MEXICALI, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 1: Albert Pujols manager of Dominican Republic before the game between Dominican Republic and Japan as part of the Serie Del Caribe 2025 at Estadio El Nido De Los Aguila on February 1, 2025 in Mexicali, Mexico. (Photo by Luis Gutierrez/Norte Photo/Getty Images)
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The New York Mets are enduring one of the most disappointing seasons in their long and often futile franchise history.
After a second-half collapse pushed the team out of the playoffs last year, it cut ties with several long-term stars and replaced them with high-priced newcomers, once again pushing to the top of the Major League Baseball payroll rankings only to stumble to a last-place ranking in their division by the All-Star break.
In late June, that disappointment drove the front office to fire manager Carlos Mendoza. And in the immediate aftermath of the decision, SNY’s John Harper reported that future Hall of Fame slugger Albert Pujols was lobbying specifically to become Mendoza’s replacement.
“Heard from a source today that Albert Pujols in recent weeks had let friends know he’d very much want the Mets’ manager job if and when they moved on from Mendoza,” Harper reported at the time. “Pujols managed (the Dominican Republic) team in (the World Baseball Classic), (and) has a very strong relationship with (Juan) Soto.”
When asked on Sunday to corroborate that report, though, Pujols denied voicing any particular interest in the Mets opening.
“If that opportunity comes, you know, I would love to (manage), not just with the Mets,” Pujols said as he prepared to broadcast the Home Run Derby in Philadelphia. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh man, I want that job.’ … It sounds like I wanted it so bad, that’s not how I look at it.”
Instead, Pujols grouped his interest in potentially replacing Mendoza alongside some other big-league managing opportunities that he has explored recently, including interviews with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels last year.
But he added that he would be open to assessing the Mets job if the organization were to call, though it hasn’t yet. The team’s interim replacement for Mendoza, Andy Green, has said he plans to return to his former job in the front office after the season is over, leaving the Mets to find a new candidate.
“I’m hoping to hear about it,” Pujols added. “And why not? Like I say, you know, you look at the history of the Mets and you look at the owner, you look at the talent that they have as a great organization, and for myself, to have the opportunity as your first job in the big leagues would be a blessing.”
Pujols has been mentioned as a top candidate for virtually every big-league managerial opening following his successful run in the World Baseball Classic tournament. And as he openly lobbies for an opportunity in a big-league dugout, he has been preparing for any future interviews that do come his way.
“If I’m watching the game, I’m breaking down plays and looking at, as a manager, how can I get better or how I would look at this game if I was sitting in that dugout, can make a decision, whether it’s a pitching change, or whether it’s changing a player, putting a play down, whatever that is, you know, like I’m putting myself in that situation because that’s the only way that when the situation comes for real,” Pujols explained. “You can get better at it, training yourself, talking to former managers of mine, you know, like Tony La Rusa, (Mike) Scioscia … and just asking questions about it because those were guys that went before me and did it at their best.”
As Pujols stays as close to the game as he can in roles as an analyst, an adviser for the Angels and a manager in the Dominican Professional Baseball League, he’ll have the chance to assess any future openings as they come. But there seems to be no real connection at this point to the looming Mets opening.