Los Angeles Angels split with manager Phil Nevin after 2 seasons
Phil Nevin replaced Joe Maddon on an interim basis last year before he was given a one-year contract for this season
The Los Angeles Angels are splitting with manager Phil Nevin.
The Angels opted not to pick up the option on Nevin’s contract for next year, the team announced Monday. Nevin had been leading the club for less than two seasons and finished with a 119-149 record. The club missed the playoffs under his watch both seasons and finished fourth in the AL West this year.
The Angels will now search for a new manager for next season. Whomever the club lands on will be their fifth in the past seven seasons. General manager Perry Minasian is reportedly set to return for a fourth season.
Nevin was hired by the Angels as a third-base coach before the 2022 campaign, and he was promoted to interim manager after the Angels fired Joe Maddon early last season. Maddon was fired in the middle of his third season amid a 14-game losing skid.
Nevin went 46-60 the rest of the way last year and got the club to a third-place finish in the AL West. Nevin was then offered a one-year deal to return as the Angels’ manager for a full season this year.
Despite receiving that chance and having stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on his roster, Nevin couldn’t make it work. The Angels went 73-89 this season and missed the playoffs for a ninth straight campaign. The team essentially called it quits in late August and waived five players — including starting pitcher Lucas Giolito and outfielder Hunter Renfroe — after they fell out of the playoff race.
Ohtani, despite his latest UCL injury, is set to be a free agent this coming offseason. Trout was shut down early after his wrist injury. The team is reportedly open to trading him, too.
The Angels are one of three teams in Major League Baseball with a managerial job open, following Gabe Kapler's departure in San Francisco and the Mets' moving on from Buck Showalter, though more positions are expected to open up in the coming days. Whoever replaces Nevin will be tasked with rebuilding the franchise — with or without Ohtani and Trout — and getting the team back into contention. Based on how things have gone in Anaheim the past several seasons, that’s not going to be easy.
