The Angels have selected former big-league catcher Kurt Suzuki as their next manager, a source said on Tuesday.
Suzuki, 42, was working as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian. This will be his first job as a manager.
Suzuki, a product of Cal State Fullerton, spent 16 years in the majors, ending his career with the Angels in 2022.
Suzuki becomes the Angels’ fifth full-time manager since Mike Scioscia stepped down following the 2018 season. The team has since by managed by Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin and Ron Washington, with Ray Montgomery serving as an interim manager while Washington was on medical leave in the second half of this season.
The Angels also considered Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter, who also are both on the Angels payroll. Pujols has a personal services contract that runs for another seven years. Hunter is a special assistant to the GM, the same role that Suzuki filled.
Suzuki was also interviewed for the San Francisco Giants managerial opening.
Suzuki grew up in Hawaii before coming to Southern California to play college baseball. He was drafted in 2004 by the Oakland A’s, and he spent the first six years of his career there, before playing for the Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves and Angels. Suzuki had multiple stints with several teams.
Suzuki was with the Braves when Angels GM Perry Minasian was the assistant general manager there. Minasian then brought Suzuki to the Angels to finish his playing career, and he immediately began working in the front office upon his retirement.
Suzuki will now take on the challenge of getting the Angels back to contention after a miserable decade. The Angels have not made the playoffs since 2014, and they haven’t had a winning record since 2015.
By hiring Suzuki, the Angels have an opportunity maintain some continuity. The current players and coaches are all familiar with him. He was in camp throughout spring training, and he was also around the big league team periodically during the season. Suzuki also made visits to Angels minor league affiliates.
Minasian said shortly after the season that all the Angels coaches were free to look elsewhere for jobs, but any of them could return, depending on who they selected as manager.
Montgomery has been invited back in some capacity, but he was waiting on the manager hire to decide if he wanted to return.
More to come on this story.
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