‘We’re not going to rush it.’ Perry Minasian discusses Angels’ search for a manager

Perry Minasian has insisted that, in his first offseason managerial search as a general manager, that he simply wants to get it right.

“We’ve been very active with discussions with different candidates and we’re not going to rush it. With that being said, when we find the right person, we find the right person,” Minasian said in a scrum with reporters during the general managers meetings at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia on Tuesday. “I’m excited to see where we end up.”

In his conversations with candidates for the Angels job, none of whom he wanted to name, Minasian stressed the importance of that “right person” being someone who commands respect. He clarified that did not mean the person he will hire had to be someone with prior major league managerial experience. He also said he does not have a set timeline on when he would like to fill the position.

Minasian is in the final year of his contract with the Angels. Asked how many of the managerial candidates have voiced concern over Minasian’s situation, he downplayed its weight.

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“It’s not about me. It’s about them,” Minasian said. “That would be something you’d have to ask them. For me, it’s all about the organization and finding the right person. This is not about me and my situation. This is about who the next person will be to lead the club.”

The Angels announced after the regular season they would not bring Phil Nevin back to manage the team in 2024, which started the search for the 23rd manager in its history and the fourth since the Mike Scioscia era (2000-2018).

Since then, the Angels have spoken to, or at least shown an interest in, several candidates for the position.

Former New York Mets manager Buck Showalter has spoken with the team at least twice. Angels coaches Benji Gil and Ray Montgomery have been asked by the team about their interest in the vacancy but neither have formally interviewed nor have been invited to interview, according to several people with knowledge of the team’s managerial search, though unauthorized to speak about it.

Ron Washington, the former Texas Rangers manager and current Atlanta Braves third base coach, had an interview scheduled with the Angels on Tuesday night, according to reports by the Athletic and USA Today.

Gil has interviewed for another vacant managerial position — with the Padres — a person with knowledge of San Diego’s managerial search, though unauthorized to speak on it, said.

Other names have also popped up in rumblings around an industry in which there are four teams, including the Angels, searching for a manager. The Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros are the other teams. Some of the others who have been rumored to be connected to the Angels’ vacancy include former Angels player Darin Erstad and former Angels and current Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel.

As it stands, the Angels’ managerial search has continued to hold up the flow on retaining or hiring new coaches. Aside from those who have already left — hitting coach Marcus Thames, pitching coach Matt Wise and catching coach Drew Butera, who all have been hired by the Chicago White Sox — the Angels have put a hold on figuring out the rest of their coaching staff until a new manager is hired, Minasian said.

Other cuts

Amid the number of injuries the Angels sustained this season, particularly the number of oblique injuries they had, Minasian said they have made changes to their strength and conditioning department. They are in the process of hiring after letting go of head strength and conditioning coach Matthew Tenney and assistant strength and conditioning coach Adam Auer.

Minasian said the changes were made were in effort of trying to make a change as opposed to it being because there was something not being done in the department to prevent some injuries.