Some Questions Answered After Angels Moves, But A Big One Remains

The Los Angeles Angels made a pair of big moves this week as they won't be picking up the option of manager Kurt Suzuki, with that shift announced by interim GM John Mozeliak, who won’t be staying on when his contract ends in December. 

Those moves were reported by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, who took a run at answering the many questions that came with them, and his report is well worth a closer look. 

The move is an indicator that the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment group is looking to do an organizational reset. There will also be a new coaching staff, and Mozeliak said the search for a GM or president of baseball opreations is still “in the early stages,” per Bollinger, but someone will be hired for that role before a manager is added. 

One basic question is about moving on from Suzuki, as Mozeliak indicated that he wanted to bring him back, but (thankfully) he was overruled by the new ownership group. Many thought Mozeliak might be staying as the new GM or in an advisory role, but Bollinger confirmed that he won’t be sticking around once his contract is up. 

Suzuki has said he may move on to a different organization rather than go back to his old job as special assistant, and Mozeliak could also look for a new front office job elsewhere, as he felt “energized” in his role with the Angels, per Bollinger. But he could also decide to retire. 

As far as GM speculation, St. Louis Cardinals assistant GM Randy Flores has been mentioned as a possible candidate because he’s a native of the Los Angeles area with ties to Mozeliak, but he becomes less likely with the interim GM moving on. 

Any names beyond that would be pure speculation, but Bollinger did mention that Kroenke’s willingness to pay top executives from other sports could be in play as a possibility, and the Angels could also target candidates from winning franchises like the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and so on. 

Mozeliak restructured the front office on Aug. 31 by promotin Matt Swanson and Michael Lord to join David Haynes and Joey Prebynski as assistant GMs, but they, too could be moving on once Kroenke and company choose a new leader of baseball ops, who might want to choose his own staff. 

There could be holdovers, with club president Molly Jolly being one, but the entire coaching staff will be replaced. The lone question Bollinger didn’t answer was whether the Angels will have someone in place to represent the team at the upcoming GM meetings that start Nov. 9, as a great deal of free agent activity could be happening there before the lockout starts on Dec. 1.