The Los Angeles Angels’ manager for the upcoming season will not be Phil Nevin.
Nevin, who has managed the dugout for the past 1 1/2 seasons, has a 2024 contract option that the Angels are refusing, the team revealed on Monday. After Mike Scioscia left the position after 19 years in charge, Los Angeles will be managed by a different person for the first time in six seasons.
In his first major league managing position, Nevin went 119-149, and neither of his clubs made the playoffs. While Arte Moreno, the team’s owner, looked on selling the franchise and ultimately decided against it, he oversaw this season on a one-year contract.
In June 2022, during a 14-game losing skid, Joe Maddon was sacked, and Nevin was elevated to the top position with the Angels. After joining Maddon’s staff as his third base coach in November 2021, Nevin made history as the first native of Orange County to manage the Angels.
Nevin looked to be well-liked by his teammates, considering he was once an exceptional infielder and was selected first overall. He still carries himself like a ballplayer. However, the Angels failed to win for him; following his takeover in 2022, they finished 46-60, and this season they went 73-89, marking the team’s eighth consecutive losing season.
Nevin expressed his pride in the manner the room remained cohesive despite the outcome not being what he had hoped for on Sunday. Not fun at all. Although it wasn’t fun to conclude the way we did, the group is awesome. With the young players and the guys returning, there are a lot of exciting things to come. A bright future.
Nevin became the third major manager fired in four days, behind Buck Showalter of the New York Mets and Gabe Kapler of San Francisco.
In his two seasons as manager of the Angels, Nevin oversaw a team that had to utilize a franchise-record 66 players due to injuries, despite having past AL MVPs Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the roster when healthy.
This season, the Angels showed promise at times, and Moreno was forced to spend on multiple veterans due to their 65-61 record at the trade deadline. Following the deadline, the Angels lost seven straight games, culminating in a 17-game deficit from first place in the AL West.
The Halos finished the season with a 17-38 record, losing key players like Ohtani, Trout, Anthony Rendon, Taylor Ward, and others due to injuries.
General Manager Perry Minasian is reportedly joining the Angels for a fourth season, despite the team not formally confirming it. Minasian will speak to the media on Tuesday, the Angels announced in the news release announcing Nevin’s firing.
The team is enmeshed in the longest active skids in the majors, having gone through eight consecutive losing seasons and nine consecutive non-playoff seasons. Under Minasian, the Angels have never won more than 77 games, despite the fact that the new general manager has occasionally improved their once-abandoned prospect pool, which this season produced a few major league regulars.
After six seasons in Anaheim, Ohtani is a free agency this winter. If Minasian stays, the Angels will have front-office continuity while they try to re-sign him.
The overwhelming favorite to win his second AL MVP award, Ohtani, will only be able to play in 2024 as a designated hitter before attempting to make a comeback from elbow surgery in 2025 to become a pitcher.