Ray Montgomery cemented his interim manager status after Angels' disastrous month

Ray Montgomery is a no-nonsense, fiery personality who is incredibly detail-oriented, plus knows everything about opposing players given his extensive background in scouting. After the season, the Los Angeles Angels absolutely need to return him to their big league coaching staff if/when they decide they will not to take the interim manager tag off his job title. Montgomery is an excellent employee for an organization to have, but being a big league manager is putting him out over his skis a bit.

Ray Montgomery cemented his interim manager status after Angels' disastrous month

When Montgomery took over as the Angels' manager when Ron Washington needed to take a leave of absence due to his health, it was a tryout for him like it was once for Phil Nevin. It's not going well. The Angels are 8-13 in August after deciding to not sell off assets at the trade deadline. Montgomery's team improbably swept the Los Angeles Dodgers, then failed miserably to capitalize on that momentum -- they lost back-to-back series against the A's and Reds, and were just swept by the Cubs. The Angels are 8.5 games back of the Mariners and 4 back of the Rangers in the standings, despite both of their division rivals struggling mightily of late.

The Angels will have plenty of opportunities to upgrade their managerial spot. First and foremost, the Angels have an option on Ron Washington's contract that they could use to bring him back for his third season as manager. Obviously, his health and well-being take precedent over returning to baseball. So, both Washington and the Angels need to take that into account before having the conversation of him returning to his post. The likely scenario is the Angels do not pick up that option.

The Angels employ Torii Hunter as a special assistant to Perry Minasian and Albert Pujols thanks to a personal services clause in his previous Angels contract -- both of whom are willing and able to take over as a manager. Adding one of those former players as the team's manager, plus keeping Montgomery to help the transition, seems like an ideal scenario for next season and beyond.

An external candidate to take over as the Angels' manager absolutely should be considered. Should the Angels examine guys like Aaron Boone, Brian Snitker, Bob Melvin or Kevin Cash if they are relieved of their duties from their respective teams? Absolutely they should! All four of those potential candidates have myriad examples of success as managers, and would be the most exciting hire the Angels' have made since they brought in Joe Maddon for the 2020 season.

It's unfair to blame Montgomery fully for the Angels' season going into the dumpster. The Angels have tanked in August time-and-time again, and expecting an interim manager to right that ship for a seemingly cursed organization is a tall, tall task. However, it's clear that the Angels need to bring in a ringer to help them end their playoff drought next season.

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