Sources: Angels to hire former catcher Kurt Suzuki as manager

The Los Angeles Angels are hiring Kurt Suzuki as manager, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, turning to the longtime major league catcher with no professional coaching experience to help turn around a franchise that is enduring the major leagues’ longest playoff drought.

Suzuki, 42, spent 16 years playing for five franchises and won the 2019 World Series with the Washington Nationals. He had spent the last three years as special assistant to Angels general manager Perry Minasian.

Former Angels stars Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter were also considered for the role of replacing Ron Washington, who missed nearly half of the 2025 season after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery.

Ray Montgomery, the interim manager during Washington’s absence, was offered a different role within the organization but was not considered for the full-time manager role.

Suzuki inherits a team with a lot of offensive shots and questionable shots. Shortstop Zach Neto is one of the most complete players in the game, and outfielders Jo Adell and Taylor Ward have a combined 73 home runs in 2025. Mike Trout is signed through 2030, and catcher Logan O’Hoppe, first baseman Nolan Schanuel and second baseman Christian Moore round out their young core.

Beyond Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano, the Angels’ rotation is in constant flux and their bullpen is filled with question marks that hamper their prospects in a division that includes the Seattle Mariners, who fell one game short of representing the American League in the World Series.

Suzuki spent his final two seasons, 2021 and 2022, as a backup catcher with the Angels and drew rave reviews for his handling of the pitching staff. He now becomes the organization’s fifth manager since Mike Scioscia ended a 19-year career in 2018, following Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin and Washington.

Under Scioscia, the Angels won the franchise’s first World Series championship in 2002 and won five AL West titles over a six-year span from 2004 to 2009. That 2009 season marked the last time the organization won a playoff game. The Angels have only returned to the playoffs once, in 2014, after being eliminated from the AL Division Series by the Kansas City Royals. The 2025 season, which finished with a 72-90 record, marked their 10th consecutive losing season.

Fans have long been unhappy with the ownership tenure of Arte Moreno, who has been chastised for getting too involved in baseball operations, not investing enough in player development and a long series of short-term decisions, including not trading Shohei Ohtani before he became a free agent and then deciding not to match his contract offer from rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Moreno appeared to be set on Pujols as manager early in the offseason, sources said, but opted to go in another direction after a breakdown in negotiations.