you told us coming up on the All-Star break, that we were in the mix a couple games above or below .500 — and I’m not ignorant of the fact that we’ve cost ourselves a few games, we should be a little better than we are — I would be happy with where we sit right now,” Montgomery said.
Ron Washington took a page out of the characterized version of himself from the 2011 film “Moneyball” when asked about how difficult it would be to revive the Angels’ sputtering offense.
“It’s hard,” the Angels manager said Friday. “It’s very hard.”
His response probably sounds familiar to “Moneyball” fans. In the film, the version of Washington, played by actor Brett Jennings, visits Scott Hatteberg — portrayed by Chris Pratt — at his home. Billy Beane — played by Brad Pitt — and Washington try to sell Hatteberg, a free-agent catcher with the yips, on playing first base.
“You don’t know how to play first base,” Beane says.
“That’s right,” Hatteberg replies.
“It’s not that hard, Scott. Tell em, Wash,” Beane quips.
“It’s incredibly hard,” Washington responds.
Finding ways to improve the Angels’ productivity at the plate could prove even more daunting. They have the second-most strikeouts (622) and second-fewest walks (163) in MLB. Washington understands it’s a problem, but acknowledges the solution isn’t easily attainable.
“Adjustments is something in the game of baseball that’s never ending, so we just got to keep making adjustments,” Washington said. “That’s it. If I knew, if anybody knew the adjustment to make to get an offense going, you would never see offense putter. That’s baseball. You just got to keep adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting.”
The Angels held the third-worst batting average (.229) and fourth-worst on-base percentage (.301) in MLB a year ago. Three months into the 2025 season, they’ve regressed. The team’s batting average stands at .225 heading into Monday and the team’s on-base percentage is considerably lower over last year at .287.
During the Angels’ eight-game winning streak in May, it seemed as if hitting coach Johnny Washington — in his second year with the team — discovered something to help the offense click. They tallied a .291 batting average and averaged almost eight runs a game.
The Angels then lost five consecutive games and entered Monday having lost nine of their last 14.
“I think it’s come down to guys just continuing the process with trying to simplify guys’ approaches, keeping it with their strengths, giving these guys the best chance to succeed versus a given pitcher, and continue the game plan,” Johnny Washington said. “Been doing it all year. There are some youth, but there’s a ton of growth taking place. I know it hasn’t been pretty at certain times, but it’s a great group.”
Angels manager Ron Washington talks to Chris Taylor during a win over the Mariners on Friday.
(Eric Thayer / Associated Press)
In their last two series against Boston and Seattle, there were encouraging signs on offense. The Angels scored five or more runs in four of the six games, and cut down on their strikeout totals, with seven or fewer strikeouts coming in four games.
Chris Taylor, who struggled at the plate since signing with the team on May 26, began making hard contact — going two for three in two of three games against the Mariners, homering for the first time this season on Saturday.
Sunday, however, proved to be much different. In the Angels’ 3-2 loss to the Mariners, the lineup struck out a season-high 18 times.
“I think it’s kind of just like snapping out of it,” said first baseman Nolan Schanuel on Friday, a day after the Angels returned from a six-game trip in which they averaged more than five runs a game. “We had a good stretch, got cold for a little bit, and snapped out of it and started to hit again.”
Infielder Kevin Newman, who has a team-low .200 on-base percentage and a .186 batting average (minimum 50 at-bats) added: “We’re pretty streaky, probably more streaky than we’d like to be. We’d like to definitely find some consistency, especially here at home.”
It’s no coincidence that the Angels are finding a little more success at the plate with Mike Trout back in the lineup.
Activated off the injured list on May 30, Trout has played as if he wasn’t out for a month with a bone bruise in his knee. He hit .476 across six games against Cleveland and Boston and has gotten on base in nearly half of his at-bats this month (.429 on-base percentage). On June 2 against Boston, the 33-year-old carried the Angels to victory with a three-hit, three-RBI game — hitting his second home run since returning from injury.
“It’s good to be able to at least hit and contribute,” Trout said, adding that his time on the injured list over the last two seasons had been frustrating.
Trout’s impact isn’t lost on teammate Taylor Ward.
“Having Mike back is — I mean, unbelievable, right,” Ward said. “A guy that can carry the offense.”
Taylor Ward, right, is congratulated by Mike Trout, left, after hitting a two-run home run against the Mariners on Sunday.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Schanuel said he has watched Trout’s daily regimen closely since joining Angels two seasons ago. Ron Washington, who became the Angels’ manager last year, said he has marveled at how the three-time MVP prepares and trains. But even he was surprised at how quickly Trout began to contribute coming off injury.
“He still does things that other people on the baseball field can’t do,” Ron Washington said. “No doubt about it. You can get a 70% Mike Trout and it’d be 100% of a lot of players in this league. So hey, I was surprised, but then again, I’m not — because we are talking about Mike Trout.”
Even with Trout back, the Angels still have room for improvement. Although he’s hitting .241 with 14 home runs and 31 RBIs entering Monday, Logan O’Hoppe has walked just eight times, leading to a .273 on-base percentage. Luis Rengifo holds the second-lowest on-base percentage in the league at .242.
Will Trout’s return continue to rejuvenate the Angels’ offense and help them close the 5½-game gap to the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West? Time will tell.
“One of the greatest players of our generation,” Johnny Washington said about Trout. “He’s been a huge help to our offensive group, to us as coaches and as well to the players”
