Saturday, November 14

ANAHEIM -- With the annual GM Meetings now behind us, it’s time to take a look at what we learned about where the Angels are in their state of transition with new ownership and leadership coming at just about every level.

Interim general manager John Mozeliak provided several key updates, including that the Angels are casting a wide net in their search for their next GM and that officials from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment have started preliminary interviews with potential candidates. The Angels are meeting with executives from clubs that have consistently won at a high level such as the Dodgers and Brewers, but it’s still very early in the process.

The Angels are in an awkward position because they are waiting on the new ownership to be officially approved, and a vote isn’t expected to happen this month despite the Owners Meetings next week. But they are at least going forward with their search and Mozeliak said he’s there to help and serve as an “innkeeper” as far as day-to-day operations go.

Here are three things to take away from this week’s GM Meetings:

1. Free-agent market expected to be active this month, but Angels are stuck

With the CBA set to expire on Dec. 1, the buzz coming out of Las Vegas was that teams are going to be especially active in free agency this month. Reliever Evan Phillips already signed a three-year, $35 million deal with the Braves, and first baseman Jake Bauers inked a four-year, $58 million pact with the Red Sox this week.

But the Angels are in a tough place, and Mozeliak indicated it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be making any significant moves as interim GM before his contract expires next month. He said his main goal was to find out more about the free-agent market and trade market at the GM Meetings and pass that info on to KSE.

Mozeliak, though, did indicate that the Angels do need to add to their roster this offseason, especially in an effort to not rush the club’s younger players or prospects. They have obvious needs in the outfield, at second base and third base, at catcher and in the bullpen. It doesn’t seem likely that they’ll be addressing those areas via free agency in the short term, but they could always still make trades this month.

2. New ownership has begun preliminary interviews, could prefer younger candidates

Mozeliak said that KSE has started to conduct preliminary interviews with candidates and that based on how other teams owned by KSE operate, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them hire someone on the younger side. He also said because KSE isn’t as familiar with baseball, they are interviewing several candidates and are trying to find out how winning clubs operate.

In other sports, they’ve gone with youthful hires with great success, such as Rams GM Les Snead and coach Sean McVay, Nuggets GM Tim Connolly, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar and Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta. They’ve all won a championship in their respective leagues.

Mozeliak said he’s been staying in touch with Kevin Demoff, the president of team and media operations for KSE, as part of the process. Demoff is the longtime Rams president and also oversees all of the other clubs that KSE owns. But Mozeliak said KSE and Demoff have the power to conduct their own interviews, so he hasn’t been fully apprised on every candidate. He believes he’ll be more involved as the names get whittled down, but he said he’s fully content walking away after his contract is up and never thought about an advisor position.

3. Suzuki is staying in the organization, along with several coaches

The Angels declined Kurt Suzuki’s option as manager in ’27 but offered him a position as a special assistant, and he ultimately accepted it. It’s the same role that he was in from 2023-25 before becoming manager last year.

Additionally, pitching coaches Tim Leveque and Michael Wuertz, hitting coach Jobel Jiménez and third-base coach Keith Johnson will remain in the organization, but are currently assigned to Minor League roles. Leveque will be Minor League pitching coordinator, Wuertz will be Triple-A Salt Lake pitching coach, Jiménez will be Single-A Rancho Cucamonga hitting coach and Johnson will be a Minor League baserunning and outfield coordinator. However, any of them could be re-added to the Major League staff if the new regime desires. 

Who was the last Angels catcher to win a Gold Glove Award?

A. Martín Maldonado
B. Bengie Molina
C. José Molina
D. Chris Iannetta

Former Angels catcher Bob Boone, who was a four-time All-Star and won seven Gold Gloves during his storied 19-year career, died on Monday. He was 78.

He was the club’s all-time leader in games caught and third on MLB’s all-time list behind only Hall of Famers Ivan Rodriguez (2,427) and Carlton Fisk (2,226). Boone, the son of former Major Leaguer Ray Boone, also saw his sons Bret and Aaron reach the Majors, making them one of five families with three generations -- grandfather, father and son-- of big leaguers. Incredibly, all four Boones were All-Stars at least once in their careers.

The Angels avoided arbitration with veteran catcher Tyler Heineman, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1,237,500 on Friday. The 35-year-old gives them some leadership, defense and stability behind the plate, but they’re still likely to add another backstop this offseason. He hit .192/.238/.232 with two doubles, one triple and four RBIs in 44 games with the Angels, but had above-average defensive metrics and fared well with the ABS system.

With Heineman signed, the Angels now have 10 arbitration-eligible players: infielders Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel and Oswald Peraza; outfielders Jose Siri and Josh Lowe, right-handers Grayson Rodriguez, Ben Joyce and Sam Bachman and left-handers Reid Detmers and Tayler Saucedo. Of that group, Siri and Lowe are the most likely to be non-tendered ahead of the Nov. 20 deadline, but Mozeliak did say at the GM Meetings they could tender a contract to all eligible players.

A. Maldonado, who won the award in 2017.

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