Stoneman’s surprise audible is a handoff

Bill Stoneman fortified the Angels’ youth movement, promoting prospects into major league jobs wherever possible. Today, the Angels’ general manager could hand his own job to a prospect.

Stoneman, the architect of the lone World Series championship team in club history, is expected to invoke a clause in his contract enabling him to become a team consultant. Tony Reagins, the Angels’ director of player development, is expected to replace Stoneman as general manager.

The Angels have called a news conference this morning for what the team described as “a major announcement.” Club spokesman Tim Mead would not elaborate.

Reagins, 40, joined the Angels as an intern in 1992 and has run the team’s highly regarded minor league system for the last six seasons. He did not play or coach professionally, and his background leans more toward administration than player evaluation, but he could be mentored by Stoneman and veteran assistants Ken Forsch and Gary Sutherland.

Reagins, who is African American, would join Ken Williams of the Chicago White Sox and Omar Minaya of the New York Mets as the only minority general managers in the major leagues.

Reagins declined to comment, as did Manager Mike Scioscia. Stoneman did not return a call.

Angels owner Arte Moreno, who inherited Stoneman when he bought the team in May 2003, signed him to a contract extension two months later. The revised deal expired this fall and provided Stoneman the option to stay on as a consultant.

In spring training, and again during the season, Moreno said Stoneman could remain as general manager if he chose to do so.

In fact, according to a highly placed source, Moreno approached Stoneman during the season and offered to negotiate a new contract for him to stay as general manager. At that time, the source said, Stoneman told Moreno he would defer a decision until the off-season.

Stoneman’s decision to step aside -- and Moreno’s apparent decision to promote Reagins -- leaves the Angels with a rookie general manager at the start of an off-season in which Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds could provide big-name options in the seemingly annual quest for a big bat.

However, Moreno and Scioscia are heavily involved in personnel decisions. In the past, Moreno has privately rejected the possibility of signing Bonds and publicly said he could not see a $20-million player on the Angels’ payroll. Rodriguez, the likely American League MVP this year, could seek $30 million per year if he declares himself a free agent.

Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics, said opposing teams knew Moreno and Scioscia would join with Stoneman in evaluating possible player moves.

“It’s always been viewed as a triumvirate anyway,” Beane said. “They’ve been as good as anybody the last four or five years.”

Neither Beane nor Kevin Towers, general manager of the San Diego Padres, expressed surprise that Moreno would entrust his $100-million payroll to an in-house rookie rather than hire an experienced executive from outside the organization.

“What’s the old saying? If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” Beane said.

“For Scioscia, it’s probably important to have somebody he’s comfortable with,” Towers said. “Your good organizations always have quality people, just as they have quality players in their farm system. It’s always nice to see people that have been a part of building a system given an opportunity.”

Stoneman, 63, pitched two no-hitters for the Montreal Expos, the highlights of his eight seasons in the major leagues. He retired in 1974 and worked in the banking industry for a decade, then joined the Expos’ front office.

The Angels hired him as general manager in November 1999, and he hired Scioscia as manager. Stoneman had never been more than an interim general manager; Scioscia had managed one season in the minor leagues.

The Angels have appeared in the playoffs four times in the last six years, winning the 2002 World Series. When Stoneman took over, the Angels had made three playoff appearances in their first 39 years.

“It’s hard to argue with that success,” Beane said. “He’s a very classy, professional guy in everything he does. He always seemed to do things the right way.”

Stoneman protected his prospects above all -- even, as one of his assistants noted, refusing to trade away a future he might not be around to run for one last chance at another World Series.

While promising players have emerged -- John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Francisco Rodriguez, Scot Shields, catchers Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis and infielders Casey Kotchman and Howie Kendrick -- Stoneman never made a major midseason trade. He was all but forced to make his most successful off-season trade, swapping the suspended Jose Guillen to the Washington Nationals for Maicer Izturis and Juan Rivera.

“He did an outstanding job,” Towers said of Stoneman. “They were competitive each and every year he was there. They won a World Series while he was there. They’ve always had a good farm system. They’ve had guys to fill the void.”

Towers said he appreciates the Angels’ depth at every position, attention to preparation and top-notch work ethic.

Said Towers: “The Angel way is the right way.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

bill.shaikin@latimes.com