Angels Name John Mozeliak Interim GM, Part Ways With Perry Minasian

The Los Angeles Angels moved quickly to reset their baseball operations leadership, introducing longtime St. Louis Cardinals executive John Mozeliak on Saturday as baseball operations consultant and interim general manager, one day after firing GM Perry Minasian.

The timing gives the Angels a veteran executive to oversee day-to-day baseball operations at a pivotal point in the season. The 2026 MLB Draft is set for July 11-12, the Angels hold the No. 12 overall pick, and the trade deadline arrives Aug. 3. The club is also beginning a search for a permanent general manager.

For a team that entered Saturday at 34-48 and tied for last in the American League, the interim appointment is more than a title change. It places Mozeliak in charge of the Angels’ immediate roster and organizational decisions while team president Molly Jolly, in her first season leading the club, refines the franchise’s broader baseball-operations strategy.

The Angels said Mozeliak will run day-to-day baseball operations while the organization conducts its search for a full-time GM. Mozeliak said his contract with the club runs through December 2026 and described himself as “essentially a consultant,” balancing urgent decisions with a broader review of the organization.

“Over the course of the next couple months, I'm going to spend a lot of energy just trying to understand what's happening down below and work our way up,” Mozeliak said, according to MLB.com. “Obviously, winning still matters. We still care about that, and that's going to be something that we will never lose focus on. But there's a short view and a long view.”

Jolly said acting quickly was part of the point.

“Change always starts with that first decision ... I felt like starting that process right away was in the best interest of the organization right now, as well as in the future,” Jolly said, according to MLB.com.

Mozeliak, 57, arrives after roughly 30 years with the Cardinals organization, including about 18 years as the club’s top baseball executive from 2007 through 2025. His tenure in St. Louis included the 2011 World Series title and a long stretch of winning seasons.

That background helps explain why the Angels turned to him now. The club does not have much time to settle into a transition. Mozeliak said he expects to take a more hands-off role with the draft, leaning on scouting director Tim McIlvaine and the scouting staff. One of his first major tasks, he said, will be helping shape the Angels’ plan for the trade deadline.

The Angels also signaled that broader changes are not coming immediately. Mozeliak and Jolly said the club plans to keep manager Kurt Suzuki, the front office, the training staff and coaches in place for the rest of the 2026 season for now while the organization is evaluated.

Mozeliak said he connected with Jolly through a mutual friend and said owner Arte Moreno “was not involved in the process” of bringing him in, according to MLB.com. At the same time, Mozeliak made clear that Moreno’s role as owner remains central to how the job will function.

“Mr. Moreno is the owner and my job is to have a healthy relationship with him,” Mozeliak said, according to MLB.com.

Minasian had led the Angels’ baseball operations since before the 2021 season and did not oversee a winning season during his tenure. Jolly said in a club statement reported by The Associated Press, “Perry has been a valued leader who worked tirelessly over the last six years to strengthen our baseball operations department. I am grateful for his dedication, insight and many contributions to our organization.”

The Angels’ rapid two-day sequence — dismissing Minasian on Friday, then installing Mozeliak on Saturday — underscores how much the calendar is driving this change. With the draft less than two weeks away and the trade deadline about five weeks off, the franchise did not leave its baseball side without a clear decision-maker for long.