When the Los Angeles Angels fired Joe Maddon, many understood the move.
The team was in the midst of a massive losing streak, tallying their 12th straight before getting rid of Maddon.
This came after the Angels got off to a strong start, bolstered by their stars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.
Shohei Ohtani with a two-run homer and he's 4-for-5 with a homer, a triple and four RBIs today. #Angels down 11-7. It's his 27th homer of the year. pic.twitter.com/yTyz0lCfbu
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) August 17, 2022
However, things have not improved for the Angels.
They now sit in second-to-last in the division, and well out of playoff contention.
Looking back on it, was it the right move to fire Maddon?
Nevin Hasn’t Produced
After firing Maddon, the Angles opted to keep bench coach Phil Nevin in as the interim manager.
While he inherited a losing team, there has been no sign of a turnaround.
In fact, under his management, the Angels have actually been worse.
Joe Maddon managed the Halos to 27 wins in 56 games this year.
Phil Nevin has only 25 wins through 64 games (so far) since being gifted the title of manager.
— Halo Life ⚾ (@_HaloLife) August 21, 2022
It is of course difficult to compare the two’s record, but it is clear that Nevin hasn’t been a savior.
Along with this, many have raised an eyebrow to some of Nevin’s more questionable moves.
He takes an old school, no nonsense approach and that has reflected with the team.
However, this hasn’t been reflected in the record.
If the Angels had kept Maddon, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that they’d be winning more games.
Problem Is Roster Construction
Maddon, though unconventional, has a good track record as an MLB manager.
However, the Angels have a very bad track record of building a roster.
This has never been clearer than this season.
The Angels have two of baseball’s greatest talents in the sport’s history.
They even have some strong supporting pieces that have played well this season.
When looking at it from that perspective, the Angels truly have the foundation to build a contending team.
Yet, despite all of this, their roster is lacking the true depth and talent needed to take them into the playoffs.
Tungsten Arm O’Doyle moment pic.twitter.com/ZadzIRscAQ
— Alex Mueller (@AlexMueller23) August 17, 2022
While firing Maddon can provide immediate change, it will never ease the fact that the team’s front office failed to build this roster from the beginning.
They were not set up to make the playoffs, though that’s what the expectations were.
As a result, fans were left wondering why their team is underperforming.
At the time of Maddon’s firing, the blame was placed on him.
Since then, many have recognized the failure of the Angels’ roster, especially as Ohtani and Trout constantly produce when healthy.
Front Office Failures Hurt Team’s Future
The issue with the Angels’ front office is that they have yet to consider the team’s future.
This specifically centers around Trout and Ohtani.
While it is great having the two, what is the purpose of essentially wasting the two talents?
This season’s trade deadline was an excellent example.
With Ohtani having one more year of club control, the Angels were in an interesting position to potentially deal the superstar as he’s having another standout season.
Rather than receiving a haul of prospects, the front office chose to hang onto Ohtani.
Angels did well to deal Thor and Raisel but they really needed to move Ohtani. (In here: how the Yankees approached Ohtani’s possible availability). What now for Angels — sign or trade the 2-way superstar?https://t.co/XNX6WqEHDP
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 12, 2022
While this is understandable, it might not be what’s best for the club moving forward.
The thought is they will try and compete next season, but they have consistently proven that they can’t build a team.
They will also likely be finding a new manager, which will shake the clubhouse’s status quo and lead to another adjustment period.
If they wanted to compete going forward, it would’ve been smart to hang onto Maddon.
Now, the team is caught in the middle, with no clear path to future success in front of them.
As such, the Angels continue to struggle.
I think it was a big mistake to fire Joe in the middle of a season. The team was shook and it’s taken them awhile to get back on even footing. The problem wasn’t Joe, it was the personnel that was hired.