John Mozeliak’s arrival as interim GM has opened a fresh question around the Angels’ power structure, and the early signs suggest he may believe he has more room to operate than Perry Minasian ever did under Arte Moreno.
That alone is notable. Minasian’s exit may have been welcome to Angels fans, but the larger issue has always been Moreno’s grip on the organization.
The sense was that Minasian was working within strict limits, even if that didn’t excuse the moves he made. Mozeliak, though, does not appear to be approaching the job with the same expectation.
In fact, he took over as interim GM without even meeting Moreno first, which points to Molly Jolly, the team president, being more central to the effort to steady things. Since then, Mozeliak has met with Moreno, and he said that conversation was productive.
The most revealing part came in Mozeliak’s recent interview with The Athletic. Asked about Moreno’s vision, he said, “ I think he’s going to rely a lot on what I think the vision needs to be.
I definitely think there is going to be opportunity to have some autonomy in how we do it. ”
For Angels fans, that kind of language sounds like a major shift. Moreno has long been viewed as the guy with his hands on everything, so hearing an executive suggest there may be real autonomy is enough to raise eyebrows. Mozeliak also sounded confident that the club would use its resources more effectively, including on improvements to the Anaheim facilities and the spring-training complex in Arizona.
There’s a sense here that overdue work could finally get done. The organization has plenty of areas that need attention, and Mozeliak’s background with the St.
Louis Cardinals gives him a level of credibility that could matter with Moreno. Paired with the Angels’ long run of non-winning baseball, that pedigree may be enough to convince Moreno to ease up, at least a little.
Still, there’s plenty of reason to keep the skepticism close. It could all be temporary.
Moreno may stay in the background for now, only to step back in if a new executive arrives or if the results go sideways. In that scenario, he could be right back in the kitchen.
That makes the start under new leadership so important. If the Angels show early progress, it gives Mozeliak more breathing room and may keep Moreno from reasserting himself too quickly.
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