Even though a lockout is likely coming this winter, the MLB hot stove could be firing on all cylinders with managerial hirings. Three teams (the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets) have already moved on from their skippers and the Los Angeles Angels will likely join the mix with Kurt Suzuki only on a one-year contract that would make Portland Trail Blazers' owner Tom Dundon jealous of its cheapness.
One of the hottest candidates in this hiring cycle figures to be future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, who was in the mix for jobs with both the Angels and San Diego Padres last winter. Pujols, who managed the Dominican Republic in March's World Baseball Classic, has already thrown his hat in the ring for the Mets' vacancy, but his clearest path to a job could actually be with the Angels.
The Angels already fired Perry Minasian, the man who hired Suzuki, and have brought on former Cardinals' GM John Mozeliak to serve as an adviser in their search process, baseball insider Jon Heyman reports. Mozeliak, whose tenure in St. Louis overlapped with Pujols' entire Cardinals stint, could help push Pujols as a candidate to manage the Angels if Suzuki is let go after the season.
How Albert Pujols could fit as a major league manager
There figure to be a lot of job openings this winter and Pujols looks poised to land at least one of the vacancies this winter. Getting experience in a dugout at the WBC certainly helped Pujols' cause, and he has also managed in winter ball in the Dominican Republic, which gave Pujols valuable experience at making in-game decisions and forming relationships with players.
It will be interesting to see how well Pujols can transition to being a manager becuase there has not been a long history of stars becoming successful skippers. Star players had long careers due to a mixture of both hard work and talent, but having that kind of talent edge can make it difficult for a star to relate to a guy grinding on the bottom of the roster to keep his career alive on a day-to-day basis.
Any team that hires Pujols would surely want to add a veteran bench coach with managerial experience to their dugout to help him grow into the job. The positive for Pujols is that his connections around the game, particularly to some of the young Dominican stars like Juan Soto, could help him have his pick of jobs.
Mozeliak could give Pujols a leg up with the Angels, but it may not be the wisest call to join an organization that has been one of the most dysfunctional in the league for years. Pujols does have a working relationship with Arte Moreno, however, that could be a selling point if he chooses to go in that direction.
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