Angels hire Ron Washington as new manager: Braves coach heads to club trying to rebound after Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Angels have hired veteran coach Ron Washington as their new manager, the team announced Wednesday.

Washington, 71, previously served as a manager for eight seasons at the helm of the Texas Rangers. He won 52.1% of his regular season contests and led the Rangers to an 18-16 postseason record that included two American League pennants. Washington resigned during the 2014 season because of what was described as “personal issues.” 

“While we don’t want to touch on any of the specifics,” then-Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told USA Today, “Ron has given us permission to say this is not drug related.”

Washington has served as the Atlanta Braves’ third-base coach since 2017. He’s built a reputation for being one of the best infield defense teachers in the business, dating back to his days as a member of the Oakland Athletics coaching staff. Washington, of course, also appeared in parts of 10 big-league seasons as a player. He batted .261/.292/.368 (79 OPS+) while suiting up for the Minnesota Twins and four other organizations. 

The Angels opted against bringing back Phil Nevin at the conclusion of the season. Since then, the Angels had considered a variety of candidates before deciding on Washington, including former New York Mets skipper Buck Showalter and Angels coach Benji Gil.

The Angels’ job wasn’t considered to be an attractive position. Our Dayn Perry ranked it as the least desirable of the remaining openings. Perry noted that the Angels are now on their fifth manager since the 2018 season, and the combination of Shohei Ohtani’s departure and a poor farm system could leave them threatening the 100-loss mark in 2024.