Albert

Pujols

Pujols was believed to be the favorite for the Angels job this offseason, but they ultimately decided to go with Kurt Suzuki instead. Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla and bench coach Brian Esposito are the only other candidates believed to have interviewed with the club at this juncture. It doesn’t sound like anything is imminent as San Diego searches for Mike Shildt’s replacement, but Pujols appears to be a serious candidate to fill the void.

Incredible, especially given that Pujols is already an Angels employee under the terms of his personal services contract that was part of his 10-year, $240 million deal with the club as a player. Pujols is still in the mix for the jobs in San Diego and Baltimore, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The Angels are still considering Torii Hunter and Kurt Suzuki and have wanted to interview Brandon Hyde and Rocco Baldelli, though things seemed to be on hold during the Pujols negotiations.

Pujols has reportedly been the favorite to become the manager of the Los Angeles Angels, but they will have some competition. The former big league star has no managerial experience, but that didn’t stop another former player, Stephen Vogt from winning AL Manager of the Year in his first season as a manager. Pujols figures to be one of the most discussed managerial candidates of the off-season.

Pujols is considered one of the favorites to land the managerial job, but the 45-year-old faces some other candidates; including former outfielder Torii Hunter. The future Hall of Famer will likely have a more formal interview in the coming weeks, but it shouldn’t shock anyone if Pujols is announced as the team’s new skipper before the start of the winter.

Hunter has spent the last two seasons as a special assistant in Los Angeles’ front office working with general manager Perry Minasian, who is entering the final season of his contract. The 50-year-old former big leaguer played 19 seasons in the majors, including a half-decade run with the Angels from 2008-2012, and was a five-time All-Star selection. His connections to the organization, and reported close relationship with Halos owner Arte Moreno, make him a serious candidate for the position following skipper Ron Washington’s dismissal. The other big name that has surfaced is Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, who is considered the leading candidate at the moment.

Well, this would be fun. Heyman was first to report of the interview, but Ken Rosenthal and Sam Blum believe that Pujols is the Angels’ “leading choice” to take over. Pujols retired back in 2022 after a legendary career, and of course played for the Angels for a large portion of it; albeit not the most successful portion. The 45-year-old has no managerial experience at the highest level, but he’s going to manage the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, and it appears this is something he’s very interested in. Fun.

Unlike most recipients of this award, Pujols wasn’t returning from any sort of major injury or illness -- he simply returned to relevance. Pujols surpassed 300 plate appearances for the first time since 2019 and wound up crushing 24 home runs while slashing .270/.345/.550 over 351 plate appearances in his farewell tour.

Pujols had a terrific second half this season in St. Louis en route to joining the highly exclusive 700 home run club, but he’ll go forward with the plan to hang up his cleats for good. The 42-year-old -- 43 in January -- finishes with 3,384 hits, 703 homers, 2,218 RBI, and a lifetime .296/.374/.544 batting line across 22 major league seasons. He was an 11-time All-Star, a three-time NL MVP, and he won two World Series rings (2006, 2011) during his prime years with the Cardinals. Cooperstown awaits.

It would have been unthinkable a few months ago seeing Pujols hitting in the two hole against righty Zack Wheeler, but he’s turned back the clock and been awesome in the second half. The Cards’ full lineup looks like this: Lars Nootbaar RF, Pujols DH, Paul Goldschmidt 1B, Nolan Arenado 3B, Brendan Donovan 2B, Dylan Carlson CF, Corey Dickerson LF, Yadier Molina C, Tommy Edman SS.

Mitch Keller retired Pujols in each of his first two plate appearances, but in the sixth inning he hung a curveball and the future Hall of Famer lined it over the left-field wall for a two-run shot. Pujols had been tied with Babe Ruth on the all-time RBI list but now is in the No. 2 spot by himself with 2,216. He’s gone deep in back-to-back games and his 16 homers since August 14 are more than anyone else in baseball (yes, including Aaron Judge’s 15).