The Los Angeles Angels made a major shakeup to their front office on Friday, firing general manager Perry Minasian.
John Mozeliak, former president of baseball operations for the St. Louis Cardinals, has been named baseball operations consultant and will serve as interim general manager for Los Angeles.
Mozeliak will oversee the day-to-day operations while "refining a baseball operations strategy." The 57-year-old will also assist in hiring the team's next GM.
Minasian was named the Angels GM in November 2020, and the club extended his contract midway through the 2024 season. This year marked the last season of his pact.
Despite Minasian's lengthy tenure, Los Angeles failed to achieve much success. The Angels were mired in a six-year playoff drought before Minasian took over, and the club didn't record a winning season in any of his five full seasons at the helm. Entering Friday with the third-worst record (34-48) in MLB, L.A. finished last in each of the previous two campaigns.
The Angels' 11-year playoff drought is the longest active streak in MLB, despite Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani combining to capture five AL MVP awards over that span.
"Perry has been a valued leader who worked tirelessly over the last six years to strengthen our baseball operations department," team president Molly Jolly said in a statement.
Mozeliak's appointment comes as a surprise. He stepped down from the Cardinals last offseason after almost two decades leading that front office and was replaced by Chaim Bloom.
Over 19 seasons under Mozeliak, the Cardinals won the 2011 World Series, earned 10 postseason appearances, and six NL Central titles. However, St. Louis failed to reach the playoffs in each of his final three years in charge and planned to enter a rebuild this season under Bloom.
"John is one of the most accomplished and respected baseball executives with a proven track record of building a winning organization," Jolly said. "For three decades, he constructed one of baseball's most respected organizations."
Los Angeles enters this offseason with considerable payroll coming off the books. Mike Trout and Yusei Kikuchi are the only players with guaranteed contracts moving forward.
