Angels' Kurt Suzuki Responds to Getting One-Year Deal as Manager

Oct 22, 2025; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels manager Kurt Suzuki, right, receives his jersey from general manager Perry Minasian during a press conference at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Angels made a unique decision when hiring their new manager, giving first-time manager Kurt Suzuki a one-year, prove-it deal to become the organization's sixth manager in the past eight seasons.

With general manager Perry Minasian also headed into the final year of his contract with the Angels, it's clear that the two's fates might be intertwined.

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“It’s a one-year deal, so he's tied in with me,” Minasian said at Suzuki's opening press conference. “But for us, in sports, in general, everybody's on a one-year deal. That's just the way professional sports is.

“This is going to be a great relationship. I think he's going to create a great environment. And I believe this person is going to lead us to some places we haven't been in a while.”

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For Suzuki, being on a one-year deal is nothing new. The 16-year veteran said that several of his final years in the pros were on similar deals, so his upcoming tryout with the Angels was familiar territory.

“I think the last six years of my career were on a one-year deal,” Suzuki said. “I want to be here. I want to do this job. And I feel like throughout my career, I had to prove myself every single year. And so it doesn't scare me. It only fuels me to be better.”

The Athletic's Sam Blum reported that the Angels will hire almost exclusively a new staff under Suzuki, who ended his playing career in 2022.

"The departures include hitting coach Johnny Washington and pitching coach Barry Enright, among others," Blum wrote. "It is unclear if any coach is being welcomed back. It’s possible some of the staff comes back in player development roles."

Suzuki spent the past three years as a special assistant to Minasian, meaning his familiarity with the organization is strong and the two are aligned in their vision for the 2026 Angels coaching staff.

“I'm excited, and I feel like surrounding myself with a good staff is definitely going to help,” Suzuki said. “When I played, I thought along with the game. I feel like that kind of prepared me for this. This role is to understand the game at a different level. And I feel like catching, you see the game at a different level.”

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.