The Los Angeles Angels have made another significant change to their baseball operations, parting ways with pitching coach Mike Maddux, assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott and bullpen coach Dom Chiti. The sweeping decision comes during one of the worst seasons in franchise history and represents the latest step in interim general manager John Mozeliak’s attempt to reshape an organization that has struggled on virtually every level.
The Angels announced the coaching changes Tuesday, just one week after Mozeliak oversaw a massive roster overhaul at the trade deadline. The organization moved eight players from its major league roster as it finally began embracing a rebuilding direction. Now, the changes have reached the coaching staff, with the entire group responsible for the club’s pitching operation being replaced. (Reuters)
Maddux’s departure is particularly notable because he arrived in Anaheim with a strong reputation and extensive experience. The longtime pitching coach had previously worked for several major league organizations and had been part of the Texas Rangers staff that won the World Series. The Angels hired him during the offseason, hoping his experience would help stabilize a pitching staff that had been one of the club’s biggest weaknesses.
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Instead, the Angels have continued to struggle on the mound. Their pitching staff owns an ERA around 4.5, placing the team near the bottom of Major League Baseball. The Angels have also issued more walks than any other team, an especially troubling statistic for an organization attempting to develop and evaluate young pitchers. (Reuters)
The problems extend beyond the overall ERA. Los Angeles has had significant difficulties converting leads into victories, particularly late in games. The club has blown a large number of save opportunities, putting additional pressure on a roster that has struggled to generate consistent offense.
The Angels’ pitching performance is also part of a much larger organizational problem. Los Angeles entered Tuesday with the worst record in the majors at 45-74 and was moving toward what could become the first 100-loss season in franchise history. The club’s offensive production has been equally disappointing, with the Angels ranking near the bottom of the league in runs scored. (Reuters)
That combination has left Mozeliak with a difficult task. When he took over the baseball operations department in June, the interim general manager initially indicated that he intended to leave the coaching staff alone for the remainder of the season. At that point, Mozeliak said manager Kurt Suzuki and the coaches were essentially safe for the year.
That position has now changed.
After several weeks of evaluating the organization and speaking with Suzuki, players and members of the baseball operations staff, Mozeliak determined that changes were necessary. According to Mozeliak, one of the biggest sources of concern was the way the pitching department was using technology, information and available data.
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Modern baseball organizations rely heavily on analytics, pitch-tracking systems and other technological tools to help pitchers improve their mechanics, pitch selection and overall effectiveness. Mozeliak indicated that there had been growing frustration over inconsistencies in how those resources were being incorporated into the Angels’ pitching program.
Rather than waiting until the offseason, the organization decided to make the changes with several weeks still remaining on the schedule. Mozeliak explained that the Angels wanted to use the remainder of the season as an opportunity to evaluate their pitching infrastructure and determine what needs to change moving forward.
That decision puts Tim Leveque in charge of the pitching staff on an interim basis. Leveque had been working as the Angels’ Double-A pitching coach and brings familiarity with Mozeliak’s preferred organizational approach. He also has a history with Mozeliak from their time together in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
The bullpen will meanwhile be overseen temporarily by Michael Wuertz, who had been serving as the Angels’ assistant minor league pitching coordinator. The organization will therefore use the final stretch of the season to evaluate whether these internal options can help establish a more consistent development program.
Leveque’s promotion also continues an unusual trend for the Angels. He becomes the franchise’s sixth interim or full-time pitching coach in only seven seasons, highlighting just how frequently the organization has changed its approach to developing pitchers.
For a rebuilding team, that instability could be particularly consequential. The Angels are expected to rely increasingly on younger players and prospects, meaning the pitching department will have an important role in determining whether the organization can turn promising arms into reliable major league contributors.
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Maddux and Scott were both in their first seasons with the Angels. Chiti had a much longer connection to the organization’s previous baseball leadership. He was also a longtime associate of former general manager Perry Minasian, who was dismissed in June before Mozeliak assumed control of the baseball operations department.
The timing of the firings therefore makes the moves look like more than a simple response to poor pitching statistics. They are also part of a broader organizational reset.
Mozeliak has already demonstrated that he is willing to make aggressive decisions. His first major move was the trade-deadline dismantling of a major league roster that had failed to produce results. Eight players were moved, accelerating a rebuilding effort that many around the organization believed was overdue.
The pitching-coach changes continue that philosophy. Rather than simply maintaining the status quo until the end of the season, Mozeliak is using the final weeks of the campaign to examine how the Angels operate and identify areas that need to be rebuilt.
The decision nevertheless raises questions about the future of manager Kurt Suzuki.
Suzuki’s contract expires after the season, meaning the Angels could soon be searching for a new manager as well. If the organization ultimately chooses a different manager for 2027, that person would become the Angels’ sixth manager in eight years.
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Such constant turnover has made it difficult for the franchise to establish a consistent baseball philosophy. Coaches and managers have repeatedly changed, while front-office leadership has also undergone major upheaval.
Mozeliak himself remains on uncertain ground. The Angels have only committed to having their top baseball operations position filled by the end of the season. Although Mozeliak is currently serving as interim general manager, he has not received a guarantee that he will remain in charge beyond 2026.
Mozeliak acknowledged that he had not yet had a definitive discussion with owner Arte Moreno and team president Molly Jolly about his long-term future with the organization. That uncertainty makes the current situation even more intriguing.
If Mozeliak ultimately receives the permanent position, Tuesday’s decisions could be viewed as the beginning of his long-term plan. If he is replaced, however, the new baseball operations leader could decide to bring in an entirely different group of coaches.
For now, Mozeliak appears determined to use every remaining opportunity to evaluate the organization.
The Angels have roughly seven weeks left in the season, giving Leveque and Wuertz a limited but important window to demonstrate what changes they can make. The objective is not necessarily to transform the club into a contender overnight. Instead, the organization needs to determine whether its pitching infrastructure is capable of supporting the rebuilding process.
That means developing young pitchers, improving the use of analytics, reducing the number of free passes and creating greater consistency from one pitcher to another.
The Angels’ current numbers make the need for improvement obvious. Their ERA remains among the league’s worst, while their walk total leads the majors. Their inability to protect leads has also contributed to a disappointing win-loss record. (ABC30 Fresno)
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Yet the coaching changes cannot be viewed in isolation.
The Angels have dealt with problems throughout their roster. Their offense has ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring, while the pitching staff has struggled to prevent runs. The club has also spent much of the season dealing with roster turnover, injuries and personnel decisions that have made consistency difficult to achieve.
That is why the coaching overhaul could be interpreted as part of a much broader reset rather than an attempt to blame three coaches for the team’s disappointing season.
Mozeliak’s comments suggest that the primary issue was not simply whether pitchers were performing poorly. Instead, he pointed to concerns about how the organization was helping pitchers perform better.
That distinction is important.
A coaching staff can only work with the talent available to it, but an organization is responsible for creating an environment where that talent can develop. With the Angels now shifting toward a rebuilding model, improving that infrastructure will be critical.
The franchise needs to identify pitchers who can become part of its next competitive team and give them the best possible resources to succeed. That includes modern technology, data analysis, mechanical instruction, pitch-design support and consistent communication between the major and minor league levels.
Mozeliak has experience building that type of organizational structure from his years with the Cardinals. His decision to promote Leveque, someone with whom he has a previous professional connection, suggests that he wants the Angels to move toward a system that is familiar to him.
The challenge will be determining whether the changes can produce meaningful results.
The Angels have spent years cycling through coaches, managers and executives without establishing sustained success. Tuesday’s firings therefore carry some risk. Changing personnel can create a short-term sense of action, but it does not automatically solve deeper organizational problems.
At the same time, Mozeliak appears unwilling to simply allow another disappointing season to continue without making adjustments.
The Angels are already at the bottom of the standings, and the club has little to lose by experimenting with its developmental structure during the final portion of the schedule. The priority now is to learn as much as possible about the organization before decisions are made for 2027 and beyond.
For Maddux, Scott and Chiti, the timing is an unfortunate conclusion to their first season with the organization. Maddux, in particular, leaves Anaheim with a reputation built over years of major league coaching experience. His dismissal demonstrates just how dramatically the Angels are attempting to change direction.
The organization now has to determine what comes next.
The interim coaching staff will be closely watched, particularly because the Angels need to improve their ability to develop and maximize pitching talent. If Leveque and Wuertz can introduce greater consistency during the remaining games, they could strengthen their cases for future roles within the organization.
Meanwhile, Mozeliak’s own future will remain one of the biggest questions surrounding the Angels.
If he is retained, the coaching changes could represent the opening chapter of a more comprehensive rebuild. If the Angels appoint another baseball operations leader, the new executive could choose to make even more changes.
Either way, Tuesday’s decisions make one thing clear: the Angels are no longer simply trying to survive a bad season.
They are attempting to rebuild the foundation of the organization.
After years of disappointing results, roster turnover and managerial changes, the franchise is finally confronting the need for a deeper reset. Mozeliak has already started that process by reshaping the roster, and now he has begun restructuring the pitching department.
The immediate results may not be dramatic. There are only a limited number of games remaining, and no coaching change can instantly repair a roster that has the worst record in baseball.
But the final weeks of 2026 could nevertheless become an important evaluation period.
The Angels need to learn which pitchers belong in their future, which developmental methods are working, where their technology and analytics systems are falling short, and what type of coaching structure can best support the next generation of players.
The firing of Mike Maddux, Darryl Scott and Dom Chiti is therefore more than another personnel change for a struggling franchise. It is another signal that the Angels are beginning to rethink how their baseball operation is built.
Whether that produces lasting success will depend on what happens next.
For now, Mozeliak has made his position clear: the organization needs change, and he believes the pitching department is one of the places where that change must begin. (sports.yahoo.com)
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