As more teams dismissed or moved on from their dugout leadership in the past two days, a familiar, resonant name from the Cardinals has surfaced as a prominent potential hire.
Already an MVP and member of the exclusive 700-homer club and soon to be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Albert Pujols appears poised for a new title.
Manager.
A few years after first expressing interest and a plan to become a major-league manager, Pujols is a candidate for Los Angeles Angels’ newly opened manager position, multiple sources described late Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Pujols currently works for the Angels and his strong connection with owner Arte Moreno traces back to signing with LA as a free agent in 2011. The Angels’ managerial vacancy is one of several created this week, and it’s possible Pujols will be considered for other openings as well.
Former Cardinals World Series champion and bench coach Skip Schumaker will also be a popular candidate for the openings if he’s not hired immediately by his current team before others inquire. Schumaker spent the past year with the Texas Rangers as a senior advisor in baseball operations, and he is widely viewed as the favorite to replace Bruce Bochy, who will not return as Texas’ manager. Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young acknowledged Schumaker as a candidate this week, and the Dallas Morning News wrote that Young’s “target list starts and ends” with Schumaker.
Cardinals current bench coach Daniel Descalso is also expected to appear on some teams’ lists as a potential candidate, and that could lead to interviews.
Pujols, 45, currently works for the Angels on a personal services contract that pays him $1 million a year and started following his retirement in 2022, the season he returned the Cardinals for a farewell tour that included his 700th home run and joining Hank Aaron as the only players in history with that many homers and also 3,000 hits.
In the three seasons since his retirement, Pujols has worked for the Angels, served as an ambassador for the office of Major League Baseball commissioner, and been a recurring analyst on MLB Network. Standing outside the network’s trailer during the 2023 World Series, Pujols told the Post-Dispatch about his hope to be a big-league manager – and also his plan to prepare for such a role. He mentioned how being a broadcast analyst would expose him to more teams and more people within the game and also give him access to front offices and their views.
He also sought managerial positions, first leading a team from the Dominican Republic’s winter league to a championship. He’s been named Team Dominicana’s manager for this coming spring’s World Baseball Classic.
“I think if the right time comes and it’s the right decision, of course – what player doesn’t want to be a manager?” Pujols said to the Post-Dispatch. “You know what I mean? For me, my time will come if it’s the right thing.”
This past spring, as that time neared, he reiterated his goals.
“I’ve always held on to that desire, and if the opportunity is right and they open the door for me, I’ve always said it openly: I want to have the opportunity to be a manager here in the big leagues,” Pujols told reporters in Angels spring training. “If there’s something knocking this year or next year, I mean, why not? Right now, I’m focusing on the World Baseball Classic, but if there’s a ballclub knocking on the door, I’d be open to hear that.”
In addition to Pujols, the Orange County Register reported that former Angels outfielder and current special assistant Torii Hunter would be a candidate for manager.
The Angels are looking for their fifth manager since 2018.
Pujols left the Cardinals as a free agent following the 2011 World Series championship to sign with the Angels, where he played until the 2021 season. His contract included the $10-million personal services contract that brought him back to the team after retirement. Angels officials said at the time that the personal services contract would not restrict Pujols’ ability to attend functions with the Cardinals. He and Yadier Molina are eligible for the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2026, and they are both eligible for Cooperstown in the class of 2028.
The Atlanta Braves joined the growing list of teams without managers on Wednesday when they announced Brian Snitker would not return to the position. At the same time, Atlanta announced that Snitker would be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame.
That makes at least eight positions open, pending other decisions. In addition to the Angels, Rangers, and Braves, teams looking for managers include the Giants, Twins, Orioles, and possibly Rockies and Nationals.
San Francisco dismissed manager Bob Melvin this week. The Giants president of baseball operations, former MVP Buster Posey, told reporters he wanted to hire someone who is “obsessive about the details, obsessive about the work, obsessive about getting the most out of players, getting the most out of our staff, and somebody who will inspire confidence in our players.”
The Minnesota Twins fired Rocco Baldelli. Baltimore said it plans to have a decision “ASAP” on its manager position and interim Tony Mansolino. And Pittsburgh, months after firing Derek Shelton, signed his replacement, Don Kelly, to an extension to fill the manager spot there for the coming season.
Baldelli, Shelton, and former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde – three managers widely respected for their work – are all likely to be considered for some of the new openings with other teams.
Colorado announced Wednesday that baseball operations executive Bill Schmidt has resigned, allowing the Rockies to search for a new leader of its baseball operations. The Rockies and Washington Nationals fired their managers during the season and have decisions to make on interim managers Warren Schaeffer and Miguel Cairo, respectively. New hired Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni told ESPN he wants to “move quickly” on that decision.
And no wonder.
With so many openings, top candidates like Pujols won’t have to wait for interest.
During his introductory press conference Tuesday, the Cardinals new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom expressed interest in having the majority of manager Oli Marmol’s staff return for the 2026 season. Most are under contract for the year. Coach Jon Jay signed a one-year deal that expires this month and has expressed interest in returning. Descalso will have the opportunity to interview for a manager position as the Cardinals also wish for his return at bench coach.
Molina has also expressed interest in becoming a major-league manager at some point. He made two appearances this past summer as a guest coach in the Cardinals’ dugout during games. Molina has committed to return as Team Puerto Rico’s manager for the upcoming WBC, and he said the timing for him to pursue a major-league job is likely a year from now, once his son completes his senior baseball season and graduates high school, and also after the MLB draft. Molina said he’s open to being a coach on the path t managing.
The Cardinals and Marmol have maintained contact with Molina about having a role with the team in 2026.
A month after his first appearance in St. Louis in years, the all-time great catcher will be in the dugout for three-game series vs. San Francisco, working with catchers and coaches.
During a schedule that shuttled him from news conference to television interviews to podcasts, the Cardinals introduced Chaim Bloom officially Tuesday as the team’s second president of baseball operations.
Manager extended the invitation to Molina to be around staff and players during visit to St. Louis, says former catcher can leave a “real impact on our young players.”
For the first time in 18 years, the Cardinals introduced a new leader: “We can’t afford to stand still. We can’t ever lose that spirit or we will get beat.”
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Derrick Goold | Post-Dispatch
Lead baseball writer
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