Angels sudden front office shakeup before Opening Day may be first domino

It's widely expected that front office changes will take place for the Los Angeles Angels next offseason, considering general manager Perry Minasian is operating on an expiring contract. That was the premise of manager Kurt Suzuki signing a one-year deal, and it feels like there will be new faces in charge after this season. One of those changes has already taken place, with team president John Carpino announcing his retirement.

The Angels have announced that Molly Jolly (yes, that is her real name) will be replacing Carpino.

Jolly will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Angels moving forward, and chances are she will get the final say in Minasian's future with the team. Though considering it's an internal hire, it's safe to assume that Arte Moreno will continue to influence the organization's decisions. Moreno's recent comments have only confirmed how problematic that reality is.

John Carpino retiring is a start, but the Angels' front office still needs input from outside the organization

There certainly was a time when Carpino was among the leading executives in baseball. The Angels were hosting All-Star games, were a regular contender, had a healthy television contract, and were often big players in free agency. The problem is that the game has advanced past the previous models that created that success for the Angels, and Carpino and Co. have refused to adapt. It also doesn't help that when the Angels are making headlines, it isn't exactly for the right reasons.

The Angels are in desperate need of a new voice. That's not to discredit Jolly, but her promotion won't exactly help the issues that have surrounded the organization. Moreno and those underneath him have run the organization into the ground. In other words, it's a new name acting as the team's president, but there's very little reason to expect much to change.

As long as Moreno has the final say in the organization, there's not going to be a light at the other side of the tunnel. Even if Minasian isn't retained next offseason and Suzuki proves to be one-and-done, there's nothing to suggest that the Angels are going to get their next hires correct. Especially when Moreno has already gone on record in saying that winning may not be the priority.