The Los Angeles Angels recently received news that manager Ron Washington would be out indefinitely to deal with undisclosed health issues.
The dugout was manned by bench coach Ray Montgomery, who will manage the team while Washington is gone.
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The 73-year-old skipper experienced shortness of breath and appeared fatigued towards the end of the Halos' previous series against the New York Yankees, per the Orange County Register's Mike DiGiovanna.
Outfielder Taylor Ward seemed to confirm a difference in Washington's actions in the Bronx.
“He did seem to be moving a little slow, but he already has kind of a slow pace,” Ward said. “There were a few times, walking to the bus, that you noticed something."
“We wish the best for him. We want him to get as healthy as possible and get back with us. … [But] I think we have a good chance of coming together even more [as a team]. I’m looking forward to taking the field with these guys tonight and doing it for him," added Ward.
Shortstop Zach Neto also spoke on wishing his skipper to get back to full health, while agreeing he saw a noticeable difference recently.
“Health is way more important. He hasn’t been himself these past couple days. We all saw that. I’m glad he was able to figure something out and take these days to get himself back.”
Angels SS Zach Neto:
“Health is way more important. He hasn’t been himself these past couple days. We all saw that. I’m glad he was able to figure something out and take these days to get himself back.”
FWIW, have been told Wash is here, interacting with people. Seems himself.
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General manger Perry Minasian, who is confident that Washington will return this season, per DiGiovanna, added his insight on the move to let Washington recover, and adding that his love for the skipper is paramount.
“Wash has not felt great the last couple of days,” Minasian said. “We want to make sure he’s 100% before he’s back in the dugout and managing. How long it’s going to take, I don’t know. I don’t expect it to be too long.
“We all know how important this is for all of us, but health is more important than anything, and me, personally, I’m not letting him back in the dugout until I know he’s 100% OK. I love the guy too much."
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For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.
Gabe Smallson is a sportswriter based in Los Angeles. His focus is sports and entertainment content. Gabe has previously worked at DodgersNation and Newsweek. He graduated from San Francisco State University in 2020 and is a Masters Candidate at the University of Southern California. You can get in touch with Gabe by emailing gabe.smallson@lasportsreport.com. You can find him on X @gabesmallson
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