Ranking 3 recently-fired managers who could be Angels' Ron Washington replacement

Despite Albert Pujols being the heavy favorite to become the next Angels manager, the organization should not handicap themselves by not interviewing other candidates. Pujols likely has some solid managerial chops, but it's not like he has the resumé of some of the free agent skippers.

The Minnesota Twins fired Rocco Baldelli, the San Francisco Giants fired Bob Melvin and the Texas Rangers and Bruce Bochy mutually agreed to part ways. All three are probably better options than Pujols (and Torii Hunter Sr.) as the team's manager given their track records. So, who would be the best fit of the three?

Ranking 3 recently-fired managers who could be Angels' Ron Washington replacement

1. Bruce Bochy

The Texas Rangers did not dismiss Bochy because of performance-related reasons. Or, if they did, that was as unjust of a firing in baseball as there has been in many years.

Bochy's 2025 season was quite the accomplishment if you think about it. They were in the Wild Card race, but the season basically ended after season-ending injuries to Corey Seager, Nathan Eovaldi and Marcus Semien. The Rangers were consistently starting non-hyped, non-top prospect rookies like Michael Helman, Alejandro Osuna and Cody Freeman.

The Rangers had a banged up roster and players who reportedly were not bringing a whole lot of energy into the clubhouse on a daily basis. Some may point to Bochy's age and say the manager needs to bring that clubhouse fire, but truly that role lies with the players rather than the coaches. The Rangers lacked that, but the Angels do not. The Angels are far hungrier for success than the Rangers by all accounts.

Bochy would be a fine successor for Washington, bringing on the 4X World Series winning manager checks all the boxes that Washington did when Arte Moreno brought him on before the 2024 season.

2. Rocco Baldelli

Baldelli definitely has a case for being above Bochy on this list. Baldelli has more of a knack for doing more with less with Bochy, which Ron Washington will tell you is the key element to managing the Los Angeles Angels.

Baldelli's calling card is managing a team that can hit a lot of home runs and getting the most out of fringe-MLB players. The Minnesota Twins and LA Angels have a lot in common as organizations, given the instability from the ownership group and lack of marquee talent on the roster, but Baldelli has consistently provided Twins fans with some semblance of competence over the years.

Baldelli is the type of manager the Angels have not wanted in the past few years, but he has an advantage of both being a younger and proven candidate that few others have.

3. Bob Melvin

Hiring Melvin is not as flashy as bringing in either Bochy or Baldelli, but he provides his teams with a boost to their floor at the very least. Melvin made his bones with the Oakland Athletics, but also was able to show that he can at least prop up teams with expectations like the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

Melvin is not necessarily a better option than Pujols, unlike Bochy and Baldelli, but bringing him on as manager is not the worst idea in the world.

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