The Angels announced today that manager Ron Washington will stay on medical leave for the remainder of the 2025 season. Ray Montgomery will continue to serve as the interim manager. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was among those to relay the info. Infield coach Ryan Goins will take up Montgomery’s previous bench coach role.
Reports emerged one week ago that Washington would be stepping out of the dugout for an indefinite amount of time due to an unspecified health concern. The issue still hasn’t been publicly specified but it is apparently serious enough that Wash won’t be resuming his managerial duties for the rest of the season.
Now 73 years old, Washington signed a two-year deal to manage the Halos ahead of the 2024 season. They went 63-99 last year but are faring much better so far this season. They are currently 40-40 and just one game back of a playoff spot. Shaikin reports that Washington’s contract has a club option for 2026.
Montgomery, 55, has been the bench coach for the Angels since 2022, which has allowed him to be a constant presence over multiple managerial tenures. Joe Maddon was the skipper at the start of 2022 but he was fired in June of that year. Phil Nevin replaced Maddon and held the role through the end of the 2023 season. After Nevin’s contract expired, Washington was hired for the 2024 campaign.
His managerial experience thus far is fairly limited. Nevin got a ten-game suspension in the wake of a brawl with the Mariners in 2022, with Montgomery stepping in to cover at that time. He’s been at the helm for the past week to replace Washington and will now seemingly get the job for the second half of the season as well.
Goins, 37, just retired from playing after the 2023 season. A month later, he was added to Washington’s staff as infield coach. He’ll now get a role change as the Angels adjust on the fly to cover for Washington’s absence.
Photo courtesy of Jason Parkhurst, Imagn Images
