The Los Angeles Angels have fired general manager Perry Minasian amid yet another disappointing start to a season, the team announced. They are replacing him with John Mozeliak, the former President of Baseball Operations for the St. Louis Cardinals. Mozeliak will serve as the interim GM while also taking on the title of Baseball Operations Consultant. The move is Friday’s second major shakeup across Major League Baseball, as the New York Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza earlier in the day.
Angels Fire GM Perry Minasian
Minasian was in the middle of his sixth season helming the Angels’ front office, having been hired after the 2020 season. He now departs without the team making a single postseason appearance under his watch. Entering Friday’s action, the Angels were 34-48, tied with the Kansas City Royals for the worst record in the American League. While they’re not out of playoff contention in a largely weak American League, owner Arte Moreno evidently felt it was time for a change.
OFFICIAL: The Angels announced that the Club appointed John Mozeliak as Baseball Operations Consultant, serving as Interim General Manager after relieving Perry Minasian of his General Manager duties. pic.twitter.com/FUmwQJTbLv
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) June 27, 2026
Under the 46-year-old Minasian, the Angels had a combined record of 392-500. Their best finish in that time came in 2021, his first season as GM, when they went 77-85. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for staying the course. The pressure is on in Anaheim to get the team back to the postseason. Mike Trout has only been there once, in 2014, and the Angels went Shohei Ohtani‘s entire tenure without reaching October. They will now turn to someone who’s put together several postseason rosters in hopes of returning to long-term contender status.
John Mozeliak Takes Over as Interim GM
Mozeliak served as the PBO and GM of the Cardinals from 2007 through the end of last season. In that time, St. Louis won a World Series title in 2011, won another National League pennant in 2013, and made the postseason 10 times in 19 years. The Cards also had a streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons from 2008 to 2022. The 57-year-old showed a knack for building and maintaining a strong farm system in St. Louis, something the Angels could benefit from. While Mozeliak’s tenure with his last club didn’t end on the highest note, his overall track record looks mighty appealing for an Angels team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2015.
What Does It Mean?
Given the awful track record the Angels have had in the last decade, this move comes as no surprise. What is a surprise is the fact that they waited until midseason to make a change, rather than starting the season with both a new manager and a new GM.
While you can’t do much better than Mozeliak as a replacement, it remains to be seen whether he can turn things around quickly, or at all. He only has the interim tag for now, but don’t expect that to last long. Since he had so much success with the Cardinals, Mozeliak will likely get a long leash to rebuild the Angels. Barring an immediate turnaround, reaching the postseason this year is unrealistic, but Mozeliak and first-year manager Kurt Suzuki should expect to remain in their roles for the foreseeable future. However, if things go sour with Suzuki, Albert Pujols could enter the mix as a possible replacement, given his ties to both Mozeliak’s Cardinals and the Angels.
All things considered, the Angels had no choice but to move on from Minasian. The franchise has been spinning its wheels for years now, and it already let one superstar in Ohtani get away to greener pastures. While Trout is unlikely to leave, it would be a shame if he ended his eventual Hall of Fame career with only one taste of October baseball. Angels fans will certainly be relieved at the reset, and while it may not pay immediate dividends, Mozeliak taking the helm provides a bit of hope that’s been lacking in Anaheim.
Main Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
