Elephant Rumblings: A’s AGM Billy Owens no longer candidate for Angels GM opening

Good morning afternoon, Athletics Nation!

The Oakland A’s have been good for a while now, reaching the postseason in each of the last three years. That makes their players more expensive, as we’ll soon see in free agency when a couple top stars likely depart, but it also means other clubs are beginning to take notice of some of the administrative minds behind the success.

The A’s already dodged one potential poaching, when quality control coach Mark Kotsay was passed over for the Detroit Tigers manager job. He interviewed with the Tigers, but they ultimately chose former Astros skipper A.J. Hinch (himself a former A’s player).

A second name was on the radar, as A’s assistant general manager Billy Owens was considered a candidate for the Los Angeles Angels GM job. However, it appears he is no longer in the running, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported a list of five finalists and Owens isn’t one of them. Per Rosenthal:

The Angels are down to five finalists for their GM opening and could decide by the end of the week, sources tell The Athletic. Four of the finalists are Cubs senior VP Jason McLeod, DBacks assistant GMs Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye and Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander.

... followed up with:

Braves assistant GM Perry Minasian is the fifth finalist for the Angels’ GM opening, sources tell The Athletic.

This isn’t the first time Owens has been attached to rumors about a GM job, and it won’t be the last. He’s considered by all accounts to be an excellent baseball exec who has earned a chance to lead a front office. Athletics Nation is particularly fond of him due to his countless in-depth interviews with our friends at Athletics Farm, providing detailed scouting reports on prospects.

Given the recent reports that Billy Beane may be leaving the club, it’s fair to wonder whether Owens could find himself in a GM role right here in Oakland soon, though there hasn’t been any official reporting on the likelihood of that theory. The San Jose native has worked as a scout, coach, and exec in the A’s organization for two decades. In addition to the title of AGM, he’s also currently the team’s Director of Player Personnel.

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Best of Twitter

Happy Veterans Day!!!

These look like pretty strong numbers, considering ZiPS tends to work out on the conservative side (and Oakland will surely upgrade a couple of these spots during the offseason)

An offseason move! Though without any literal movement.

An actual move!

Marcus Stroman accepts the qualifying offer and returns to the Mets

However, D.J. LeMahieu rejects his QO

Kevin Gausman is still deciding

Still got it