MLB Insider Provides Update on Angels' Managerial Search for 2026

Angels manager Ron Washington (37, right) is greeted by former MLB manager Bobby Valentine before the game against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium. Washington is stepping indefinitely away from the team due to health reasons on June 21. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Ron Washington has been mostly out of the spotlight since a quadruple-bypass heart procedure ended his season in June. In August, Washington revealed his health is in a much better place.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post said on a live Bleacher Report stream last week that Washington is “said to be doing well and he’d like to come back" as manager in 2026.

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Washington said as much during the August press conference in which he revealed the serious nature of his health scare. More than his willingness to manage, a clean bill of health might be the determining factor in whether or not Washington manages the Angels next year. He turns 74 in April, making him the oldest manager in Major League Baseball.

Jon Heyman on B/R:

• Ron Washington is “said to be doing well and he’d like to come back. Could they bring him back? It’s possible.”

• “It does appear that [Ray Montgomery’s] got potential to come back, but other names are being mentioned.”

• “Not gonna rule [Pujols] out.”

— BTH (@BeyondTheHalo) September 17, 2025

"Could they bring him back? It’s possible,” Heyman opined.

“It does appear that [Ray Montgomery’s] got potential to come back, but other names are being mentioned," Heyman added, before saying he would not rule out the possibility of Albert Pujols — the former Angels slugger who managed in the most recent Dominican Winter League season — taking over in Anaheim in 2026.

Separately, Joel Sherman of the New York Post mentioned three other former players besides Pujols who could manage the Angels next year.

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Longtime MLB infielder Michael Young, who starred on Washington's Texas Rangers teams a decade ago, is a Southern California native. Former Angels star Torii Hunter has been outspoken about his desire to manage. Another former Anaheim outfielder, Darin Erstad, coached the University of Nebraska baseball team for eight seasons before resigning in 2019.

Montgomery's candidacy is perhaps weakened by the Angels' record since he took over for Washington on an interim basis. The Angels were 36-38 after Washington managed his last game on June 19. They are 34-49 since, the fourth-worst record in Major League Baseball.

Still, any speculation around who will manage the Angels in 2026 is premature. The Angels hold a team option on Washington's contract for next year, and it might make sense to allow him to work with the same core of young players who largely took a step forward in 2025.

Even if this season wasn't Washington's last on the bench, he is certainly closer to the end of his managerial career than the beginning. The Angels might choose to use next season to identify a successor, replacing Montgomery with a bench coach who can serve as Washington's "understudy" for a year.

In that case, we can kick the proverbial can down the road and fire up the speculation about 2027.

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