Minasian named Angels' general manager

ANAHEIM -- The Angels have prided themselves as a family organization under owner Arte Moreno, so it’s only fitting that their new general manager hire has deep familial ties to baseball.

After a wide-ranging search that included roughly 20 candidates, the Angels officially hired Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian to be their general manager on Thursday. Minasian bucks the trend of clubs hiring Ivy League-educated executives, as he grew up in the game as the son of longtime Rangers clubhouse manager Zack Minasian and worked his way up through various roles in three organizations.

Perry Minasian's deal, which makes him the 13th general manager in franchise history, is for four years. He will oversee all aspects of the club’s baseball operations department. He will be officially introduced in a press conference with the media on Tuesday.

“After an expansive process, we are thrilled to announce Perry as our general manager,” Moreno said in a statement. “His background in scouting and player development along with his unique understanding of roster construction were the leading factors in our decision. We are proud to welcome Perry, his wife, Michelle, and their four children to the Angels family.”

Minasian, 40, was one of two finalists to replace Billy Eppler, beating out Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander, who had previously worked for the Angels for nine years. Angels special assistant Bill Stoneman helped lead the search with Moreno after front-office executives Tony La Russa, Jonathan Strangio and Steve Martone left the organization.

Minasian comes from a unique background, as he has worked in a variety of roles in baseball, with his father serving as the clubhouse manager for the Rangers for 22 years. The younger Minasian got his start in baseball as a batboy and worked as a clubhouse attendant for six years before he began scouting in 2003. His siblings are also involved in the game, as his brother, Calvin, is the clubhouse coordinator for the Nationals, and his brother, Zack, is the Giants' pro scouting director.

"Obviously, coming from a baseball family, baseball's in the blood," Minasian said on the Angels Radio Network. "And my father worked in the game of baseball for a long time, and to be able to make that call and tell him I'm fortunate enough to have this opportunity was something I'll never forget. It's one of the best moments in my life."

Minasian continued to work his way up with the Rangers before joining the Blue Jays' organization for a nine-year stint that included six seasons as director of scouting. He was responsible for drafting Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman with the Blue Jays, as well as the signing of international free agent Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

“I’ve always been intrigued about team building,” Minasian said. “If I were to describe myself, I would describe myself as a team builder of the team on the field and the team off the field. I pride myself in that. We were one of those families where at dinner, we’d do drafts. We'd have 25-man rosters at the time, and that was our dinner conversation. Our mother was disgusted, but that's what we talked about day in and day out.”

Minasian was hired to be the Braves' assistant GM by general manager Alex Anthopoulos before the 2018 season and helped serve as Anthopoulos' right-hand man. Atlanta won the National League East in each of Minasian’s three seasons with the organization. The Braves finished one win away from reaching the '20 World Series.

Minasian will be tasked with helping the Angels reach the postseason for the first time since 2014, as they’ve endured five consecutive losing seasons despite having superstar Mike Trout on the roster. The Halos have a solid core of star players, including Anthony Rendon and Shohei Ohtani, but Minasian will have to find ways to improve a pitching staff that saw its starters post the second-worst ERA in the Majors in 2020. The club isn’t looking for a rebuild, so it’ll be up to Minasian to be aggressive and quickly build a winning team with Trout still in his prime.

"I give a lot of credit to the last two regimes of Jerry Dipoto and Billy Eppler -- there's a lot of talent on this roster," Minasian said. "Mike Trout speaks for himself what he's been able to accomplish in his career. And there's a great mix of veterans, too. I think we're talented, and I think there are some young arms that have a chance to improve and make an impact on this club. ... Pitching is a huge priority."