Angels begin interviews in GM search

The Angels have interviewed several candidates for their vacant general manager position, including the Cubs' Jason McLeod, the Padres' Logan White, the A's Billy Owens, the Nationals’ Dan Jennings, former Marlins GM Michael Hill and the D-backs' Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye, according to Major League sources.

The Angels are looking for a replacement for Billy Eppler, who was let go after the season with one year remaining on his deal. Club president John Carpino indicated early in the offseason that the process could take until Thanksgiving. Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, who was with the club as a special assistant, was slated to help run the GM search, but was hired as manager of the White Sox on Thursday. Assistant general manager Jonathan Strangio and senior advisor Bill Stoneman are helping lead the GM search along with owner Arte Moreno and Carpino with La Russa out of the mix.

The Angels also contacted the Cubs for permission to interview vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz, MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi reported on Wednesday night. But Kantrovitz reportedly turned down the request.

The club was also heavily linked with veteran GM Dave Dombrowski early in the offseason, but it’s unclear if he has interviewed with the club.

McLeod has a relationship with manager Joe Maddon, dating back to Maddon’s five years as skipper of the Cubs. McLeod has experience helping build World Series-winning rosters with both the Red Sox and Cubs, and is currently Chicago's senior VP of player personnel.

White is considered one of the better amateur talent evaluators in the game and was a former scouting director for the Dodgers. He’s currently a senior advisor for San Diego.

Owens has been with the A's for 19 years and has a background in scouting and player acquisitions, but recently received more administrative experience with Oakland, getting hired as an assistant GM before the 2019 season.

Jennings was a long-time executive with the Marlins, working with the organization in a variety of roles from 2002-15, including general manager and manager. He's been an assistant GM with Washington since '16.

Hill was recently let go as GM of the Marlins, but it was reportedly over a contract dispute and not based on his performance. He has spent time in front offices of both the Rays and Marlins and helped lead Miami to its surprising run to the 2020 postseason.

Porter also has experience with Maddon, as he was in the front office with the Cubs when they won the World Series in 2017. And he was also in Boston's front office when they won World Series titles in '04, '07 and '13. He's been an assistant GM for Arizona for the last four seasons.

Sawdaye also spent 15 years with the Red Sox, working as director of amateur scouting, before spending the last four years as an assistant GM for Arizona. He played a major role in the Red Sox drafting superstar Mookie Betts.