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By Sam Garcia
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The Los Angeles Angels are in the middle of an 11th straight losing season, which is the longest active losing streak in MLB. Figuring out how to turn the Angels back into a winning franchise is what drew former St. Louis Cardinals executive John Mozeliak to Los Angeles.
Mozeliak left the Cardinals organization in September 2025. At the time, he was planning to step away from front office roles in baseball. He said there was a possibility he could return to baseball but he did not expect it to be in the near future.
But the opportunity to transform the Angels' franchise has reignited Mozeliak's front-office career.
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“It was not something when I walked away from St. Louis that I thought I would be doing this quickly,” Mozeliak said Thursday in a phone interview with The Athletic. “But it became something where I felt really energized about going back.”
Since taking over as interim general manager, Mozeliak has navigated the MLB Draft and trade deadline.
The Angels drafted two-way high school player Jared Grindlinger, which is different from the franchise's typical approach of drafting players that will be ready for MLB quickly. At the deadline, Los Angeles traded MLB players such as catcher Logan O'Hoppe, right fielder Jo Adell and reliever Kirby Yates.
“We were both compelled to really try to do things a little differently here,” Mozeliak said to The Athletic, referring to Angels team president Molly Jolly. “My excitement started to grow because it just became really like a compelling and interesting project to be a part of. It became something where I went from not wanting to really work in baseball anymore to definitely wanting to try to solve this.”
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Mozeliak's Timeline With the Angels Is Flexible
Part of Mozeliak's responsibilities is helping the Angels hire a long-term GM.
He has reportedly created a list of potential candidates for the role but has not conducted any formal interviews. Mozeliak also told reporters he is not in a rush to hire a new GM.
“My timeline still has some flexibility, because I don’t want to recommend or do anything until we’re ready,” he explained. “I have an agreement through the end of this year. In terms of what the future looks like, that still hasn’t been determined.”
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