ANAHEIM, Calif. — Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian met with his players early Friday afternoon and informed them that Ron Washington, their beloved, hard-nosed manager, would remain on medical leave for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Washington, who, at 73, was the oldest manager in the major leagues, was initially placed on leave because of an undisclosed medical issue last Friday. His hope was to eventually return to his role this season — and to be on the team’s flight to Atlanta on Sunday night, where he would be reunited with a Braves organization he spent several years with — but he and the team decided stepping away would be in the best interest of his health.
Ray Montgomery, in his fourth year as the bench coach, will serve as the interim manager for a team that entered Friday with a 40-40 record. Without going into specifics, Minasian sounded optimistic about Washington’s long-term prognosis, adding that he is “in good spirits.”
“We want him here,” Angels outfielder Mike Trout said, “but we want him to get better.”
Washington, in his second year managing the Angels, experienced shortness of breath and appeared fatigued near the end of the team’s four-game series at Yankee Stadium, which ended June 19. He underwent a series of tests upon returning to Southern California the following day and was placed on leave for the weekend series against the Houston Astros.
Washington was still a notable presence in the ballpark then. The broadcast cameras caught him eating chicken wings from one of the Angel Stadium suites during last Friday night’s game, delighting social media. On Sunday morning, he was on the field for pregame workouts and spoke optimistically about his chances of returning. But further testing prompted the team to extend his leave through the next three-plus months of the season.
“It’s tough hearing news like that, especially when you first get to the ballpark,” Angels shortstop Zach Neto said. “But hearing great news that he’s doing better, that whatever he has, they got it quick. … We’re just grateful for that. Of course we want him here, we want him here managing us and all that, but health comes before everything else.”
Washington’s contract includes a club option for 2026. Minasian would not speculate on Washington’s future role with the team and does not know how involved he will be with the team moving forward.
“We’re going to take it day by day, and we’re going to do whatever he feels is the right thing to do,” Minasian said. “I’m not going to project going forward. Obviously, you’d love to have him around as much as you can. That’s a no brainer. But with that being said, we’re going to do whatever’s best for him.”
Washington carved out a 10-year career as a major league infielder, then transitioned to coaching, spending the 1996 to 2006 seasons with the then-Oakland Athletics. From there, Washington managed powerhouse Texas Rangers teams that made back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 and ’11. He abruptly resigned on Sept. 5, 2014, then later revealed the decision was prompted by an extramarital affair.
Washington returned to the A’s for the next two seasons, then served as the Braves’ third-base coach and infield instructor from 2017 to 2023, winning a World Series championship along the way.
When the Angels hired him to return to managing in November 2023, Washington’s reputation as one of the game’s best teachers and most infectious personalities had long been established. Their hope was that he could turn around a franchise that by then had navigated eight consecutive losing seasons, specifically by elevating a young nucleus headlined by Neto and Logan O’Hoppe. That initial 2024 season saw the Angels lose a franchise-record 99 games. The next year began with a 26-31 record through the month of May. But then the Angels’ fortunes began to turn.
“I mean, he’s the main reason why everything has been the way it has been around here this year so far,” O’Hoppe, the Angels’ young catcher, said. “It’s nothing that we’re not going to keep replicating. We’re going to take the lessons he’s given us and keep applying it.”
Minasian had long believed teams eventually embody the personality of their manager, and over these last few weeks, he has noticed a very stark trait with his group — resilience.
The Angels have reeled off 14 wins in a stretch of 23 games in June, getting back to .500 as they approach the midway point of their schedule. A season that once seemed lost has suddenly sprung back into life, and through that, Minasian said, they have come to personify Washington.
“We play to the last out as hard as possible,” said Minasian, an advance scout with the Rangers and an assistant GM with the Braves during Washington’s time with both organizations. “A majority of credit to that should go to Ron, what he’s instituted here, and what he preaches on a daily basis.”
