As the Los Angeles Angels navigate this offseason, their first order of business is hiring a new manager to lead the way . After firing Phil Nevin after the season ended, the Halos have been searching far and wide for the right person.
The Angels seem to be narrowing down their candidates, and one in particular has emerged from the group. It seems that the smoke surrounding former New York Mets manager Buck Showalter is gaining some steam. He recently interviewed for the open Halos position and remains one of the finalists for the job.
Showalter has been gaining major buzz to take over the Angels job since he was let go by the Mets earlier this offseason, and it does make sense for the team. The Halos want to continue trying to field a winning team, so getting a more veteran manager does give them a better direction to do that.
Showalter has been around the league for a long time, and he could bring the veteran touch to this clubhouse. However, nobody knows what the Angels roster will look like for next season, and they could be entering into a transition phase.
Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is expected to leave the team, and if he does that, they could enter into a rebuild. Landing Showalter to lead a rebuild would be a strange decision, but the team could always view him as a stop-gap manager.
This could prove to be a bad decision, especially considering that the Angels will be hiring their fifth manager since 2018 this winter. The team has been stuck in mediocrity for years now, and this offseason is their chance to start really thinking about the future.
The best thing for the Angels to do would be to tear it down and enter into a rebuild. It would give them a chance to start fresh, but in all likelihood, they won’t go that route. Ownership is committed to trying to win, even if it is at the expense of the organization long-term.
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