Angels' former manager finds new home for 2026 with Giants

The Angels started their offseason off with big decisions to be made. General manager Perry Minasian, manager Ron Washington, and interim manager Ray Montgomery were all on the chopping block with Arte Moreno controlling their future. Ultimately, Washington was let go while Minasian stayed in his role. Montgomery was offered a front office role with the organization, but it remained unclear whether he would accept that or not.

The Angels went about their offseason by signing Kurt Suzuki as manager for one season (conveniently matching the timing of Minasian's contract) and filled out his coaching staff with a mix of young exciting coaches and proven veterans. Up the coast, the San Francisco Giants were undergoing a similar maneuver after hiring Tony Vitello as manager. Vitello had no MLB coaching experience but found incredible success at the University of Tennesee. The team had a similar need to surround Vitello with veterans on his staff, and looked down the I-5 to Anaheim for help.

Giants bring in Ron Washington after Angels' departure

When Ron Washington left the Angels, the team maintained that the decision was entirely performance based. However, Washington missed a majority of the 2025 campaign due to health issues, which was later unvieled to have been a quadruple bypass surgery. Washington is 73-years old, and the lifestyle of an MLB manager is a grueling one. Washington never found success on the field with the Angels either, but there were questions about his future in the league given his health.

Nevertheless, the Giants have called onto the longtime MLB coach for help in 2026. Ron Washington has reportedly agreed to a deal to serve as the infield coach for the San Francisco Giants, focusing on the area of the game that made his career. While Washington's infield expertise did not save the Angels' defensive stats in 2025, there is a lot of evidence that he is one of the better gurus when it comes to defense in the big leagues.

Similar to the Angels' nabbing a veteran pitching coach in Mike Maddux, Washington can turn the Giants' defense into a rock solid group. Matt Chapman and Willy Adames graded out as above-average defensive players in the infield, but every other member of the team's infield from 2025 was either average of below average defensively.

Washington will look to turn that around, and him being around the game of baseball is a good thing. He'll be someone that Vitello can lean on as well, which is an invaluable asset for the Giants as they enter a new era.