Albert Pujols is expected to be named the next manager of the Los Angeles Angels.
Headlines throughout MLB circles have all but anointed the former slugger as the Angels’ bench boss for next season. An interview with club owner Arte Moreno is a mere formality in the hiring process.
Having spent 10 of his 22 big league seasons with the Angels, and currently associated with the club on a personal services contract, any candidates not named Pujols probably don’t possess a resume that supersedes that of the former first baseman.
This doesn’t mean that Pujols should be Moreno’s only choice in order to take down the manager’s vacancy sign hung at Angel Stadium. In the interview process, inquiries should also be made as to Pujols’ qualifications.
With just one season of managing in the Dominican Winter League to his credit, the question of whether Pujols is ready to lead at the MLB level should be explored. His playing the game at a level that few have doesn’t automatically translate to his being an equally successful boss of 26 players.
Perhaps Moreno, in completing his due diligence of replacing last season’s Angels’ skippers Ron Washington, who in June was placed on leave for health reasons, and Ray Montgomery, who took over in the interim role from Washington, should review who and how the Texas Rangers recently hired their next manager.
The Rangers didn’t take long to decide on naming Skip Schumaker their new manager. With Texas’s last game of the season on Sept. 28, five days later, Schumaker was being measured for his uniform. As a senior advisor for the club this past season, Schumaker, 45, was seen by many in baseball as a manager-in-waiting. Having missed the postseason the past two seasons, Texas, and Bruce Bochy, 70, mutually agreed to part ways.
Because Schumaker brings two full MLB seasons of managerial experiences to the 2026 campaign, the Rangers are relying on a veteran to lead their players as opposed to someone who hasn’t done the job before. The 2023 and 2024 seasons managing the Miami Marlins, including being named National League Manager of the Year in 2023, will have a well prepared Schumaker for the task ahead.
There’s no doubt that Pujols could evaluate talent. More than two decades as a player, a career that produced 703 home runs, 686 doubles, and 3,384 hits, and three National League MVP honors, there isn’t much that Pujols hasn’t seen in the game. But putting in a few seasons at various levels in the minor leagues first could do wonders for his career’s future aspirations at the big league level.
The opening for the Angels’ managerial position came about after Washington’s health issues first surfaced in June. After undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery, Washington, in his second season leading the Angels, was out for the remainder of the season. When Montgomery took control of the club’s reins, Los Angeles was 36–38. The 88 games Montgomery managed produced a 36–52 record.
Subtract Pujols’ on-field accomplishments with the Cardinals, Angels, and Dodgers, he is, although a popular candidate to run the dugout, at rookie level when it comes to experience. Veterans looking to return to managing at the MLB level—Derek Shelton, John Gibbons, Bob Melvin, and Rocco Baldelli—all have the experience to step in with a club and on Day 1, lead them in the right direction. Puljos last MLB off-season dipped his toe for the first time in a manager’s role, when managing Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League. The results gained by Pujols’ club far exceed that of most insiders. The club went 10–5 in the playoffs, and won the Caribbean Series.
Given considerations ongoing with the Angels, Pujols’ future plans are fluid. He is scheduled to manage the Dominican Republic National team in the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic. The WBC will take place March 5–17 in San Juan, Houston, Tokyo, and Miami.
Having retired after the 2022 season, Pujols continued in the game as a spring training instructor, among other duties for the Angels. His familiarity with the organization, naturally would be a plus, if and when Moreno should offer Pujols the manager’s job. Having played alongside Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani for four seasons (2018–2021), Pujols was part of a would-be thunderous lineup put forth by the Angels that didn’t produce a pennant or World Series winner. The Angeles last appeared in an MLB postseason series in 2014, and the Kansas City Royals swept them in three games of the American League Division Series.
Los Angeles completed the 2025 season at 72–90; a last place finish in the American League West. A season earlier, in 2024, at 63–99, the Angels were last in their division, as well. Perhaps Moreno and Angels’ general manager Perry Minasian are looking for more of a quick turn around with their fan base, and that Pujols is the fix needed to quell any anxiousness exhibited due to continued losing seasons. Whoever gets the skipper’s job with the Angels has their work cut out for them, when having to deal with Houston and Seattle in the same division.
Popularity or a proven track record, whatever style manager Moreno ultimately selects, there will be many questions to be answered once the 2026 season is underway.
