ANAHEIM -- The Angels’ first 100-loss season in franchise history came with a few immediate signs of what the next chapter might look like, and interim general manager John Mozeliak offered one of the clearest ones Monday: Mike Trout is moving to left field next season and could spend more time at designated hitter.
Mozeliak said the shift should help the club tighten up its defense in center while keeping Trout’s bat in the lineup more often.
“What that could accomplish is getting his bat in there every day, which is a positive,” Mozeliak said. “But then upgrading our outfield defense would help as well. And it’s helpful he’s open-minded to it.”
Mozeliak met with reporters at Angel Stadium a day after the Angels’ loss-filled season ended, and his own future remains unsettled. He said he is still waiting for more information from ownership before anything is decided about his status beyond December, when his contract expires.
The Angels are in transition after Kroenke Sports Entertainment agreed to buy the team on Sept. 1, though the sale is not expected to become official until early next year. Mozeliak said he is currently reporting to both Arte Moreno and KSE, and he is scheduled to speak Monday with Kevin Demoff, the president of team and media operations for KSE. He said he is hoping to get a clearer picture soon.
“Regarding my status, I'm not focused on my contract right now,” Mozeliak said. “What I am focused on is the internal restructuring, focusing on our draft, our player development and our international and most importantly, my emphasis is trying to create a positive environment for that entire group.
As far as Mr. Suzuki, in my opinion, he's done a great job, and I know many people may doubt that with a 100-loss season.”
That was Mozeliak’s strongest endorsement of manager Kurt Suzuki, whom he said he would prefer to keep in place. Suzuki signed a one-year deal before the season, and Mozeliak credited him for how he handled the clubhouse and the media, along with improving his game management as the year went on.
There could still be changes on the coaching staff, Mozeliak said, but he made clear he would like Suzuki to return.
“I would like to see him be that, but ultimately that's not my decision,” Mozeliak said. “It’s once I get guidance from new ownership.”
The uncertainty extends to the general manager search as well. Mozeliak said that process is paused until he gets more direction from ownership, and he has not ruled out staying past December. For now, he remains the acting GM.
“I still understand what I signed up for,” Mozeliak said. “But with regards to the future, given the uncertainty with the [CBA negotiations], and now with the new ownership change, if there was some type of bridge that they thought would be valuable, I would definitely be open-minded to that. But in terms of what that future is, I still do not know.”
As the Angels start mapping out the offseason, payroll is still an open question. Mozeliak said he has not been given a number yet, but he expects to consult both Moreno and KSE as the club determines how aggressive to be in free agency and whether trades make sense.
He said he is open to dealing, but he sounded wary of sacrificing the organization’s young talent.
“I haven’t [heard a payroll number], but it's not to say that we haven't begun to think about an offseason strategy,” Mozeliak said. “When you look at our current team, what do we want to do to see ourselves get better?
There are ways to do that that will require investments and there might be ways to do that where we could think about trading. But the one thing I don't want to see happen, given what we've already been able to create here, is to start depleting the resources we were building up in the Minor League system.”
Mozeliak also said the Angels are expected to put more money into infrastructure and expand the front office. A new farm director is also expected to be hired from outside the organization after Joey Prebynski was promoted to assistant general manager.
Prebynski is one of four assistant GMs, along with David Haynes, Matt Swanson and Michael Lord, who were promoted on Aug. 31.
Mozeliak said he has already seen enough to believe the organization has a solid base of people in place, though he also suggested there may be more additions down the road.
“What I learned early on was there are a lot of quality people here,” Mozeliak said. “I just don't think they were being used or leveraged properly. That's not to say there won't be some new people brought into this organization over time.”
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