ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels have decided to hire former major league catcher Kurt Suzuki as their next manager, a person with knowledge of the negotiations tells The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the Angels had not finalized or announced the deal with Suzuki, who has spent the past three seasons as a special assistant to Angels general manager Perry Minasian.
Suzuki played 16 seasons in the major leagues for five teams, earning an All-Star selection with Minnesota in 2014 and winning a World Series with Washington in 2019.
Suzuki finished his career with two years in Anaheim, retiring after the 2022 season. Suzuki also won the College World Series while playing for Cal State Fullerton, located a few miles from Angel Stadium.
The 42-year-old Suzuki would replace Ron Washington, after two losing seasons. Washington missed the second half of the current season after undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery.
The Angels pivoted to Suzuki and fellow special assistant Torii Hunter as their top candidates after talks with broke down in recent days. Pujols, who has a personal services contract with the Angels, was the early front-runner for the job as a longtime favorite of owner Arte Moreno.
Pujols and Suzuki both have no major league coaching experience.
Suzuki would be the Angels’ fifth full-time manager in the past eight seasons since Mike Scioscia was let go.
The Angels have the majors’ longest active streaks of futility, with 10 straight losing seasons and 11 consecutive non-playoff seasons.
Although Minasian has assembled a modestly exciting young core led by shortstop Zach Neto and outfielder Jo Adell to join three-time MVP Mike Trout, the team has shown few signs of emerging from its decade of profound struggle under Moreno’s stewardship. The Angels went 72-90 last season, finishing last in the AL West and 13th in the American League.
Suzuki, who is from Hawaii, is a fourth-generation Japanese-American. He would join Don Wakamatsu and Dave Roberts among the list of former and current MLB managers with Asian heritage.
Suzuki would take over the Angels’ dugout during another chapter of negative publicity for the franchise, which is currently involved in filed by the family of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died of a drug overdose in 2019. Trout is expected to testify in the trial Tuesday.
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