The Angels are planning to hire Phil Nevin as their next third base coach, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports. Nevin has spent the last four seasons as the Yankees’ third base coach, before his contract wasn’t renewed back in October. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported two weeks ago that Nevin and the Angels were in discussions.
An Orange County native, Nevin is returning to southern California and will wear an Angels uniform for the second time in his baseball career — Nevin played for the Halos back in 1998, one of seven teams Nevin appeared with over his 12 major league seasons. Of note, current Angels manager Joe Maddon was on the team’s coaching staff when Nevin played for the club.
After his retirement as a player, Nevin worked as a broadcaster and then as a manager in independent baseball before moving onto coaching and managerial roles in the Tigers and Diamondbacks farm systems. Nevin made the move back to the big leagues as the Giants’ third base coach in 2017 before joining the Yankees. Nevin (who turns 51 in January) has been a candidate for multiple MLB managerial openings in the past, getting consideration from the D-backs, Tigers and Astros.
Three vacancies on the Angels’ coaching staff opened up when the team opted against retaining third base coach Brian Butterfield, first base coach Bruce Hines and catching coach Jose Molina. The first base job could also soon be filled, as Rosenthal reports that former Padres coach Wayne Kirby is in talks with the Halos. Kirby has a decade of experience as a major league first base coach, working eight seasons with the Orioles and the last two years with San Diego. While no official announcement has come from the Padres that they were parting ways with Kirby, the coaching staff is expected to be overhauled under new manager Bob Melvin.
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