The Angels are in need of a new manager after former skipper Ron Washington and interim manager Ray Montgomery's departures following the season. Los Angeles may look to a franchise legend to fill the opening.
According to a new report from The Athletic's Sam Blum and Katie Woo, Angels general manager Perry Minasian met with Albert Pujols in St. Louis to discuss L.A.'s managerial opening. Blum and Woo noted that nothing is official at this time, but the meeting went well and a contract is being discussed, although an announcement is not expected to be imminent.
Washington stepped away from the team in June due to health reasons and Montgomery took over for the rest of the season as the Angels went 72-90, missing the MLB playoffs for the 11th straight season. Pujols, the 11-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion with the Cardinals, was with the Angels from 2012 to '21 before he spent a year with the Dodgers and returned to St. Louis for his final season.
He was with the Angels in '23 as a special assistant after his playing career ended. Last year, he was named manager of Leones del Escogido in his native Dominican Republic, where he led the team to a league title and a win in the '25 Caribbean Series. He's also set to manage the Dominican Republic team in the '26 World Baseball Classic. Although a deal with the Angels isn't done, it seems like a perfect fit for the former slugger with 3,384 hits and 703 career home runs.
The Athletic noted that one of the most important parts of their discussions is Pujols's 10-year, $10 million post-retirement contract he signed with the Angels as part of his 10-year, $240 deal to join the team in '12. We'll see if the all-time great returns to the big leagues with his first MLB managerial job.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Angels in Discussions With Albert Pujols on Manager Opening: Report.
