Angels’ GM search just got significantly more complicated after Astros’ front office purge

The Los Angeles Angels have some uncertainty on exactly what their front office will look like going forward, and the Astros added to that uncertainty by firing general manager Dana Brown recently. There has been a lot of front office turnover in the American League West this season which shouldn't be surprising given how bad the division has been this year collectively. The A’s moved on from David Forst, the Angels moved on from Perry Minasian, and now the Astros have shaken things up. That means all three teams could be competing for the same candidates in the front office which might make it harder for the Angels to land top talent.

However, it should be noted that the Angels do have a leg up on those teams, because they’ve already had John Mozeliak come into the fold and shake things up. While it’s not a certainty that he will stay on in some sort of long-term capacity, it would come as a surprise if he did not.

Mozeliak has been given the authority to shake things up both with decisions made during the MLB Draft and decisions made at the trade deadline so to let him do all of that and set a vision for the future only to walk away would be incredibly odd and would say a lot about potential dysfunction in the Angels organization if Mozeliak ends up getting scared away.

If Mozeliak were to stay on as president of baseball operations and then hired a GM under him, that could put them at a slight disadvantage, since the top talent available would obviously like to take a job where they are the top dog and in charge of baseball operations. That could limit the Angels to promising younger executives who are maybe a bit lighter on experience but are willing to serve under an old hand like Mozeliak who has been there and done that in all his years with the Cardinals.

Angels should target younger executives for their GM role if John Mozeliak is sticking around

Limiting the talent pool is never a great thing, but there could be some potential candidates who are currently an assistant general manager with other organizations who are due for a promotion.

Eve Rosenbaum, an assistant general manager for the Baltimore Orioles could be an interesting pick. Maybe someone like assistant GM Matt Kleine could also be a good option since the Brewers are known for having a very smart and capable front office. A good bet might be Moisés Rodríguez, who is an assistant GM and has been with the St. Louis Cardinals since 2007 which means he has a lot of familiarity with Mozeliak.

It’s certainly not great that there are so many executive openings in the AL West because it’s easy for prospective candidates to look at such a weak division and think they can help change a team’s fortunes. It may hurt the Angels in their search, but if Mozeliak stays aboard, that could attract some younger talent looking to climb the ladder and take some more responsibility. 

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