MLB Rumors: Brad Ausmus 'In Jeopardy' of Being Fired as Angels Manager

Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus' tenure with the team could be coming to an end after just one season.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN, Ausmus is "in jeopardy of losing his job" and being evaluated by the team's leadership. Olney cited a source who thinks it is more likely Ausmus is fired than still the manager in 2020.

The Angels were just 72-90 in Ausmus' first season at the helm, but he wasn't given much time to turn around a team that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2014.

If Ausmus were to be fired, he at least has other managerial experience to fall back on as he looks for his next stop. He was the manager of the Detroit Tigers from 2014 through 2017 and finished with a 314-332 record and one playoff appearance.

"I've kind of learned to shrug those things off," Ausmus said when discussing the chance he may lose his job after just one year, per Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times. "There was a point in Detroit in 2015, my second year there, it came out that I was being fired. I was there for two more years. So you learn to take it with a grain of salt."

The timing of Olney's report is notable because Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and manager Joe Maddon announced they were parting ways following the 2019 campaign.

Torres noted "speculation that Ausmus was on his way out began as soon" as it was clear Maddon wouldn't be returning to his position with the Cubs after leading them to the playoffs in four of the last five years.

Maddon was on Los Angeles' staff for 31 years prior to becoming the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2006, so there is a familiarity in place with the franchise.

The opportunity for the Angels to hire one of the biggest names in baseball could mean the end of Ausmus' time with the team before he could accelerate the rebuild.