Angels rumors swirling as dream managerial candidates surfaces amid uncertainty

The search is on for the next manager of the Los Angeles Angels, as Arte Moreno had Perry Minasian dismiss Ron Washington (and offer Ray Montgomery a spot on the coaching staff). Moreno has a plethora of managerial candidates that are either already in-house, tangentially tied to the franchise and on the open market.

Torii Hunter Sr. is already in the organization, has a long history with Mike Trout and is an absolutely beloved member of the baseball community. Darin Erstad's name has been floated out there, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today threw out Michael Young as a potential choice for some reason. There were three managers that were recently relieved of their duties in Bob Melvin, Rocco Baldelli and Bruce Bochy (Bochy has a standing offer to return to Texas' front office, but he could also go back to San Francisco and manage the Giants again).

All that being said, there is one figure that looms larger than all those men and there are rampant rumors swirling on social media about him.

Angels rumors swirling as dream managerial candidates surfaces amid uncertainty

Per Héctor Gomez: "Albert Pujols will be announced as the Angels' new manager, according to Franklin Mirabal." Now, Gomez might have just misinterpreted Mirabal's tweet. Mirabal said that Pujols "might" be the next manager, and Gomez responded that he "will." That feels wrong, but that does not necessarily mean that it is.

Perhaps the biggest factor in the search for a new manager is money, as Moreno is notoriously cheap. Both Hunter Sr. and Pujols are already on the payroll, and Pujols is technically tied to the franchise through the 2032 season for $1 million a year thanks to his 10-year personal services contract that began in 2023 (the year after he retired as a player). Pujols signed 10-year, $240 million deal before the 2012 season and part of the deal was that he would help the organization develop their players after his playing days were over.

Another massive factor, especially if it comes down to Hunter Sr. vs. Pujols, is that Pujols has proven that he is a fantastic manager. His tenure as a manager in the Dominican Winter League has been sterling, and he's about to flex his chops once more on the national stage as DR's manager in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Hunter Sr. has been managing on a much smaller scale, and coaching on-and-off this year, so Pujols does have more experience in large-scale dugouts than him.

Angels fans would be happy if Pujols was promoted to the MLB manager role, he basically did a decades-long apprenticeship under Tony La Russa during his time in St. Louis. The narrative of Pujols lifting the Angels to prominence after almost single-handedly sinking them for years would be fantastic. So yes, Pujols is not the manager yet, however it would be awesome if the rumors turned out to be true.

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