Teams around the league continued to make decisions about who will lead the team from the dugout next season.
Monday brought news that the Giants (Bob Melvin), Twins (Rocco Baldelli), and Texas (Bruce Bochy) would all have new managers next season. The Pirates (Don Kelly), White Sox (Will Venable), and Mets (Carlos Mendoza) remained committed for at least one more season.
The Angels (Ron Washington/Ray Montgomery) joined the list of teams seeking a new manager late on Monday night. As did the Braves (Brian Snitker) on Tuesday. The Cardinals (Oli Marmol) will not make a change, and Colorado (Warren Schaeffer) has yet to reveal its plans, though they did announce changes to the front office on Wednesday.
Angels move on from Washington, say hello to Pujols?
Los Angeles’s decision to move in a new direction is hardly surprising. The Angels finished the 2025 season with a 72-90 record and in last place in the AL West. The club hasn’t reached the postseason in 11 years, the longest active streak in the big leagues. Ron Washington was hired before the 2024 season in part because of his storied reputation for working with younger players (especially infielders).
Washington led the Angels to a 63-99 record last season. The team started the 2025 season 36-38 before Washington stepped back from the team on June 20 due to an unspecified medical condition. Days later, the Angels announced that Washington would miss the remainder of the season. He revealed in August that he underwent a quadruple bypass surgery.
Montgomery was elevated from bench coach to interim manager in Washington’s stead, but the Angels failed to see a turnaround in the standings. Neither will be returning to the club in 2026. Washington, to his credit, is reportedly healthy and interested in returning to the dugout despite being 73 years old.
General manager Perry Minasian’s job status remains unclear. He is still under contract for one more season, but there is speculation that the Angels could make a change there, too.
Hours after news broke that the Angels will be searching for a new manager, The Athletic’s Sam Blum, Katie Woo, and Ken Rosenthal reported that owner Arte Moreno already has a target in mind to fill the position: future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.
Pujols is believed to be the “leading choice” for the job, with at least one indication that the job may have already been offered to him.
The slugging first baseman/designated hitter was one of baseball’s best right-handed hitters during his 22-year career. 10 of those came with the Angels. Pujols slashed .296/.374/.544 (145 OPS+) with 686 doubles, 703 home runs, and more than 2,200 RBI. The three-time MVP and 11-time All-Star accumulated 101.2 bWAR before retiring following the 2022 season.
Pujols got his first taste of managing last offseason in the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM), leading the Leones del Escogido to a championship. Pujols will manage the D.R.’s team in next spring’s World Baseball Classic, as well.
Snitker steps into new role with the Braves
Atlanta was always a likely candidate to make a change this offseason. Snitker was entering the final season of his contract and turns 70 later this month, lending to speculation that retirement may be under consideration. The Braves entered the season as a favorite to win the NL East, but finished in fourth place with a 76-86 record.
Snitker has spent the last 49 years working in the Braves’ organization, serving as a coach or manager at every level in the minor leagues. When Fredi Gonzalez was fired after the team started 9-28 in 2016, Snitker was appointed as the interim manager to replace him. Thanks to several contract extensions since, Snitker has been leading Atlanta’s dugout for the last ten seasons. The Braves were 811-668 under Snitker, who will finish his career with the third-most wins in franchise history, and won the World Series in 2021.
While no decision had been formally made about extending Snitker another contract, the veteran skipper reportedly informed general manager Alex Anthopoulos on Monday that he would not return to the dugout. Snitker will take a senior advisory role within the organization.
Atlanta also announced that it will induct Snitker into the Braves Hall of Fame next season.
The Bloom Era begins
St. Louis is openly entering a rebuilding period, with Chaim Bloom officially stepping into the president of baseball operations job on Sunday following the retirement of John Mozeliak. Bloom and the Cardinals will spend much of the coming weeks looking to trade several high-paid veterans on the roster who no longer fit into the rebuild plans.
Bloom spoke with reporters after assuming control, confirming that Marmol will remain in his role as the team’s manager. Marmol has one season remaining under contract, and Bloom indicated that there have been no extension talks to date. The Cardinals are 325-323 through his first four seasons as manager. They were 76-84 this season, finishing in fourth place in the NL Central.
Finally, there’s a change in Colorado
Colorado, meanwhile, announced a change that many across the baseball world expected to happen. General manager Bill Schmidt has resigned from his position.
Schmidt initially joined the Rockies in 2000 as the team’s scouting director. When Jeff Bridich was fired during the 2021 season, Schmidt was named his interim replacement. The club removed the interim tag that offseason, but the results on the field have not been positive. Colorado has lost 100 or more games in each of the last three seasons, including going an MLB-worst 43-119 this season.
Rockies principal owner Dick Monfort has long been applauded for how loyal he is to his people — sometimes perhaps too loyal — and he has long maintained a strong relationship with Schmidt. Schmidt, like his predecessors, was promoted from within, but the team’s announcement — which included a statement from new executive vice president Walker Monfort, Dick’s son (who has been “groomed” to take over the franchise someday) — noted that they will look outside the organization for their next hire.
“We are setting our sights on finding the right leader from outside our organization who can bring a fresh perspective to the Rockies and enhance our baseball operations with a new vision, innovation, and a focus on both short and long-term success. This change delivers an opportunity to shape the future of our club and move forward into a new era of Rockies baseball.”
Colorado will focus on finding a new leader of its front office in the coming weeks, but uncertainty remains about manager Warren Schaeffer’s status. Schaeffer became the interim manager on May 11 when the team fired Bud Black and quickly won over the clubhouse.
Giants and Bochy likely don’t match up
Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey will be making his first significant hiring when he signs a new manager, after San Francisco decided to part ways with Bob Melvin. It was only natural for speculation to quickly connect Bruce Bochy to the job after the Rangers announced he wouldn’t return to manage them next season. Bochy and Posey won three World Series titles together with the Giants.
Posey shot down those rumors on Wednesday (via NBC Sports Bay Area):
“I talked to Boch a couple of days ago and told him that where we are currently — and I don’t even know what Boch’s plans are, if he wants to continue to manage or not — that the door is always open here for some sort of role. But the way I think things are coming into picture in my mind, with where we want to go next, I don’t see us going that route with Boch.”
Bochy may have his choice of senior advisor roles. Texas has already offered him such a position to remain with the Rangers.
None of the Giants’ current coaching staff is expected to interview for the open manager role, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.