There will be no reunion between the Los Angeles Angels and Albert Pujols.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reports the Halos are no longer consider the future Hall of Famer for their managerial vacancy.
Pujols, 45, is currently a member of the Angels front office under a 10-year, $10 million deal that came into effect upon his retirement in 2022. He was interviewed by general manager Perry Minassian last week, but the team decided to go in another direction for the successor to Ron Washington.
A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Pujols spent nine-plus seasons with the Angels from 2012 to 2021 after signing a 10-year, $240 million deal with the team. He appeared in 1,181 games with the Angels, batting .256 with 1,180 hits, 222 home runs, 783 runs batted in and an OPS of .758. He spent 22 seasons in the majors, also suiting up for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.
After managing the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League for the past two seasons, Pujols is expected to manage the Dominican Republic at next spring’s World Baseball Classic.
While the Angels might no longer be a possibility, Pujols remains in the picture for dugout vacancies with the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres. Gonzalez notes that Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado of the Padres are big proponents of making Pujols manager following the surprise retirement of Mike Shildt.