Angels purge continues: Abe Flores out as player development director

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Last one out of the Angels’ front office, turn out the lights. That’s how things are beginning to look for the team, which continued its front-office purge by not renewing the contract of player development director Abe Flores, a major league source confirmed Saturday.

With the resignation of General Manager Tony Reagins and the firings of long-time assistant GM Ken Forsch and special assistant Gary Sutherland, the Angels have now parted ways with four key front-office executives since the end of a season in which they failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Flores had just completed his fourth season as the team’s player development director, in which he oversaw all aspects of the club’s minor league system. He had spent the previous six years as the team’s manager of baseball operations.

Before joining the Angels in 2001, Flores worked for nine years as an area scout in Southern California and Mexico for the Colorado Rockies and three years as an assistant coach at USC.

The Angels are in the process of compiling candidates for their GM job, a list that is expected to include former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker, who is now the vice president of baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays, as well as Chicago White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn, and could include former Dodgers GM Dan Evans and Boston Red Sox assistant GM Ben Cherrington.

Detroit assistant GM Al Avila, the father of Tigers catcher Alex Avila, has been mentioned as a possible candidate, but Avila signed a three-year contract extension in August and said he wants to remain in Detroit with GM Dave Dombrowski.

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--Mike DiGiovanna, reporting from Arlington, Texas