The Los Angeles Angels will not pick up the option on manager Ron Washington’s contract, the 73-year-old told The Athletic on Tuesday. Washington said he was told the decision was not related to his health; rather, it was based on the team’s performance.
Before he was sidelined in June so he could undergo quadruple bypass heart surgery, which kept him out of the dugout for the remainder of the 2025 campaign, Washington’s club began the year by defying expectations despite a roster that was not equipped to win.
“You know, when you’re a competitor, and you’re in charge, none of that stuff comes into play,” Washington said. “Sometimes you’ve got to make chicken salad out of chicken s—.”
The Angels struggled on the field during the first year of Washington’s tenure, posting a franchise-worst 63-99 record in 2024. However, they showed substantial improvement under his watch in 2025, putting up a 36-38 record before his procedure.
The team went on to finish 72-90 with interim manager Ray Montgomery at the helm. The Angels also will not retain Montgomery, according to a team source, though he could remain in the organization in a different capacity.
The choice to move on from Washington was not rooted in concern over his health, Washington was told by general manager Perry Minasian.
“I have to accept that,” said Washington, who noted he never got the chance to have a conversation with Angels owner Arte Moreno. “I can’t go back to argue with them to try and tell them different when they’ve made a decision. … We were starting to perform better.”
Minasian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Though it is unclear if Minasian will return, the expectation around the organization is that he will stay on for the final year of the two-year contract extension he received in August 2024. Minasian has been calling coaches, per team sources, and notifying them that the new manager will make their own coaching hires, while making no promises that the current coaches will return. It is unclear, however, if any coach has been let go outright.
The Angels have struggled to find consistency at the managerial position and on the coaching staffs since Mike Scioscia’s 19-year tenure ended in 2018. Since then, Brad Ausmus, Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin, Washington and Montgomery have held the manager’s chair, with coaches cycling in and out each time a change was made.
Minasian, however, has remained in the GM role for five years and could be entering his sixth next season. His teams have compiled a ghastly 358-434 record, never finishing better than 77-85 during his tenure. He has not addressed the media in more than a month, and it’s unclear when he’ll conduct an end-of-season news conference. It is expected to take place this week.
It’s also unclear what the criteria will be in determining the next manager or if any candidates are lined up.
Washington said he’d like to continue managing elsewhere but recognized that teams might be wary of his age. He plans to hopefully join someone’s coaching staff but is unaware of which clubs might be interested and what roles might be available.
When he took over the Angels in November 2023, his goal was to chase down the American League West and turn the Angels into contenders again. Two years later, that never materialized. But the baseball lifer hopes he left his imprint on the team.
“I think I had the team going in the right direction — I really did,” Washington said. “And it was just too bad that my health came into play. There’s nothing that I can do about that.
“It was my team. I think the team took on my personality. We were definitely showing that. In this business, this is the kind of stuff that happens to you. When everything goes not the way people wanted, you take the blame for it. And I’m OK.”
(Photo: David Butler II / Imagn Images)