After a shortened search due to complications with money and unable to hire an all-time legendary player as their manager, the Los Angeles Angels announced their new manager on Tues Oct 21 as they promoted Kurt Suzuki to be their fifth manager since Mike Scioscia stepped down as manager in 2018. Suzuki had served as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian for the last few seasons and was involved in being an instructor during spring training workouts and games for the Angels, whom he closed out his career with in playing the final two seasons of his time as a catcher in the big leagues with. Suzuki was drafted by the Oakland Athletics out of Cal State Fullerton after winning a College World Series title with the Titans in 2004. Suzuki played parts of seven seasons for the A’s, parts of four seasons for the Washington Nationals(whom he won a World Series championship with in 2019), three seasons for the Minnesota Twins and two seasons with the Atlanta Braves in addition to his time on the Angels. Mostly serving as a backup catcher for the Halos, Suzuki provided important guidance to a young pitching staff and the numbers that pitchers had with him behind the plate were very good. Now back in the dugout as the newest manager to don the Halo, Suzuki looks to guide a team that hasn’t made the postseason since 2014 through a rebuild period and back into playoff contention in the next few years.

It is safe to say that Kurt Suzuki was not the top managerial candidate for the Angels, and not even the top candidate in-house, to succeed Ron Washington, who was an outside hire two years ago but had a connection to Minasian due to his time with the Atlanta Braves. The Halos were actually aiming for Albert Pujols, who had been with the team as an instructor in spring training since retiring from his playing career, and had Torii Hunter in mind as a backup option. Neither of these former players had managed before at the big league level, but Pujols had recently coached a winter league team from his native Dominican Republic called the Leones del Escogido to a Caribbean League winter title in the 2024-25 offseason. Albert is slated to manage the national baseball team for the Dominican Republic for next year’s World Baseball Classic, but he would likely forego that responsibility if hired by a major league club. After talking with Pujols and offering him a modest contract, the Angels were turned down by Albert, who wanted more money for managing a big league team but the front office wouldn’t budge. The Halos are unfortunately cash-strapped right now as the organization might need to pay a big sum of money to the family of Tyler Skaggs if they lose an active court case where they are the defendants being accused of not being able to prevent the tragic drug-induced death of the left-handed pitcher in 2019. Due to that situation, the Angels were not able to hire Pujols as manager and he is seeking other open managerial positions, specifically with the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres(who recently saw Mike Shildt step down as manager).

So, the Angels settled for Suzuki(on a one-year deal I might add) and he brings some familiarity to the table in being a teammate of some active players on the roster. That group includes Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell, Reid Detmers and Logan O’Hoppe(who made his major league debut as Suzuki was closing out his career in the same week at the end of the 2022 season). With young stars such as Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Christian Moore and Denzer Guzman, Suzuki will have a load of talent to manage. The biggest glaring issue for the Angels currently is the pitching staff, which has struggled to field a consistent starting rotation over the past few years and is seeing two veteran members depart the roster. With young prospects in the minor leagues that have had callups in September in recent years, one or two of those spots could be filled by a combination of Caden Dana, Sam Aldegheri, Mitch Farris(a surprising gem), or George Klassen(who has yet to make his big-league debut). But the likely route taken by the front office will be to sign one or two veteran arms available on the free agent market to modest deals. For now, the only two certain pitchers to be in the starting rotation for opening day in 2026 will be Yusei Kikuchi and José Soriano. As for the bullpen, Kenley Jansen proved himself a reliable closer in 2025 and has expressed a desire to pitch at least four more seasons in the big leagues. Bringing him back would be a wise move considering the youth among Halos relievers and the lack of health displayed by fireballer Ben Joyce, who suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for the entire season in late April.

Suzuki will also get to determine his coaching staff and whether some leftover members from the Washington years stay or leave. Pitching coach Barry Enright could stick around, but others such as Bo Porter, Eric Young Sr, and Jerry Narron might not be so safe. Suzuki will take the mantle as the third-youngest manager ever hired by the Angels. Only Mike Scioscia and Jim Fregosi are younger hires ever made by the Halos. Suzuki is also the first Hawaiian-born manager in major league history and joins Dave Roberts as managers with Asian-American family roots in the big leagues. At 42 years old(his birthday is on Oct 4), Kurt Suzuki will look to lead an Angels team with an aging Mike Trout and some solid young offensive pieces around him along with a couple of good veteran pieces to use. In an AL West division that seems to be mediocre in these past few years, the margin for error isn’t that big for the Halos, but they just need to have better luck navigating a schedule that has become more travel-burdensome with the expanded MLB schedule and not have as much misfortune with injuries going forward. Offensive stats such as hitting with runners in scoring position and runs per game in the middle of the season(from mid-May to mid-August) were improved, but having a more consistent stretch offensively and not relying so much on solo home runs could definitely improve the fortunes of this team. For now, they are hoping that Kurt Suzuki is the guy to lead this team for the next few seasons and whether that translates to longer-term success or not is an unknown that the organization is willing to face.

The fans will welcome Suzuki with open arms due to his Orange County baseball history and being a former big-league catcher, which is a likely requisite for becoming a manager but there are only a few active managers who played at catcher in their big-league careers. Joining Stephen Vogt(who had a thrilling end of career performance in Oakland on the same day as Suzuki’s career finale), Kevin Cash, Dan Wilson and A.J Hinch as former catchers currently managing teams, Suzuki will look to instill the same success that the magical 2002 Angels gained under Mike Scioscia after a three-season stint with him that turned into nearly 20 years of time as the manager. Having most of the right pieces along with a farm system on the upswing, the Halos could be heading for brighter days ahead, especially after the trial of pinning them for Tyler Skaggs’ tragic passing is resolved. Until then, 2026 will be the beginning of Suzuki’s time as a big league manager for the team he closed out his playing career with.