John Mozeliak may have just opened the door a little wider for Albert Pujols to land the Angels’ managerial job.
The Angels already flirted with a Pujols reunion last offseason, but those talks never got across the finish line. Now the path looks different, and Mozeliak sits at the center of it. He is currently serving as the Angels’ interim general manager, and after the club declined Kurt Suzuki’s option for the 2027 season, Mozeliak is widely expected to pursue Pujols for the manager opening.
That possibility only adds to the strange St. Louis flavor surrounding the Angels right now.
Mozeliak is not the only Cardinals tie in the mix. The Angels were recently bought by Stan Kroenke, who infamously moved the St.
Louis Rams to Los Angeles and still owns that team to this day. Meanwhile, Cardinals assistant general manager Randy Flores is widely viewed as a leading candidate for the Angels’ open general manager position, and Mozeliak is expected to stay with the Angels in some capacity too.
Talk about poaching from the St. Louis braintrust!
From a baseball standpoint, Pujols checks a lot of boxes for the Angels. His history with the organization is obvious, the old ownership setup under Arte Moreno is gone, the Cardinals connections are already there, and Pujols has made clear he wants a shot to manage in the big leagues.
The Angels also appear to be leaning into a rebuild, even if Kroenke’s arrival could change the financial approach. The expectation is that the club may be willing to spend heavily to kick-start the turnaround and try to make noise in an American League West that is relatively weak right now.
Since retiring, Pujols has stayed busy. He has managed in the Dominican Winter League and at the World Baseball Classic, and he has also worked as an analyst with MLB Network. He has been linked to other managerial openings too, and there were rumors this offseason that he could again be in line for such opportunities.
In Other News...
Cardinals Bullpen Questions Just Got Bigger Around One Key All-Star
The Cardinals spent the trade deadline reshaping their roster and their future, dealing veteran pieces such as Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Lars Nootbaar to stock the farm system. Through it all, Riley O'Brien stayed put, even with his name floating through trade chatter as one of the clubs most valuable bullpen arms after a season that included an All-Star nod and a share of the National League saves lead.
Kyle Gibson has only added a new wrinkle to that conversation by suggesting on a podcast that O'Brien could surface as a trade candidate this offseason. St. Louis does control the closer through 2030, which gives the club plenty of leverage, but it also leaves the Cardinals facing another familiar bullpen question: whether to keep building around a proven late-inning arm or use his value to help accelerate the next phase of the roster shuffle. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Could Be Near A Tough Nolan Gorman Decision
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The Cardinals also have internal options at third base, which gives them some flexibility if they decide the roster is better served by moving on. Gorman still has two years of team control left, and his arbitration salary is projected around $3.4 million, so tendering him a contract would not be a major financial burden. Even so, the more likely path may be to keep the door open while exploring trade possibilities this winter, leaving the club with a decision that is practical on paper but tougher in reality. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals May Revisit Familiar Red Sox Trade Path For Rotation Help
The Cardinals are already looking ahead to 2027, and the rotation picture still feels unfinished enough that another starter is expected to be on the shopping list. Kyle Leahy, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, Quinn Mathews and Matthew Liberatore are part of the current mix, while prospects such as Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin and Jurrangelo Cijntje could also factor in, but the organization appears likely to keep searching for more certainty at the front of the staff.
One familiar path would lead back to Boston, where the Red Sox have pitchers who fit the kind of trade conversation St. Louis has entered before. Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford both stand out as possible targets because of the Cardinals history with the Red Sox and the way their contract situations and health status shape the market. If St. Louis does revisit that route, the decision may come down to whether the club prefers a more established arm or a bet on availability and upside. [Read more 🡒]