The Angels Gave Kurt Suzuki One Season and 100 Losses. Then They Declined His Option.
The Los Angeles Angels declined the 2027 club option on manager Kurt Suzuki on Wednesday, ending his tenure after one season and exactly one year to the day after they hired him.
Suzuki was named manager on October 21, 2025. The option was declined on October 21, 2026. In between, the Angels went 62-100 and lost 100 games for the first time in franchise history. Their previous high was 99, in 2024.
The club said the decision was made in coordination with Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, which is in the process of buying the team, and that it will replace the coaching staff as well.
They Fired the Guy They Set Up to Fail
Here is the part the Angels cannot spin. Suzuki had never coached or managed anywhere at the professional level. He caught for 16 seasons, retired in 2022, joined the front office as a special assistant in March 2023, and three years later was handed a big league clubhouse. The Angels made that choice only after talks with Albert Pujols fell apart over years and dollars.
Then they gave him a roster that had lost at least 89 games in each of the previous five seasons, fired the general manager who hired him in June, and agreed to sell the franchise in September.
Interim general manager John Mozeliak said the quiet part out loud in the team’s own statement: “I do not believe our record this year was a true reflection of his abilities as a manager.”
If that is true, and it probably is, the Angels just removed a manager they do not blame for the losing.
The Real Problem Sits Above the Dugout
The next hire will be the sixth Angels manager since Mike Scioscia’s run ended after 2018. Brad Ausmus got one year. Joe Maddon got two and a half before a 12-game losing streak ended it. Phil Nevin got a year and a half. Ron Washington went on medical leave in June 2025 and never came back, with Ray Montgomery finishing that season on an interim basis. Suzuki got 162 games.
The general manager chair has been just as busy: Jerry Dipoto, Billy Eppler, Perry Minasian, Mozeliak on an interim basis, and now a search.
Meanwhile the Angels have not reached the postseason since 2014 and have not had a winning season since 2015. That is 12 straight years out of October, the longest active playoff drought in baseball, and 11 straight losing seasons. Mike Trout turned in his healthiest year since 2016 with 142 games played, a .242/.382/.421 line and 22 home runs. He is signed through 2030 and has still never won a postseason game.
What Happens Next
Mozeliak said the Angels will hire a permanent general manager first and let that person choose the manager. His own contract expires in December. Stan Kroenke agreed in September to buy the club from Arte Moreno at a record $4 billion valuation and is expected to take control in early 2027.
So the order is new owner, then new front office, then new manager. The Angels are one of three open jobs in the American League West alongside Houston and Seattle, and they are the least appealing of the three.
Suzuki has been offered his old special assistant role back and had not decided whether to take it. He told the Orange County Register, “I know when leadership changes, they bring in their people that they want.” He also said, “It is what it is.”
He is being more gracious than the situation deserves. The Angels handed a first-time manager the worst job in the sport, let him absorb 100 losses, and moved on before the new owner had even closed the sale. The manager was never the thing that needed fixing.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
