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Perry Minasian will return as general manager of the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels announced that Minasian signed a two-year extension that will keep him atop baseball operations through the 2026 season.

Minasian, 44, had been nearing the end of his initial four-year contract.

The Angels haven’t been competitive in Minasian’s four years in the role, finishing with no more than 77 wins from 2021 to 2023 while currently on pace in 2024 for 93 losses, the most by the franchise since 1980. Their farm system, meanwhile, was once again considered the worst in the industry when ESPN released its rankings two weeks ago.

But longtime Angels owner Arte Moreno opted for stability after cycling through four full-time GMs from 2011 to 2021. Minasian was a bat boy who became a clubhouse attendant, then learned to scout and went on to front office roles with the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves, rising to assistant GM. He replaced Billy Eppler coming off the COVID-shortened 2020 season and struggled to win with a front-loaded roster and a barren farm system.

“Over the last four years, Perry and his baseball-operations staff have begun to lay the foundation for a bright future of Angels baseball. We have been impressed by the steps Perry has taken to infuse our major league team with young and exciting talent while also revamping our player-development process. We believe this extension will allow him to continue the vision of building sustainable success throughout the Angels organization and deliver a championship for our fans,” Moreno said in a statement.

Under Minasian, Los Angeles received three transcendent seasons from two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani but struggled to keep fellow stars Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon healthy. The cast around them left much to be desired. Minasian made headlines by steering an all-pitcher draft in 2021, but none of the 20 arms selected have yet made a significant impact on the big league roster.

However, under Minasian’s watch, the Angels have acquired potential building blocks in catcher Logan O’Hoppe, first baseman Nolan Schanuel, shortstop Zach Neto, right-hander Ben Joyce and second baseman Christian Moore, the latter of whom was taken in the first round of last month’s draft and is already thriving in Double-A. The new coaching staff, led by manager Ron Washington, has drawn positive reviews for its development of young players. And the franchise’s issues date much further back than Minasian’s hiring.

“I am incredibly thankful to Arte and Carole Moreno for their continued trust and support. I would also like to thank [team president] John Carpino for the tremendous working relationship we have developed over the last four years, and I look forward to continuing our plans of bringing the Angels back to being a consistent championship contender,” Minasian said in a statement.

The Angels will miss the postseason for the 10th consecutive year in 2024 and will soon clinch their ninth consecutive losing record. Their last playoff win occurred in 2009, even though Trout dominated the 2010s and Ohtani did what only Babe Ruth could in the early part of the 2020s. Los Angeles — a franchise that claimed an unlikely World Series title in 2002 and won five division titles from 2004 to 2009, all under longtime manager Mike Scioscia — lost the consistent prospect pipeline that once made it successful and couldn’t patch myriad holes through free agency.

It all came to a head in summer 2023. A hot stretch in July put the Angels on the precipice of contention and ultimately prompted the front office — Moreno specifically — to keep Ohtani rather than trade him months before free agency. Rather than inject their farm system with some much-needed young talent, the Angels traded what few top-shelf prospects they had for veteran reinforcements, then lost 19 of 27 games in August and later watched Ohtani leave to the crosstown Los Angeles Dodgers in the ensuing offseason.

The Angels are now navigating through what seems like a transitional period, waiting for their young players to develop and hoping Trout and Rendon can remain healthy.

Minasian will continue to guide them through it.

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York YankeesAaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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