The Angels are choosing for continuity at the front office. On Thursday, the Halos announced that general manager Perry Minasian had signed a contract extension that would last until the 2026 season. There is supposedly a club option for 2027.
“Over the last four years, Perry and his baseball operations staff have begun to lay the foundation for a bright future of Angels baseball,” stated owner Arte Moreno in a statement. “We’ve been impressed with Perry’s efforts to fill our big league squad with youthful and exciting talent while also overhauling our player development process. We think that this agreement will allow him to continue his goal of establishing long-term success throughout the Angels organization and winning a championship for our fans.”
Minasian is also quoted in the celebration release: “I am incredibly thankful to Arte and Carole Moreno for their continued trust and support,” he says. “I would also like to thank [Angels president] John Carpino for the tremendous working relationship we have developed over the last four years and I look forward to continuing our plans of bringing the Angels back to being a consistent championship contender.”
Minasian was named general manager of the Angels in November 2020, following the dismissal of Billy Eppler. He had previously worked as a scout for Toronto and an assistant general manager for Atlanta, and his new job with the Halos resulted in a four-year contract. This is the final season of his contract, but the team is pleased enough with his performance to keep him around.
That may sound weird, given that the Angels haven’t been doing particularly well. Despite having two superstars on the roster in Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in recent years, the team hasn’t won a season since 2015, hasn’t made the playoffs since 2014, and has yet to win a playoff game since 2009. They are 54-73 this season, trailing only the White Sox in the American League standings.
It’s debatable how much responsibility Minasian can bear for that, as it doesn’t appear like he’s been allowed much leeway in constructing around those people. According to MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the club hasn’t spent much money since he joined. The four-year, $58 million contract they offered Raisel Iglesias was the largest deal of his career, both in terms of years and guarantees. When Trout arrived, they already had large contracts in place for Anthony Rendon, Albert Pujols, and others, and they didn’t appear to want to add much more to that list. Moreno made it clear that he was reducing wages in 2024.
The organization appears to have a directive against substantial spending in starting pitching, which appears to have originated with ownership and precedes Minasian’s tenure. Things have been relatively quiet since late 2011, when C.J. Wilson signed a five-year, $77.5 million contract. Joe Blanton signed a two-year, $15 million contract at the conclusion of 2012, and it took the club a decade to offer another multi-year deal to a starter. Tyler Anderson signed a three-year, $39 million contract at the end of 2022, which remains relatively modest in terms of rotation investments.
Minasian and his front office appear to have attempted to overcome these limits by drafting players who could be fast tracked to the majors, and they have had some success. The club selected Zach Neto in the first round in 2022, followed by Nolan Schanuel in 2023. Last year, both players were in the major leagues and performing well. Chase Silseth, drafted in the eleventh round in 2021, was pitching in the majors by 2022. Ben Joyce, selected in the third round in 2022, played in the major leagues last year and might possibly be the club’s closer. Christian Moore, selected eighth overall last month, is already thriving in Double-A.
That is not to imply there isn’t anything to criticize in Anaheim. Because they rushed all of their prospects to the majors, the club’s farm system is often regarded as one of the weakest in the league. Baseball America recently ranked them dead last, as did FanGraphs and ESPN, however MLB Pipeline puts them 29th, ahead of just the Astros. Given their recent poor performance, the major league roster clearly lacks depth. There is a case can be made that they have one of the worst long-term prospects of the league’s 30 clubs.
Along with Trout, the roster contains some controllable talent, including Neto, Schanuel, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell, Logan O’Hoppe, and others, all of whom are expected to stay until 2026 or later. They had the opportunity to make some of those players available this summer and begin a significant rebuild, but they chose not to. It’s unclear whether that was a front-office decision or something made by the owners. The low spending in recent years indicates that the future payroll is beginning to clear up. Despite having two large contracts on the books between Trout and Rendon, RosterResource estimates the club’s guarantees at $109 million next year and $89 million by 2026. By 2027, Rendon, Anderson, and Robert Stephenson will be off the books, leaving Trout as the club’s only significant investment.
Moreno has clearly placed some limits on Minasian, but he appears to be pleased with how he has worked within them, so he will keep him around for another couple of years to watch how things progress.
