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Alden Gonzalez
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The Los Angeles Angels still appear to be the most likely destination for Pujols and remain the only team he has formally interviewed with, industry sources said. Pujols met with Angels general manager Perry Minasian in St. Louis last Thursday and is still highly considered for the job, though former All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter is also a serious candidate. The Angels’ hiring process, however, might be slowed by owner Arte Moreno and president John Carpino’s involvement in the civil trial over the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
It was only a couple of years ago that the Orioles looked like a team on the rise, emerging from an aggressive rebuild to win 101 games and capture the American League East title in 2023. They returned to the playoffs with a 91-win season in 2024 but got swept out of the wild-card round and were not aggressive in their pursuit of starting pitching during the ensuing offseason. A 15-28 start led to Hyde’s firing on May 17.
The next 4½ months weren’t much better, but the Orioles are nonetheless an attractive destination due to a young, promising position-player core featuring Holliday, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo. At the moment, they are among eight teams with manager openings, along with the Angels, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins.
Pujols has expressed strong interest in managing at the big league level for years and led a Dominican winter ball team, the Leones del Escogido, to a championship in January. Pujols was previously named manager for his native Dominican Republic in next year’s World Baseball Classic, though he would likely rescind that role if he lands a big league job this offseason.
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