ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ron Washington, the manager of the Los Angeles Angels, will be absent for the remainder of the season due to a medical issue that hasn’t been specified, the team announced on Friday.
Washington, the oldest manager in the major leagues at 73, has been sidelined for the past week.
He showed signs of fatigue and had difficulty breathing towards the close of a four-game series against the New York Yankees, which wrapped up on June 19. After returning to Southern California, Washington underwent multiple tests and was subsequently placed on medical leave.
Ray Montgomery, the Angels bench coach who has been stepping in for Washington over the last week, has been appointed as the interim manager. Meanwhile, infield coach Ryan Goins has been elevated to the role of bench coach.
Washington is 664-611 in 10 seasons as a major league manager, eight with Texas and two with Los Angeles.
He led the Rangers to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011 before stepping down abruptly in September 2014. Washington returned to the sport as a coach with the Athletics and the Atlanta Braves, who won the World Series in 2021, before landing a second managerial job in Orange County.
The Angels were 40-40 entering Friday night’s game against the visiting Washington Nationals, winning three straight under Montgomery and seven of 10 overall. Los Angeles has played better than most expected from a team with major league-worst streaks of nine straight losing seasons and 10 straight non-playoff seasons.
The 55-year-old Montgomery is getting his first job as a major league manager. The native of New York’s Westchester County is a former Houston Astros outfielder who served as the scouting director for Arizona and Milwaukee before joining the Angels as their director of player personnel for the 2020 season.
Montgomery became Los Angeles’ bench coach in 2021 after general manager Perry Minasian took over the front office, and he stayed with the Angels while Joe Maddon, Phil Nevin and Washington managed the club.
Goins played eight seasons in the major leagues before Washington hired him as the Angels’ infield coach before the 2024 season.
