The Angels are hiring Max Stacey as receivers coach, general manager Perry Minassian confirmed Wednesday. They also added Keith Johnson and Andy Shatzley as third base coach and infield coach, respectively. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register first reported the hiring.
The 34-year-old Stasi has not officially announced his retirement. After ten seasons in the majors, he’s clearly entering the next phase of his career. Stacey spent last season with the Giants in Triple-A, although he spent most of the year on the minor league injured list. He last played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2022 with the Halos.
Stacey was originally a fourth-round pick by the Athletics, but was traded to the Astros before earning the Double-A team. He debuted with Houston in 2013 and spent the next few seasons as the third receiver on the organization’s depth chart. Technically, Stacey played seven major league seasons with the Astros, but he only played in a total of 163 games during that time. Only once did he appear in more than 31 games in a season.
The Angels acquired Stassi before the 2019 deadline in what seemed like a small deal. He struggled over the next few seasons but exceeded expectations. During the shortened 2020 schedule, Stacey hit .278 with seven home runs in 31 games. A year later, he hit a career-high 13 long balls with a .241/.326/.426 batting line in 319 at-bats.
Stacey signed a three-year, $17.5MM contract extension entering the 2022 season. The Halos gave him the bulk of the work, with Kurt Suzuki serving as backup catcher. Stacey had a career-high 375 at-bats but fell to a .180/.267/.303 batting average. Unfortunately, this would be his last action in the MLB. He missed the entire ’23 season — first because of a hip injury, then because his son was born three months premature and required several months in the neonatal intensive care unit to attend to family matters.
The Angels traded Stacey to the Braves as part of a dead money shuffle in the 2023-24 offseason. Atlanta immediately released him, leading to a free-agent deal with the White Sox. Stacey’s hip issues caused him to return to the injured list at the start of the season and he underwent season-ending surgery in July. He also failed to stay healthy in the minor leagues last season, so he’s now stepping into coaching. He finished his career with a .212/.295/.361 line and 41 home runs in over 400 games. He drove in 128 times and had 241 hits.
Staci entered coaching with his old team and his former receiving mate. Suzuki is entering his first season as a Major League Baseball (MLB) head coach. They named an experienced bench coach in John Gibbons and a well-respected veteran pitching coach in Mike Maddux. Adam Eaton gets his first MLB coaching opportunity as first base/outfield coach.
Johnson and Shatsley were both former managers in the Halos farm system—Johnson in Triple-A Salt Lake City, Shatsley in Double-A Rockets City. Johnson, 54, has managed the organization for 14 years. Previously, he was on the MLB staff as an infield coach and spent several seasons as the first base coach with the Marlins. In 2000, he played six games for the Angels, his only major league experience. Shatzley, 41, spent nearly 10 years in college and has been in the system for the past five seasons. This is his first role on a Major League Baseball (MLB) staff.
