Albert Pujols to Interview for Astros Manager Job on Thursday

Albert Pujols will interview for the Houston Astros’ manager job on Thursday, and the man doing the hiring used to share a clubhouse with him. The Associated Press and ESPN both reported on Wednesday that Pujols, 46, will sit down with the Astros at Daikin Park for his first interview with the organisation, five days after Houston hired Randy Flores as general manager. Flores was Pujols’ teammate for five seasons in St. Louis, including their 2006 World Series win. Pujols has never managed in the majors, but he has spent the last four years making it clear he wants to, and this is the closest he has come to a dugout of his own.

What is actually happening on Thursday?

Pujols arrives in Houston on Wednesday night and interviews on Thursday, MLB.com reports, in person and for the first time with the organisation. The Associated Press, citing a person familiar with the scheduling, reported that the three-time MVP and two-time World Series champion will be interviewed later this week, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Astros had not publicly released their list of candidates. The interview was first reported by Dominican journalist Mike Rodriguez of Rompiendo Sports, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan contributed to its reporting. The Astros have not confirmed any candidates publicly, which is normal for a search at this stage, but the reporting is now four outlets deep: the AP, ESPN, The Athletic’s Chandler Rome and MLB.com all carry it. The team is looking for a replacement for Joe Espada, whose contract was not renewed after Houston went 81-81, won the AL West and was swept by the Chicago White Sox in the Wild Card Series.

Why is Pujols a candidate at all?

Because his resume splits into two halves that point in opposite directions, and the Astros appear willing to weigh both. The playing half is beyond argument: 22 big league seasons, 11 All-Star selections, three National League MVP awards, two World Series titles, 703 home runs, 2,218 RBIs and 3,384 hits, which ranks 10th all time. His place among the game’s great power hitters is secure, and his hit total puts him in rare company. The managing half is thin but real. He won a championship in the Dominican winter league in his first season leading the Leones del Escogido in January 2025, and he managed the Dominican Republic to a third-place finish in this year’s World Baseball Classic, losing to the United States in the semifinals. During last winter’s hiring cycle he was a finalist for the Angels and Padres jobs before they hired rookie managers Kurt Suzuki and Craig Stammen. He has also made his ambition plain since retiring in 2022, and he expressed interest in the Mets job in June when Carlos Mendoza was let go.

Why would the Astros hire their old nemesis?

Because the nemesis story is the point, and the Astros know it. Pujols spent 12 seasons with the Cardinals and was a longtime tormentor of Houston. He hit perhaps the most famous home run in their ballpark’s history, a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth inning off Brad Lidge in Game 5 of the 2005 National League Championship Series, a blast that propelled St. Louis to a 5-4 win and still lives in Astros lore even though Houston won Game 6 and advanced to its first World Series. Hiring the man who hit that homer to run the dugout would be a neat piece of symmetry, but the practical reason is simpler: the general manager doing the hiring knows him. Flores joined the Cardinals’ front office as director of scouting in 2015 and spent eight seasons as an assistant general manager, and he overlapped with Pujols as a teammate for five seasons. A GM hiring a manager he has played beside is not unusual; a GM hiring a manager he has won a World Series beside is a shorter conversation than most.

Who else is in the running?

The field is a mix of experience and familiarity. Former Astros catcher and current Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus is a candidate, the Associated Press reports, and he has far more coaching experience than Pujols, which Bleacher Report notes could give him an edge. Texas Rangers bench coach Luis Urueta will interview this weekend, and former Astro Morgan Ensberg will interview later this week, MLB.com reports. Ensberg, like Pujols, has a connection to Flores, though a thinner one. The Astros’ search can now begin in earnest because the GM hire came first: Houston dismissed general manager Dana Brown in August and hired Flores on October 30, and the manager search has moved fast since. The Mariners’ search ran on a similar clock, with Jason Kanzler chosen over Espada himself, which is a reminder that the man Pujols would replace is still looking for work too. The Guardians’ own managerial situation shows how quickly these searches can turn into bidding wars; Pujols is still in the mix for the San Diego and Baltimore jobs as well, MLB.com reports.

What stands between Pujols and the job?

Two things, and neither is his lack of major league managing experience, which the Astros already know about. The first is the Angels contract. Pujols is still tied to the Angels through a 10-year, $10 million personal-services contract that is approaching its fifth year, ESPN reports, but a buyout can be negotiated if the Astros choose him, so it is a hurdle rather than a barrier. The second is the competition. Ausmus and Urueta have far more coaching experience, and the Astros are interviewing all of them this week, which means Pujols has to win the room on Thursday rather than on his playing record. He is eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2028 and is widely expected to get in on the first ballot, ESPN reports, but Cooperstown does not manage a bullpen. What he does bring is the one thing the other candidates cannot offer: a manager who has stood in the box against the pitchers his own hitters will now face, and who has already run a national team through a tournament.

What happens next?

Thursday, then the waiting. The interview happens at Daikin Park, and the Astros will work through Ausmus, Urueta and Ensberg before making a call. If they pick Pujols, the Angels buyout gets negotiated and a 46-year-old with no major league managing experience takes over a club that won its division at 81-81 and then got swept out of the playoffs. If they do not, Pujols remains in the mix in San Diego and Baltimore, and the Astros move on to a more conventional hire. Either way, the interview itself is the story: the man who hit the most famous home run in their ballpark’s history is now, for one afternoon, the leading candidate to run it.