Cardinals should bring back Albert Pujols as a coach after Angels talks fall through

On Monday, news broke that Albert Pujols would not be named the next manager of the Angels. He had been their leading choice, but they ultimately couldn't agree on coaches, compensation and other resources, per Jon Heyman. He is also currently being scouted by the Padres and Orioles as a potential manager. But there is a chance the Padres and Orioles could both choose somebody else to manage rather than give the job to Pujols.

I would think that Pujols' first choice would be to land a managerial job. But he might not be given the opportunity in 2026. If that happens, then would it be too much of a stretch for Chaim Bloom to reach out to the future Hall-of-Famer and bring him back to the Cardinals? Not as a manager, but as a potential assistant coach.

It is possible, and Bernie Miklasz recently even revealed that after Pujols and Molina retired, they spoke directly to Marmol about wanting to join his coaching staff.

Cardinals should bring back Albert Pujols in coaching role if he can't land manager job.

Early last season, I wrote a post about how if the Cardinals were to move on from Oli Marmol, they should not give the managerial job to Pujols or Yadier Molina. My top choice would have been Skip Schumaker, though he is now the manager of the Rangers.

After a few more years of experience, I think it's safe to say that Oli is the right man for the job and should not be replaced, at least for now. I still stand by old story that Pujols and Molina should not be considered to manage the Cardinals anytime soon.

However, a coaching role is different. It allows somebody like Pujols to learn from Marmol about how to manage at the big-league level, get to know the current players and just be around for guidance. Obviously, the three-time MVP knows a lot of the current Cardinals well, having just played with them in 2022, his final season.

But this would be a good way for Pujols to potentially prepare to manage. I think he can be a good manager in the future, even if now is not the right time to make him one. He has managed in the Dominican Winter League and will manage the Dominican national team in the World Baseball Classic next spring, barring a potential managerial gig with another team.

Again, he may prefer to manage somewhere, but if he can't land a gig, the Cardinals should be all over him as a potential coach. I believe most fans will get behind this idea, because it can never hurt to have a future Hall of Famer around. They had Molina come back twice as a guest coach this year, so it could work.

Even if the Cardinals are going young and rebuilding, Pujols' presence could benefit the younger players. He can relate to them, having been a player himself, and connect with them in a lot of ways. So if the opportunity presents itself, I would love to see the Cardinals bring Pujols home one more time to be an assistant coach for Marmol, and this would give him time to learn more about being a big-league manager. He'll only make everyone around him better in the end, and that includes even Marmol.