Angels hire former Twins All-Star Kurt Suzuki as manager
The Los Angeles Angels have hired former Twins All-Star catcher Kurt Suzuki as the team's manager, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. Suzuki was previously rumored as a candidate for the Minnesota Twins' and San Francisco Giants' managerial openings, but he will instead remain with the Angels, where he has worked as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian since retiring from playing in 2022.
Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter were previously rumored to be candidates to fill the Angels' manager job, but it was announced yesterday that neither would receive the role. Instead, Suzuki will bring his leadership skills, which he picked up from his long catching career, to the Angels' clubhouse.
Suzuki, 42, finished his playing career by playing two seasons (2021-22) with the Angels. Before that, the catcher spent seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics, four seasons with the Washington Nationals, three seasons with the Minnesota Twins and two seasons with the Atlanta Braves. Suzuki won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019 and made the American League All-Star Team as a member of the Twins in 2014.
The Angels finished the 2025 season last in the American League West with a 72-90 win-loss record, third-worst in the American League behind the Minnesota Twins (70-92) and Chicago White Sox (60-102). Ron Washington began the season as the Angels' manager, but had to step down due to health concerns.
Suzuki will have a tough task as Los Angeles' new manager. The team has the longest playoff drought in MLB, having not made a postseason appearance since 2014. Regardless of the pressure that comes with managing the team with the longest playoff drought, Suzuki has the potential to lead the Angels to a playoff run if the front office makes the right offseason moves, especially with plenty of promising young stars such as Zach Neto and Christian Moore, and one of the greatest players of all time in Mike Trout already on the roster. Still, history tells us it's unlikely Los Angeles will be a playoff team anytime soon. Suzuki should still be thrilled about this new opportunity, especially since the Angels are known to be big spenders despite their recent lack of success.