Change at the Top: What's Next for the Angels' Front Office?
October 21, 2026 - Written by Jacob Firmage
John Mozeliak says the Angels will be hiring a full-time GM for the 2027 season that won’t be himself, per @JeffFletcherOCR The process is still in its early stages and a new manager will be hired after finding a new GM. https://t.co/rfgYkUNaQr
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 21, 2026
A new era is upon us. Not just because the Angels have a new owner moving forward. Not just because the Angels will have a new manager on the field in 2027. But in an announcement just a few hours later, it was revealed that John Mozeliak would not be back running baseball operations for the long haul.
It may not seem shocking considering John was hired through December 1st, but the timing is odd. Why wait three weeks? We may never know what the meetings between Kevin Demoff and Mozeliak looked like, but what we do know is that John didn't shut the door on assisting in the search for the next leader of baseball operations.
We know that John didn't feel like he was the long-term executive to lead the charge. He came in, did the job he said he would do, and is leaving. It feels odd having a steady hand doing what they said they would and the organization moving in the proper direction.
It will be something to monitor how quickly a general manager or president of baseball operations is hired, being that the offseason is just weeks away from starting. One can imagine that John wouldn't have the freedom others have to make significant moves on his way out of leadership.
When we look back at what Mozeliak brought to the Angels over his short tenure, I think it should be looked at with optimism. Maybe not every trade works out long-term, but he started the charge in letting people do their jobs. He positioned the team to be in a better spot regarding the prospect pool. He brought in the consensus number one prospect in the organization in Arjun Nimmala and gave us reason to be excited about the future. He also brought something Angels fans hadn't experienced in years, which was transparency.
While there will be time in the coming weeks to do a deep dive on candidates, let's get our fan minds thinking. Here are a handful of names that could be potential candidates.
Kim Ng, the former Marlins general manager, has years of experience in different front offices. She has been in numerous organizations and is now the commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. There hasn't been any indication that she is itching to take back a leading baseball operations position in an organization, but I do wonder if her name appears in the coming weeks.
Jon Daniels is currently a senior advisor in Tampa Bay and a former longtime general manager in Texas, leading the Rangers to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011. He will be an exciting name to watch to see if the Angels interview him.
Next up is Mike Chernoff, who has long been with the Guardians. He has helped lead a well-run organization in Cleveland and may be interested in being the head honcho rebuilding the sleeping giant Angels.
Lastly, the name many fans will look to is Brandon Gomes. The current general manager for the Dodgers has to be considered one of the top names around the league. There is no indication he is looking to leave the Dodgers, but I would have to imagine Demoff will reach out to see if he'd have any interest in taking over the lead spot.
Let us know where you think the Angels go from here and how you feel John did in his short time leading Angels baseball operations.
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