Albert Pujols could be returning to Anaheim, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Angels are planning to interview the future Hall-of-Famer for their managerial opening. Beyond just being a candidate for the job, Pujols already looks like a favorite, as The Athletic’s Sam Blum, Katie Woo, and Ken Rosenthal write that “Pujols is believed to be the leading choice” for Angels owner Arte Moreno. A source close to Pujols says “the decision may be Pujols’ to make” in regards to whether or not he’ll take the job.
Reports emerged yesterday that the Halos were making a change in the dugout, as neither Ron Washington nor Ray Montgomery would be managing the team in 2026. Washington took a leave of absence in June after undergoing a quadruple bypass, and Montgomery (previously the team’s bench coach) took over as interim manager for the remainder of the 2025 campaign.
Montgomery told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that he is deciding whether or not to accept an offer to remain in the Angels organization in another role. As for Washington, the Angels held a club option on his services for next season, but chose to decline that option in favor of a new face as skipper.
Or, perhaps not an entirely new face if Pujols ends up as the hire. Pujols spent parts of 10 seasons playing with Los Angeles, hitting .256/.311/.447 with 222 home runs after signing a 10-year, $240MM free agent contract in the 2011-12 offseason. Much more was expected from Pujols given the size of the deal and his past superstar-level production with the Cardinals, but between injuries and age (Pujols was entering his age-32 season at the time of the signing), the slugger hit the decline phase that most players experience during their 30s.
In theory, the tandem of Pujols and the emerging Mike Trout (and by 2018, Shohei Ohtani) would’ve promised a glorious era of Angels baseball. Los Angeles did post winning records in four of Pujols’ first five years with the team, though only the 98-win 2014 squad made the playoffs, and the Angels were swept out of the ALDS by the Royals. That remains the Halos’ last postseason appearance, and the team hasn’t had a winning season since 2015.
With Pujols’ numbers falling off and Ohtani’s presence covering the DH position, the Angels decided to designate Pujols for assignment in May 2021 and then released him soon after. Pujols moved across town to sign with the Dodgers for the rest of the 2021 campaign, and then played one final season in St. Louis, turning back to the clock to hit .270/345/.550 with 24 homers in 351 plate appearances during his farewell.
Since retiring, Pujols has still been an Angels employee, due to the 10-year personal services contract that was attached to his free agent deal for his post-playing days. He been open about eventually wanting to return to baseball as a coach or manager, and he has been a special instructor during the Halos’ spring camps, and a skipper in the Dominican Winter League. Pujols’ most high-profile managerial gig is slated for this coming spring at the World Baseball Classic when he is slated to helm the Dominican Republic’s team, though those plans will naturally change if he is hired to manage the Angels.
Pujols’ lack of direct MLB managing or coaching experience doesn’t make him all that different from some other recent managers who were hired to run teams shortly after their careers were over. It is increasingly rare to see a true superstar-level talent move into a managerial role, though naturally plenty of Hall-of-Famers have also become skippers (or, back in the day, even served as player-managers).
The idea of Pujols returning as manager to try and restore the Halos to prominence carries some natural intrigue. If the ball is truly in Pujols’ court about whether he wants the job or not, he may view his past history in Anaheim as part of the challenge, and beginning his managerial career in a familiar environment undoubtedly holds some appeal. In a sense, there is nowhere to go but up, given how the Angels are on a decade-long run of losing seasons. Since seven other teams besides the Angels are also looking for managers this offseason, it is possible Pujols could emerge as a candidate for one of those positions as well.