The Angels announced on Wednesday that they hired Ron Washington as their new manager on a two-year deal. Washington, 71, becomes the Angels’ fifth manager since 2018.
This is Washington’s first managerial job since resigning from the Texas Rangers in 2014. Washington’s tenure in Texas reigned from 2007 to 2014, leading the Rangers to three postseason berths and two pennants. The 2011 Rangers were infamously one strike away from the franchise’s first World Series twice but ultimately lost to the magical St. Louis Cardinals.
After Texas, Washington was hired as the Oakland Athletics third base coach from 2015 to 2016, then the Atlanta Braves’ third base coach from 2017 to 2023.
Washington is well respected throughout the league for his leadership skills and has left his mark on all his teams, most noticeably his relationship with Braves’ second baseman, Ozzie Albies.
The Angels have many open coaching positions still available, and USA Today sports columnist Bob Nightengale has reported a list of names that the Angels are in talks with for hire. Nothing is official yet, but the list of names are impressive.
Washington was named a candidate for the job almost immediately because he has a connection with Angels general manager Perry Minasian from their time together in Atlanta when Minasian was the assistant general manager for the Braves from 2017 to 2020.
Another finalist for the position was veteran manager Buck Showalter, who the New York Mets fired on the season’s final day. Angels made it very clear they were searching for a manager with experience.
The Angels finished 2023 with a disappointing 73-89 record to miss the playoffs for a ninth straight season. Pairing that with the possibility of Shohei Ohtani walking in free agency, Washington and his staff will have a tall task in getting the Angels back to the postseason.
Of course, the offseason has just begun, so any accurate projections about the Angels must wait until closer to Spring Training. But if the Angels are on manager number five in the last six years, there may be deeper organizational problems than just a coaching staff.
Nevertheless, with new additions to the roster, a new coaching staff, and hopefully a season where the injuries are kept to a minimum, the Angels could be an interesting team to follow in the 2024 season.
