The Angels named Braves Senior VP/Baseball Operations & Assistant GM Perry Minasian GM, and his task "will not be easy," according to Maria Torres of the L.A. TIMES. After they fired former GM Billy Eppler at the end of the season, Angels President John Carpino acknowledged that the team's decision-makers "needed to reevaluate their approach." Carpino said, "We're not doing it the right way. ... Something is not right in our organization. We have to look at it." Minasian has spent "more than 30 years in the sport." The team had been "expected to hire a candidate with experience running a team," but they "chose to put their faith in potential." Torres: "It isn't the first time." The Angels also did so with their three previous GM hires under Owner Arte Moreno. They named a first-timer "two of the previous three occasions the job was open" (L.A. TIMES, 11/13). The TIMES' Torres in a separate piece writes Minasian "may not be the baseball operations leader fans expected their long-suffering team to hire," but he could be the exec who "reverses the course of a team that has 417-453 record since its last postseason appearance" in '14. Minasian has long been Braves Exec VP & GM Alex Anthopoulos' "right-hand man" (L.A. TIMES, 11/13).
THE NEW GUY: Minasian said Moreno “loves the game” of baseball and “he’s got a vision.” As a new GM coming in, Minasian is looking forward to “picking everyone’s brain” in the organization and “seeing where our strengths are, where our deficiencies are and taking all the opinions and coming up with a plan that we can execute.” When asked if he planned on jumping into the free agent market early and spending, Minasian said it “depends on the situation and that comes from feel.” Minasian: “Obviously, it has to be the right value but if there’s a player in the near future that makes sense for this organization and can help us win games, there’s no reason why we can’t jump early" (“The SportsLodge,” KLAA-AM, 11/12).
RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB: MLB Network's Chris Russo said the hiring is a “good move” because Anthopoulos “has done a superb job” in Atlanta (“High Heat,” MLB Network, 11/12). MLB Network’s Chris Rose noted the Angels “have never been shy about spending in the free agent market” and if you are a fan, “you don’t want your team to just spend." Rose: "You want them to make wise decisions when it comes to their dollars.” MLB Network's Kevin Millar said Moreno “wants to win, he’s one of the great owners out there that spends money” (“Intentional Talk,” MLB Network, 11/12).
NOT INTERESTED: THE ATHLETIC's Ken Rosenthal noted the Angels "reached out to some of the game's top current executives, only to be rebuffed." Sources said that Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti, Rays Senior VP/Baseball Operations & GM Erik Neander and A's GM David Forst "were among the execs in whom the Angels showed interest." The lack of availability of certain candidates to the Angels "do not mean those candidates will be off-limits to other clubs." The Rays said that they "would not allow" Neander to interview. The Rays "do not want to lose their top executive and Neander does not wish to leave the organization." Antonetti and Forst are in "slightly different positions." Both are "happy in their current jobs, and had personal reasons for not wanting to pursue the Angels' opening" (THEATHLETIC.com, 11/12).
