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Will Lack Of Staff Continuity Affect Progress Of Young Pitchers?
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- Will Lack Of Staff Continuity Affect Progress Of Young Pitchers?
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
No one was particularly sad to see the Los Angeles Angels move on from manager Kurt Suzuki on Wednesday, and the jury is still out on interim GM John Mozeliak after he became a true interim, as his title may as well have been "not Perry Minasian."
But the young starters made considerable progress during the year, especiall under interim pitching coach Tim Leveque and interim bullpen coach Michael Wuertz. We'll still never know if former pitching coach Mike Maddux was fired as part of a power play by Suzuki or for not using the analytics data that's part and parcel of every team's m.o. these days, but there's no denying the positives that happened in the second half.
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Hurlers like Walbert Urena and Ryan Johnson will now be operating under their third coaching team in a year whenever the Angels come to spring training, however, and it's fair to wonder how that will affect their progress.
It probably won't bother Urena, who pitched like a force of nature once he got his opportunity, but the others have been up and down to begin with, and now they'll be experiencing more change.
This potential issue seems particularly relevant to Johnson, whose career has been a complete roller coaster and something of a fiasco, management-wise, from Day 1. He made the team as a reliever in 2025 when he should have been building up in the minors, and last year he was yo-yoed up and down multiple times early in the season before he settled in and had an excellent second half.
The Angels will also be hiring a new farm director from outside the organization, as Mozeliak announced that early on after cleaning house at the deadline. At least the Halos will have some consistency there, as presumably Stan Kroenke and his business group will be hiring a team of people who will all be on the same page.
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But pitchers like Tyler Bremner and George Klassen will also be affected by this, and it may take a while to get all this figured out once Kroenke and his group take over. It has to be strange to be in the shoes of a player like Bremner, who could be ready some time in 2027 if he continues to dominate hitters the way he did for most of this past season.
The veteran decisions on the pitching rotation should be easier. Yusei Kikuchi is making too much money to have much value than anything other than an innings eater at the back of the rotation, and no one will miss Grayson Rodriguez.
