Albert Pujols won’t be the next manager of the Angels, according to a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman writes that Pujols and the club have broken off talks due to differences between the sides regarding “coaches, resources, and compensation.” The Athletic’s Sam Blum reports that while circumstances could change, it’s believed to be “very unlikely” that the sides find common ground after being unable to get close in terms of dollars and years on hypothetical contract.
It wasn’t long ago that Pujols appeared to be the prohibitive favorite for the job. Blum reports that when Pujols and Minasian met in Anaheim 11 days ago to discuss the managerial job, the conversation went well and there was momentum towards a contract. Clearly, however, there was a financial gap between the sides that they were unable to bridge. One wrinkle in the matter is the ten-year, $10MM personal services contract Pujols signed with the Angels during his free agent negotiations with the club back in 2011. There are still seven years and $7MM remaining on that contract, and previous reporting indicated that the deal could be a factor in negotiations though it’s unclear exactly what role it played.
More to come.