Minasian leaves Braves’ front office to join Angels as GM

Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian was hired as the Los Angeles Angels’ new GM, the franchise announced Thursday.

The Angels reportedly interviewed as many as 20 candidates. Minasian was among five finalists and emerged as a front-runner Wednesday evening, according to multiple reports.

Minasian, 40, has been with the Braves since 2017. He previously was with the Blue Jays (2009-17), where he worked with current Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, and the Rangers (2003-09). Minasian’s father was a long-time Rangers employee, and Perry Minasian was a bat boy with the team in his youth.

The Braves hired Minasian before hiring Anthopoulos, but the latter promoted Minasian to assistant GM and vice president of baseball operations. Minasian has been Anthopoulos’ right-hand man, helping build the Braves into a perennial contender over the past few seasons.

Minasian has an extensive scouting background and replaces Billy Eppler as the Angels’ GM. He’ll be tasked with building a contender around outfielder Mike Trout, the consensus best player in baseball who’s 29 years old yet hasn’t experienced a single playoff game victory. Trout has made only one postseason appearance (a three-game sweep).

Minasian is highly respected across the industry. The Braves became a victim of their own success as their deep postseason run will make their assistant executives and coaches appealing to other organizations.