Angels manager Mike Scioscia and general manager Jerry Dipoto not always getting along has been an ongoing subplot for the past few years, but Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that recently the “tension is back and far more pervasive, extending to the Angels coaches and even the players.”
According to Rosenthal the latest issue stems from “a series of meetings over the weekend when Dipoto expressed frustration with the coaches’ failure to convey scouting information to the players.” And apparently at least one member of the coaching staff as well as star first baseman Albert Pujols didn’t react very kindly to the GM’s involvement.
Scioscia is the longest-tenured manager in baseball and has a .546 winning percentage in 16 seasons with the Angels, including a 40-37 record this year. He’s technically signed through 2018 as part of a 10-year contract, but Rosenthal notes that Scioscia has the ability to opt out of the deal after this season if he’s willing to give up the $18 million he’s owed from 2016-2018.
That sounds like a lot of money to pass up, but the 56-year-old Scioscia would presumably have little trouble securing another big, long-term contract to manage another contending team. And based on his terse comments about the working relationship with Dipoto it certainly sounds like Scioscia is tiring of the situation now that the GM is basically bypassing him to interact with players directly.
Rosenthal’s lengthy report includes tons of other details, many of which make the relationship sound incredibly bad and only getting worse. Anaheim may not be big enough for both of them.