According to MLB insider Buster Olney of ESPN, Angels owner Arte Moreno, not general manager Perry Minasian, will decide whether to keep manager Ron Washington on for the 2026 campaign.
Washington is Major League Baseball’s oldest manager at 73 years old. Washington was put on medical leave on June 27 for the rest of the 2025 season after managing just one game, on June 19, against the New York Yankees.
In late August, Washington told reporters he was recuperating from quadruple bypass heart surgery and made his first public appearance following an eight-week recuperation period.
Ray Montgomery, the director of player personnel and bench coach for the Angels, has been appointed interim manager until Washington heals. Since taking over as interim manager, Montgomery has guided the Angels to a 26-34 record. The Angels had a 36-38 record in 2025 when Washington was their manager.
After having heart surgery, Washington told reporters he felt “great” in a late August media interview. The manager expressed his love for his players by saying he came back to “be around my guys and have fun with them.”
It’s unclear if Washington is capable of taking over as manager again in 2026. Olney said the answer will come straight from Moreno.
“In the end, owner Arte Moreno, who is not inclined to defer to his general manager on the biggest decisions, will determine whether the 73-year-old Washington returns to his position,” said Olney. Since Washington took a medical leave of absence, Ray Montgomery has taken over as manager, and the Angels have been getting better. They ended 63-99 in 2024, but they have already won more games this season than they did in that whole year.
A 44-year-old franchise record for the most losses in a season was broken by the Angels’ 99 defeats last season. Moreno must make a significant choice about who will run the clubhouse in 2026 because his Angels haven’t made it to the postseason since 2014.
Moreno will probably go for a “bigger name” if he decides not to keep Washington, according to Olney. That may even include former Angels player Albert Pujols, who played for the Angels from 2012 to 21, or former Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who led the team for 18 seasons.
