Angels’ decision to move on from Ron Washington going to be immediately put to the test

Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington had to step away from skipper duties last season and he has now landed a job with the Giants as an infield coach. Angels fans are about to see whether Washington's absence will really make an impact on the team's defense.

Whether it is the movie Moneyball or just Washington's legend at this point, everyone knows that the veteran coach is one of the best infield coaches around. He pushed a writer from The Athletic as hard as he would a big-leaguer and showed just how intense his infield drills can be.

Angels' defense is going to be put to the test without Ron Washington

Even with Washington as the team's manager in the first few months of the 2025 season the defense struggled. By the end of the year, the Angels were one of the worst big league teams when it came to fielding percentage so there is certainly a lot of room for improvement.

As of right now, there is probably more concern about outfield defense than there is in the infield. Currently the best option to play center field on the roster is Josh Lowe which is not a great situation to be in with spring training just a few weeks away. Maybe a superior option will appear in camp or Lowe will prove to be decent in the role with more reps out there, but it is not ideal to enter camp without a true center fielder.

When looking at qualified fielders from last season, the Angels were one of the worst teams when it came to Outs Above Average. Zach Neto and Yoán Moncada comprised arguably the worst defensive left side of the infield in baseball and there is not a clear path to the unit getting any better in 2026.

Maybe this is less a case of Washington coming up short and has more to do with the talent on the field. Washington is an infield guru, but there may be some players who are simply beyond saving even for him.

No matter what, new manager Kurt Suzuki will have his work cut out for him. Nothing drives a manager crazier than when a team kicks the ball around and makes careless errors so expect Suzuki to really drill home the importance of sound defense in spring training. Washington's absence will certainly be felt, but after last season the only place to go is up for LA's defense.