OC Register: Angels GM Perry Minasian looking for a manager who can ‘command a room’

[AngelsWin.com]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Although Perry Minasian was careful not to provide much information on where he stands in the search for the Angels’ next manager, he did give an indication of what he sees as most important.

The Angels general manager said he’s looking for a manager with a “presence,” who can “command a room.”

“There are certain people that have earned different things,” Minasian said at the GM Meetings on Tuesday. “Whether it be through their coaching style, whether it be through their playing style, but when they walk in the room, you know they’re there. When they speak, people listen. That’s something that we’re trying to identify.”

Minasian used the example of Bruce Bochy, who took over in his first year as manager of the Texas Rangers and changed the atmosphere.

“You see him walk through the door and what he did for that club doesn’t go unnoticed,” Minasian said. “So we’re looking for that type of presence. It’s going to be hard to find, because (Bochy) is one of the best. But we’re pretty excited with who we’ve talked to.”

Minasian, however, wouldn’t go any farther than that. He would not even identify the number of candidates they have interviewed, or give a specific timeline for when he hoped to make a decision. It could happen this week, or maybe not.

“You’d like to have everything in place as soon as possible,” Minasian said. “With that being said, we want to make the right decision. It’s such an important decision that I don’t take lightly. There’s a certain relationship you have with a manager. It’s almost like a marriage. It’s you and the manager and you go through some good times and you go through some tough times. Seasons are up and down. And you have to have somebody with you that you can have conversations with, that can be honest with you.”

Longtime manager Buck Showalter, who was fired last month as the New York Mets manager, is the most often discussed candidate. He has a relationship with Minasian from their days with the Texas Rangers.

Former major league managers Ron Washington and Ron Roenicke have also been reported as candidates, as well as Angels coaches Ray Montgomery and Benji Gil and former Angels players Darin Erstad and Torii Hunter.

Minasian said that the type of presence he’s seeking doesn’t necessarily include previous major league managing experience.

“It’s nice to have experience in anything to a certain extent, but that’s not the end all, be all,” Minasian said. “We’re trying to find the right person. And I think we’ve seen managers have success that hadn’t managed before.”

WHAT ABOUT OHTANI?

Unsurprisingly, Minasian declined to give any specifics about the Angels’ dealings with Shohei Ohtani, who officially became a free agent last week. Minasian said repeatedly that he would not talk about any negotiations with any player.

“He’s a great player,” Minasian said. “I know that there’s going to be a lot of attention on it and I understand why. Great player. We’ll see how the offseason develops. We’ve got our plan, and we’re going to try and execute that plan and see where everything goes.”

The American League general managers were available to the media on Tuesday and the others were equally careful about making any statements about Ohtani.

Presumably, the Ohtani situation could hold up the offseason for teams because of the amount of money he’s likely to get. Minasian said he didn’t think a wait for Ohtani would cause a problem for the Angels, though.

“You don’t base an offseason on one single player,” Minasian said. “You have to have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, and so on and so forth. So we’re going to work like we always do. We’re gonna be aggressive. We’re gonna have a lot of conversations and just see where everything goes.”

STAFF CHANGE

After the Angels’ season was derailed by injuries, Minasian said they decided to replace strength and conditioning coaches Matt Tenney and Adam Auer. They are currently looking for their replacements.

Although Minasian said many of the injuries were unavoidable, like utility man Gio Urshela breaking his hip, others might have been preventable.

“We did have a large number of obliques and other things that we feel like there’s a possibility we can address those,” Minasian said. “Maybe warm up a little different, do some things from an activation standpoint before games, do some things after games from a recovery standpoint. Hopefully, we can make some adjustments to see those IL numbers decline.”

NOTES

The Angels still don’t know if they finished above the luxury tax threshold, Minasian said. They placed six players on waivers last August to try to clear enough salary to get under the line, but only five were claimed, leaving them to spend the final month watching every dollar. Minasian said they can still make roster plans without knowing. “I think you have to plan both ways,” he said. …

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Minasian said the Angels will welcome back catcher Max Stassi, who is preparing to return to action in 2024 after missing the 2023 season while dealing with his son’s medical challenges. The baby was born three months prematurely in April. “When you have a veteran catcher that can control a pitching staff like he can, that’s huge,” Minasian said. “We were very young there last year.” Rookie Logan O’Hoppe began the season as the starting catcher before he missed four months with an injury. Matt Thaiss and Chad Wallach then handled the duties while O’Hoppe was out. …

Minasian confirmed that pitching coach Matt Wise, hitting coach Marcus Thames and catching coach Drew Butera have all left the organization. Coincidentally, each went to the Chicago White Sox. Minasian said the other coaches have been told that decisions on their roles are “on hold” until they have a manager. …

The Angels brought Dom Chiti back to the organization as one of the minor league pitching coordinators because Minasian said the Angels “needed to change” their minor league pitching program. Minasian said Chiti “has a history of developing young pitching,” including his time with the Atlanta Braves. Minasian said any decisions on the major league pitching program would be made after they have a manager and a new pitching coach.

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[Swordsman78]

Taylor Swift has entered the chat.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Ron Washington has entered the building...

[Angel Oracle]

Good riddance to Tenney and Auer!

Also take Doug White Hezel with them!

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Is the guy from Major League around?  I always admired Lou for not diving behind a chair when he was in his underwear and the owner came in. 

[Blarg]

29 minutes ago, The Ghost of Bob Starr said:

Is the guy from Major League around?  I always admired Lou for not diving behind a chair when he was in his underwear and the owner came in. 

Bob, I hate to tell you but Lou is dead. And the guy in the movie is as well. 

[Deek]

I've ALWAYS loved me some Ersty - with his grit, fire, and red-ass approach...

 

But I can't help but laugh at the thought of him enduring and answering inane questions from reporters...

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

2 hours ago, Blarg said:

Bob, I hate to tell you but Lou is dead. And the guy in the movie is as well. 

Nuts. 

[khouse]

Um...found this & thought I'd share. As I watched it...I kinda got the feeling that maybe the reports of Arte keeping things to himself could indeed be true. As the vibe from Perry...seemingly, is that of a guy who's about to be whacked but doesn't know when it's coming...

https://www.mlb.com/angels/video/perry-minasian-on-angels-future?t=t108-default-vtp

[Docwaukee]

17 minutes ago, khouse said:

Um...found this & thought I'd share. As I watched it...I kinda got the feeling that maybe the reports of Arte keeping things to himself could indeed be true. As the vibe from Perry...seemingly, is that of a guy who's about to be whacked but doesn't know when it's coming...

https://www.mlb.com/angels/video/perry-minasian-on-angels-future?t=t108-default-vtp

I think one of the things allowing Perry to keep his job is the perceived/real volatility of the Angels front office and in some ways it represents Arte's acknowledgement of that.  They essentially cleaned house otherwise which tells us one of two things.  Perry gets a clean slate to start fresh with guys of his choosing or they took away all of Perry's friends and are going to force him to execute with a lot less autonomy.  

I have a pretty strong opinion that it's the latter but who knows.  

I know this is essentially ringing the dinner bell for certain poster here, but Perry citing the need for what amounts to leadership and charisma kinda tells you what he felt was missing from last year.  

[BTH]

35 minutes ago, khouse said:

Um...found this & thought I'd share. As I watched it...I kinda got the feeling that maybe the reports of Arte keeping things to himself could indeed be true. As the vibe from Perry...seemingly, is that of a guy who's about to be whacked but doesn't know when it's coming...

https://www.mlb.com/angels/video/perry-minasian-on-angels-future?t=t108-default-vtp

I watched it but I didn’t get that sense.

[khouse]

5 hours ago, BTH said:

I watched it but I didn’t get that sense.

Well...my take that Perry looks ill at-ease must have been completely wrong then. So, in the future...should I/everyone just check with you before we post?

[Stradling]

54 minutes ago, khouse said:

Well...my take that Perry looks ill at-ease must have been completely wrong then. So, in the future...should I/everyone just check with you before we post?

No but two people can look at something or read something and come up with two different opinions. You posted something on a public forum and someone viewed it different, that’s normal. 

[khouse]

44 minutes ago, Stradling said:

No but two people can look at something or read something and come up with two different opinions. You posted something on a public forum and someone viewed it different, that’s normal. 

Yeah...almost like the entire point of my response. Just not a fan of contrarian posts that I find/feel to be dismissive...

[Stradling]

8 minutes ago, khouse said:

Yeah...almost like the entire point of my response...

Oh so you were being serious?  You were really asking him for permission to post. 

[T.G.]

Players with moxie. Check.

Manager who can command the room. Check.

Easy, peasy.

[totdprods]

Kinda thinking/hoping it’s Ron Washington.

Also kind of crazy to think there’s a decent chance next winter is the exact same thing again. New FO, new coaches, presuming that Perry’s indeed on last year of his contract. If they don’t make the playoffs and/or Arte sells, it’s another year of turnover.

[Stradling]

54 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Kinda thinking/hoping it’s Ron Washington.

Also kind of crazy to think there’s a decent chance next winter is the exact same thing again. New FO, new coaches, presuming that Perry’s indeed on last year of his contract. If they don’t make the playoffs and/or Arte sells, it’s another year of turnover.

If they hire Washington or Buck then they won’t be changing managers and coaching staff next year, maybe the following. 

[totdprods]

10 minutes ago, Stradling said:

If they hire Washington or Buck then they won’t be changing managers and coaching staff next year, maybe the following. 

But if they hire Gil or Montgomery or one of former Angels it could be right back to turnover, especially if Perry is gone after this year.

I have a feeling it’s going to be Ron or Buck, and the Halos are gonna continue spending and going for it with or without Ohtani next year and Arte isn’t going to immediately sell…but it also wouldn’t surprise me if they go with a cheap rookie former Angel, let the Ohtani decision play out, and then Arte decides this is his last year and the whole org starts getting a clean slate after 2024.

Edited November 8, 2023 by totdprods

[Angels 1961]

What kind of deal would Buck and Washington want. Is it a 3 year deal? Would Gil, Tori get fewer years?

[BTH]

3 hours ago, khouse said:

Well...my take that Perry looks ill at-ease must have been completely wrong then. So, in the future...should I/everyone just check with you before we post?

I was just expressing my opinion, just like you were.

2 hours ago, khouse said:

Yeah...almost like the entire point of my response. Just not a fan of contrarian posts that I find/feel to be dismissive...

Wasn’t trying to be contrarian or dismissive.

I just interpreted things differently than you did. Doesn’t mean you’re wrong and it doesn’t mean I’m right.

[BTH]

12 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

What kind of deal would Buck and Washington want. Is it a 3 year deal? Would Gil, Tori get fewer years?

Probably 3 years for Buck/Washington.

Same might go for Torii, since they’d have to lure him out of retirement.

Gil might only be like 2 with an option.

[T.G.]

The one thing that always cracks me up is when someone says (and Minasian said this), so and so (Trout in this case) knows his body.  No kidding...

In my opinion, Minasian gave standard answers, as would be expected with anyone in his position.

[Swordsman78]

11 hours ago, Docwaukee said:

I think one of the things allowing Perry to keep his job is the perceived/real volatility of the Angels front office and in some ways it represents Arte's acknowledgement of that.  They essentially cleaned house otherwise which tells us one of two things.  Perry gets a clean slate to start fresh with guys of his choosing or they took away all of Perry's friends and are going to force him to execute with a lot less autonomy.  

I have a pretty strong opinion that it's the latter but who knows.  

I know this is essentially ringing the dinner bell for certain poster here, but Perry citing the need for what amounts to leadership and charisma kinda tells you what he felt was missing from last year.  

I don't agree with that at all.

No one over the past 2 years complained about the Angels manager not having charisma or leadership.

You know who doesn't have charisma or leadership?   It's Perry.

The only lack of leadership on the Angels the past 18 months was from the players.

 

[Swordsman78]

11 hours ago, BTH said:

I watched it but I didn’t get that sense.

Not surprising.