The Angels parted ways with general manager Perry Minasian after five-plus seasons on Friday, and hired John Mozeliak to fill the interim GM role for the remainder of the 2026 campaign. Mozeliak met with the media (including The Athletic’s Sam Blum and MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger) on Saturday at his introductory press conference, and one of the main topics was how the surprising turnaround of the front office came about.
Rather unusually, Mozeliak had not met with Angels owner Arte Moreno as of Saturday, and Moreno was not involved in the hiring process. Mozeliak’s recruitment has been around for a while, though. Agent Steve Hilliard is a friend of both Mozeliak and Angels president Molly Jolly, and it was Hilliard who put the two in touch in recent weeks as the Angels quietly scouted Minasian’s replacement.
Mozeliak did not close the door on the possibility of staying with the Angels in some capacity after his current contract, which expires at the end of 2026. A new full-time GM is expected to be hired before Mozeliak’s contract expires and before the league locks out players (and suspends all baseball-related businesses) on December 1, but Angel’s baseball remains to be seen. a pyramid. This new GM could be the new primary voice when Mozeliak stays on the pitch, or the GM could be second in command under Mozeliak as president of baseball ops.
However things may go well, Mozeliak noted that he doesn’t.I want to sit in the chair of the general manager for five years. But there may be a position or role that makes sense for me to stay. In the meantime, I think I can really help fill the gap for someone like Molly, who comes from the business side, to oversee baseball operations.“
With his works limited to 2026 for now, Mozeliak says his work includes “short view and long view. And our short vision is to come up with a draft, deal with the trade deadline, find our new manager, and then, ultimately, hopefully, lead to that foundation and structure that provides the Angels with endless wins..”
How the Halos will make it to the deadline is an interesting question, and one that Mozeliak doesn’t know the answer to until he talks to Moreno. Because of Moreno’s long-term reluctance to rebuild and his apparent belief that the Angels aren’t far from turning around, Los Angeles has taken a very minimal approach to reaching the deadline in this stretch of 10 (and 11) straight losing seasons. The Halos rarely deal with players who don’t even work out for free agents, and sometimes even hold on to those players – which is a shame, LA didn’t trade. Shohei Ohtani at the 2023 deadline, instead letting him leave in free agency without a compensatory draft pick in return.
There isn’t much time for Mozeliak to convince Moreno to change his approach, if such a change in approach is on the table. Perhaps Mozeliak’s hiring is an indication that the Angels are no longer planning to fix things, as Mozeliak doesn’t have much experience in rebuilding. The Cardinals were often contenders during Mozeliak’s tenure in their front office from October 2007 until the end of last season, and it wasn’t until the 2024-25 season that the Cards announced a rebuild. Even then, St. Louis still held on to its veterans that winter, and the real sales didn’t begin until Chaim Bloom officially took over from Mozeliak as the Cardinals’ PBO.
Regarding the relationship with Moreno, Mozeliak said “I think my focus in the short term is, what does this social media channel look like? To make sure you understand what our guidance is. I’m looking forward to that. I have never met him. But I can tell you this. He cares, he wants to win. You’re probably more of a fan than not. That is a difficult thing. Because sometimes in the business side of this game, we have to make decisions that are not fun to make.”
Minasian appears to be the only major departure for now, as Mozeliak said he has signed the rest of the Angels’ front office staff, coaching staff and manager. Kurt Suzuki for the remainder of the 2026 season. Mozeliak also has a short list of GM candidates already in mind, but that hire won’t come until August at the earliest, as there’s some fast-paced business in the form of the draft and trade deadline. Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group suggests that Cardinals assistant GM Randy Flores may be in the running for the Angels job, as Flores is a familiar figure to Mozeliak and has local ties as a SoCal native.
