Albert Pujols Has Met With the Angels About Their Managerial Opening

Albert Pujols has met with the Los Angeles Angels about returning to their dugout as their next manager, a person with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Angels aren't publicly discussing their search for a successor to Ron Washington, who wasn't brought back after two seasons.

Pujols met with general manager Perry Minasian in St. Louis, and the iconic slugger appears to be the current front-runner to take over the Angels in what would be his first in-season major league coaching job of any kind.

Angels owner Arte Moreno has remained fond of Pujols, who played first base and designated hitter for the Angels from 2012 to 2021 after Moreno signed him away from the Cardinals with a $254 million free agent contract.

Pujols retired after the 2022 season. His 22-year playing career included 703 homers and 2,218 RBIs, along with three NL MVP awards and two World Series rings won in St. Louis.

Pujols' deal with the Angels included a personal services contract after his playing career ended, and the 45-year-old Pujols has been an offseason instructor in the Angels organization over the past three years.

Since his retirement, Pujols has put on an Angels uniform and worked with players at each of their past three spring trainings. He also coached players at the Angels’ academy in his native Dominican Republic.

Pujols has managed in the Dominican Winter League, and he is slated to be the Dominican Republic’s manager at the World Baseball Classic next year.

The Angels are looking for their fifth full-time manager in eight seasons to replace Washington, who was dismissed last month. The 73-year-old manager missed the second half of his second season in