Kurt Suzuki. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Angels make decision on their manager for 2026

By Zachary Cariola | Last updated Oct 21, 2025 2:06 PM ET

The Los Angeles Angels have a new manager for next season after they moved on from former manager Ron Washington and interim manager Ray Montgomery.

After much speculation about future Hall of Famer and former Angel Albert Pujols potentially filling the vacant managerial position, the Angels have decided on another one of their former players to take the reins, 16-year big league veteran Kurt Suzuki.

The Angels decide to hire Kurt Suzuki as their next manager

Moving on from their first choice in Pujols, the Angels shifted to hiring Suzuki as their fifth manager in the past six seasons, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Suzuki is familiar with the Angels organization, spending his final two seasons as a player there (2021-22). He also served as a special assistant to the general manager, Perry Minasian, for the last three seasons.

At 42 years old, Suzuki would be one of the younger managers in the game, along with Oliver Marmol (39) of the St. Louis Cardinals, Stephen Vogt (40) of the Cleveland Guardians, Warren Schaeffer (40) of the Colorado Rockies and Will Venable (42) of the Chicago White Sox.

Kurt Suzuki will have to rely on his catching experience to guide him as a manager

Spending 16 seasons behind the dish and winning a World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019 gives Suzuki a leg up on most rookie managers, with more former catchers turning into good managers. Former Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is the best example of a former catcher becoming a successful manager, having won three World Series with the San Francisco Giants (2010, 2012 and 2014) and leading the Rangers to their first World Series title in 2023.

It will also be the job of Minasian to add players to the roster to give Suzuki the best chance to succeed, with franchise player Mike Trout (34) only getting older. Having a solid core of Trout, Logan O’Hoppe, Jo Adell, Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto, the Angels need to build a pitching staff around these players to be competitive in 2026.

Zachary Cariola

My name is Zachary Cariola and I have been a sports fan for as long as I can remember. My areas of expertise are MLB, NBA, and NFL. You can find my other work on Southside Showdown from FanSided and at Chicitysports where I cover all Chicago sports. When not watching sports, I love spending time with my family and learning history.

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