The Los Angeles Angels have been without an official general manager since Jerry DiPoto stepped down in July, but with the season winding down, the search to fill the position is expected to pick up.
Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reported the team is “hopeful” they’ll name their new GM by the end of the 2015 season.
Continue for updates.
Angels Reportedly Favor Yankees’ Assistant GM
Friday, Sept. 4
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, New York Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler is “expected to be a strong front-runner” for the Angels’ general manager position.
The Angels know Eppler well, dating back to 2011 when the team hired DiPoto, as noted by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal:
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported on September 1 the Angels had finished conducting interviews with internal candidates Matt Klentak and Scott Servais and were preparing to interview additional candidates from outside the organization.
After losing out to DiPoto for the Angels’ GM job in 2011, Eppler was promoted to his current role with the Yankees by their general manager, Brian Cashman.
DiPoto resigned from the position this summer in part due to a contentious relationship with Angels manager Mike Scioscia, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Bill Stoneman, who was the team’s general manager from 1999-2007, has taken over the role on an interim basis.
The Angels are in a unique position to attract whoever they want to hire as general manager. Ownership has spent at least $137 million on payroll in each of the previous five seasons, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, and they have the reigning American League MVP Mike Trout signed through 2020.
Any GM candidate would love to work for an owner who isn’t afraid to spend money for a championship—not to mention having arguably the single-best player in the sport to build around.
This has been a difficult season for the Angels on and off the field, but there’s a lot to work with heading into 2016.
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