ANAHEIM — Angels manager Ron Washington will be out indefinitely because of health concerns, and bench coach Ray Montgomery will manage Friday night’s series opener against the Houston Astros, General Manager Perry Minasian announced.
Washington, 73, experienced shortness of breath and appeared fatigued toward the end of a four-game series against the Yankees. He was cleared by Yankees doctors to fly home with the team Thursday night and underwent a series of medical tests in Southern California on Friday.
The Angels would not go into detail about Washington’s symptoms, but the manager felt well enough to address the team along with Minasian on Friday afternoon, and he will watch Friday night’s game from Minasian’s suite. Washington did not speak to the media.
“Wash has not felt great the last couple of days,” Minasian said. “We want to make sure he’s 100% before he’s back in the dugout and managing. How long it’s going to take, I don’t know. I don’t expect it to be too long.
“We all know how important this is for all of us, but health is more important than anything, and me personally, I’m not letting him back in the dugout until I know he’s 100% OK. I love the guy too much.”
Angels outfielder Taylor Ward said he noticed in New York that Washington didn’t seem to have his normal energy.
“He did seem to be moving a little slow, but he already has kind of a slow pace,” Ward said. “There were a few times, walking to the bus, that you noticed something.”
Washington, who managed the Texas Rangers to back-to-back American League pennants in 2010 and 2011, was hired by Minasian before a 2024 season in which the Angels went 63-99, a franchise-record for losses.
The Angels entered Friday night’s game with a 36-38 record and were 6½ games behind the Astros in the AL West. The Angels are 15-6 in one-run games for a major league-best .714 winning percentage, and they are 5-0 in extra innings.
“It’s tough,” Minasian said. “He wants to manage – I don’t know if he’s ever missed a game – but at the end of the day, you have to make tough decisions, and for me, I want to make sure the guy is absolutely healthy, and physically he’s in the right place before we put him back in the dugout.
“We play some close games. You guys watch, they’re not the types of games you can sit back, kick your feet up and just watch. They’re pretty tight games, stressful games, and I want to make sure he’s good to go health-wise before he gets back in the dugout.”