Former Mets manager Mickey Callaway is headed to Anaheim as the Angels’ new pitching coach, according to multiple reports from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The team has yet to formally announce the hire, though Heyman indicates it’s all but a done deal at this point.
Callaway was fired by the Mets shortly after the conclusion of their 2019 campaign, though, as Nightengale points out, he’s still owed $1.05 million in 2020. He lasted just two seasons in the skipper’s seat, guiding the club to a disheartening 163-161 record from 2018-2019 and failing to help them qualify for the postseason in either run. Overall, he’s seen far more success as a pitching coach -- both in the majors and minors -- and played a pivotal role in the Indians’ 2016 and 2017 playoff appearances.
Callaway will work under newly-hired manager Joe Maddon, who is set to make his return to the organization for the first time since 2005. Although Callaway operated out of the Angels’ rotation and bullpen for a brief time in 2002-2003, overlapping with Maddon’s five-year stint as Mike Scioscia’s bench coach, this will be the first time the two have worked together in a management capacity.
