Angels' Washington leaving dugout indefinitely due to health issue

Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington is stepping away from the dugout indefinitely due to a health issue, general manager Perry Minasian announced.

Bench coach Ray Montgomery will take over as interim manager beginning Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Washington will remain with the team for now and will watch Friday's game from a suite at Angel Stadium, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic. He also addressed the team during a pregame meeting, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Long Beach Press Telegram.

"Wash has not felt great the last couple of days," Minasian said, per DiGiovanna. "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."

While full details about the skipper's health issue weren't provided, Washington did experience shortness of breath this week while the Angels were in New York. He underwent tests in California after Yankees doctors cleared him to fly home on the team charter.

"He hasn't been himself these past couple days. We all saw that," shortstop Zach Neto told Blum. "I'm glad he was able to figure something out and take these days to get himself back to normal."

Washington, the majors' oldest active manager at age 73, is currently in his second season piloting the Angels. He's been involved in baseball for over 50 years as a player, manager, and coach, including winning consecutive AL pennants as the Texas Rangers' skipper in 2010 and '11.

The Halos lost a franchise-record 99 games during Washington's first season in charge. However, he's guided them to a surprisingly solid start this year. L.A. enters Friday sporting a 36-38 record while sitting just two games out of a wild-card spot.

Montgomery, 55, has served as the Angels' bench coach since 2022.