The Los Angeles Angels are making another change at the top, and this one hits a familiar face from Minnesota.
Kurt Suzuki, the former Twins catcher who moved from the field to the dugout, will not return as Angels manager after the club declined the 2027 option on his contract. The team said it will search for a new manager and coaching staff for the 2027 season, and it also offered Suzuki a role as a special assistant.
OFFICIAL: The Angels announced that the Club has declined the option in Kurt Suzuki’s contract and, in coordination with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, will search for a new manager and coaching staff for the 2027 season. https://t.co/RExo0C19az
- Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) October 21, 2026
The move comes during a broader shakeup in the AL West. By Wednesday, the Seattle Mariners had already parted ways with Dan Wilson, and the Houston Astros had done the same with Joe Espada.
Suzuki’s exit also fits the larger turnover now running through the Angels organization. Stan Kroenke’s agreement to buy the team from Arte Moreno set off a chain reaction, with John Mozeliak taking over as interim general manager after Perry Minasian was dismissed in June. Now the managerial seat is open too.
Suzuki’s first season running the club ended at 62-100, another fifth-place finish in the division and the first 100-loss season in Angels history. The team also lost 10 more games than it did in the season when Ron Washington and Ray Montgomery split the job one year earlier.
The Angels have not finished with a winning record since 2015, when they went 85-77 in their final season as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Suzuki managed under Moreno’s ownership, but the next manager will be working for Kroenke.
For Suzuki, though, this isn’t just a story about an ending. His playing days produced one of his biggest career moments in Minnesota, where he earned his lone All-Star nod in 2014. Target Field hosted the Midsummer Classic that year, and Glen Perkins got the final outs to his batterymate.
Suzuki hit .288 with a .727 OPS that season. He had already built strong early years with the Oakland Athletics before settling in as a regular over three seasons with the Twins.
In all, he appeared in 368 games for Minnesota and hit .263 with a .680 OPS. He finished his career with two seasons in Los Angeles, then jumped into managing just four years after retiring.
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