Albert Pujols will not be the Angels’ next manager, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman writes that Pujols and the club broke off the talks due to differences of opinion between the parties “coaches, resources and compensation.” The Athletic’s Sam Blum reports that while circumstances may change, they are likely to “very unlikely” that the parties find common ground after failing to get close in terms of dollars and years under a hypothetical contract.
It wasn’t that long ago that Pujols seemed to be the prohibitive favorite for this job. Blum reports that when Pujols and Minasian met in Anaheim 11 days ago to discuss the managerial position, the conversation went well and there was momentum toward a contract. However, it is clear that there was a financial gap between the parties that they could not bridge. One wrinkle in the matter is the 10-year, $10 million personal services contract Pujols signed with the Angels during his free agent negotiations with the club in 2011. There are still seven years and $7 million remaining on that contract, and previous reports indicated the deal could be a factor in the negotiations, though it’s unclear exactly what role it played.
While Pujols won’t be the next manager in Anaheim, that doesn’t mean he won’t be playing in a dugout next year. The future Hall of Famer will interview with both the Padres and Orioles, although he faces more competition in the races for those jobs than he did in Anaheim. Pujols was more or less the only candidate considered by the Halos until talks began to stall. In contrast, both the Padres and Orioles are tied to the Cubs bench coach Ryan Flahertywhile interim Orioles manager Tony Mansolino remains a candidate in Baltimore and the Padres have also been linked to the Rangers’ special assistant Nick Hundley.
As for the Angels, former players Torii Hunter And Kurt Suzuki are ready to interview for the position. Blum reports that both are in the mix and that Hunter in particular is just a candidate “not a slam dunk” to land the job. He adds that the team is interested in talking to former Twins and Orioles executives Rocco Baldelli and Brandon Hyde, it is unclear whether that interest is mutual for both ex-skippers. Baldelli recently expressed interest in returning to the dugout at some point, but indicated he could take some time away from the game to spend with his family. It is now known that Hyde has spoken with the Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey amid San Francisco’s own management research.
Perhaps with Pujols no longer eligible, the Angels will continue their managerial search in the coming days. That could provide some clarity on the status of prospects like Hyde and Baldelli, as well as other potential targets like Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty and former Astros manager Bo Porter, who was the Angels’ third base coach this season and has expressed public and private interest in Anaheim’s management gig after interviewing for the job two years ago before Ron Washington was hired.
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