The Los Angeles Angels coaching staff has been a bit of a mystery throughout the offseason. After letting go of several members of their 2021 staff, they kept quiet on who the potential replacements would be, with the lockout ultimately leading to dead silence on the matter.
However, recent rumors have shed some light on what the Angels may look like in 2022 with regard to their coaches, including some familiar faces. While three names — Phil Nevin, Benji Gil, and Bill Hasselman — have been confirmed, they are still waiting on 2021 Angels outfielder Adam Eaton.
Due to the lockout and a fault in the CBA, Eaton cannot make a deal with a team as a coach, as he is still technically covered by the CBA as a player. Even still, Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register confirmed the interest in Eaton, as well as the other three new additions.
Can confirm that the #Angels are hiring Phil Nevin, Benji Gil and Bill Hasselman as coaches, with one more position yet to be filled. Adam Eaton is a candidate, but the holdup (as @Ken_Rosenthal reported) is that he's still technically a player.
Roles for coaches TBD.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) January 5, 2022
While these coaches do not yet have confirmed positions within the organization, the Angels did reportedly make a non-traditional move with their open bench coach role, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network:
Angels are hiring Ray Montgomery out of their front office to be their new bench coach. Very well respected longtime exec is an interesting choice. Montgomery was an MLB outfielder who previously worked in D-Backs and Brewers front offices.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 6, 2022
Montgomery was the Angels’ director of player personnel for the 2021 season and was hired shortly after the end of the 2020 season. It’s rare to see someone get moved from a front office role to a coaching role, but Montgomery is seen as a good hire regardless.
As for Nevin, Gil, and Hasselman, the Angels have once again yet to determine roles for these three. But all of them have solid resumes as players and as coaches. Nevin and Gil both have a history with the Angels franchise.
Nevin spent one year with the Angels during his 12-year MLB career, and has since been a third base coach and a Minor League manager. Gil won the 2002 World Series with the Angels, and is taking his first MLB coaching role after managing a team in the Mexican League since 2014.
Rich Waltz out as play-by-play broadcaster
Changes are happening at nearly every level of the Angels organization, as even their broadcast booth is undergoing another switch. Rich Waltz, who spent the second half of the 2021 season as Matt Vasgersian’s backup play-by-play announcer, will not return in 2022.
Instead, the Angels and Bally Sports West will search for yet another person to cover the games that will be missed by Vasgersian next season.