ANAHEIM — As general manager Perry Minasian introduced Kurt Suzuki as the club’s new manager during a press conference on Wednesday, he revealed that Suzuki was hired to a one-year deal.
It’s rare for a manager to get just a one-year contract, but Minasian is also heading into the final year of his pact. Minasian wouldn’t say whether other candidates, like Torii Hunter and Albert Pujols, were offered multiyear deals and said he believes Suzuki will be a longtime manager despite the initial one-year contract. The deal also includes multiple options, per Minasian.
“It’s a one-year deal, so he’s tied in with me,” Minasian said. “But for us, in sports, in general, everybody’s on a one-year deal. That’s just the way professional sports is.
“This is going to be a great relationship. I think he’s going to create a great environment. And I believe this person is going to lead us to some places we haven’t been in a while.”
Suzuki, who has no Major League or Minor League coaching experience, didn’t sound worried about starting out with nothing guaranteed beyond ’26. He noted it matched the end of his 16-year playing career as an MLB catcher.
“I think the last six years of my career were on a one-year deal,” Suzuki said. “I want to be here. I want to do this job. And I feel like throughout my career, I had to prove myself every single year. And so it doesn’t scare me. It only fuels me to be better.”
Suzuki, 42, is familiar with the organization. He played with the Angels in the last two years of his playing career, from 2021-22, before spending the past three years as a special assistant to Minasian. But he has no managing or coaching experience at the Minor League or Major League level, which is also unusual for a hire.
Minasian said he believes Suzuki has all the traits needed to be a successful manager and believes his organizational knowledge will make it an easier transition.
“The first time you do anything, I think, there’s a crash course,” Minasian said. “But he was in the dugout this year some. Being in the dugout is not foreign to him. And he knows the group, which I think gives him a little bit of a head start. There’s not that ‘get to know you’ period. So I think, in a way, that might actually move things along a little quicker than normal.”
Suzuki said he knows the game speeds up when you’re the one tasked with making the decisions as the game goes along, but he thinks his time as a catcher will prepare him for that role. He said he often thought about managerial strategy in-game and said he’ll also lean heavily on his staff, which he is working to build with Minasian.
“I’m excited, and I feel like surrounding myself with a good staff is definitely going to help,” Suzuki said. “When I played, I thought along with the game. I feel like that kind of prepared me for this. This role is to understand the game at a different level. And I feel like catching, you see the game at a different level.”
The big question: What can Suzuki do to get the organization back on track?
The Angels haven’t reached the postseason since 2014, and their last playoff win came 16 years ago, in Game 5 of the 2009 ALCS against the Yankees.
Suzuki wouldn’t give any predictions on whether the Angels will be back in contention in 2026 after they improved from 63 wins in 2024 to 72 last season, but he said his goal is to make sure his players have the right information and work ethic.
“Everybody looks at results as success, but our job is to get these kids ready to play every single day,” Suzuki said. “I can’t guarantee we’re going to win. I can’t guarantee we’re going to make the playoffs, but what I can guarantee you is we’re going to be prepared every single day to go out there.”
Suzuki said he’s looking forward to helping the club’s young core grow and believes his experience behind the plate can help him develop the organization’s younger pitchers and catcher Logan O’Hoppe. And if he can help those players make meaningful progress, his contract situation will take care of itself.
“I feel like I was born to do this,” Suzuki said. “To lead players, to help players get better. That’s my personality. And that’s what excites me.”
