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Atlanta Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian is the new Los Angeles Angels general manager, a source confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
Minasian, who will replace Billy Eppler, was among five candidates who qualified for the second round of interviews this week and was considered the favorite as early as Wednesday night.
Minasian, 40, comes from a deeply rooted baseball family and has spent more than three-quarters of his life in the big leagues, starting as a bat boy for the Texas Rangers when he was 8. . Minasian, whose father Zack was the longtime manager of the Rangers clubhouse, served as a bat boy and club keeper for 15 years, then spent the next six years as an advanced scout. and staff assistant to former Rangers manager Buck Showalter.
From there, Minasian spent nine seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, including six as director of professional scouting. In the final two years of this race, from 2015 to 2016, the Blue Jays made back-to-back trips to the American League Championship Series.
Minasian was first hired as a senior assistant to former Braves general manager John Coppolella in September 2017, about a month before Coppolella was forced to resign due to rule violations in the international market. When Alex Anthopoulos took over as the new president of baseball operations, one of his first jobs was to elevate Minasian to the position of vice president of baseball operations and assistant general manager. Minasian spent the next three seasons working closely with Anthopoulos, his former Blue Jays boss, helping to make the Braves a perennial contender who has an abundance of young talent.
Along with the Angels, Minasian is expected to increase a recognition department that has been particularly hard hit by the time off, an industry source told ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
Seattle Mariners assistant general manager Justin Hollander, Chicago Cubs senior vice president Jason McLeod and Arizona Diamondbacks assistant general managers Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye joined Minasian to qualify for second round of talks for the post of general manager of the Angels. The initial wave included nearly 20 applicants, including former CEOs such as Michael Hill, Dan Jennings, Bobby Evans, and Ruben Amaro Jr. Throughout the process, the Angels also spoke to longtime screening director Eddie. Bane and longtime broadcaster Victor Rojas.
The Angels, who fired Eppler after a five-year run as general manager at the end of the 2020 season, have only qualified for the playoffs once since 2009 and are trying to get back into contention with Mike Trout approaching his 29-year-old season.
Minasian, whose hiring was first reported by The Athletic, has a brother, Calvin, who is the clubhouse coordinator for the Washington Nationals and another brother, Zack Jr., who is the director of professional scouting. for the San Francisco Giants.
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