Juan Soto's Honest Albert Pujols Assessment Turns Heads at World Baseball Classic

One of the most interesting managerial candidates to surface during this past MLB offseason was the legendary Albert Pujols.

There has been some speculation that Pujols (who finished his MLB career with 703 home runs, putting him at No. 4 all-time) could become the next manager for the Los Angeles Angels, where he played for 10 seasons. While that ultimately didn't work out, other reports indicated that both the Baltimore Orioles and the San Diego Padres had interest in making Pujols their manager.

None of these teams reached terms with Pujols. However, the former St. Louis Cardinals legend found one interesting job: the managerial role for the Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Former MLB players Albert Pujols | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Pujols made a ton of sense to manage the Dominican team. Not only has he represented the Dominican Republic with pride throughout his career, but he also understands what it takes to deal with such a star-studded roster as the one he has for this tournament.

Among the players that Pujols has on his roster are Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr., San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado, his Padres teammate Fernando Tatis Jr., and New York Mets superstar slugger Juan Soto.

New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Juan Soto Gets Honest About Albert Pujols as World Baseball Classic Manager

Just because Pujols was world-class on the field doesn't necessarily mean that he's certain to succeed as a manager. However, it seems that Pujols is getting off to a fine start, given what Soto said about him when speaking to the media on March 2.

"It’s truly incredible having a legend like Albert in the clubhouse, leading every single one of us as our manager. He’s been in our shoes and truly understands how we feel, how the pieces move on the field, every swing we take, every decision we make. He’s right there with us through it all, and that makes it something truly special and beautiful," Soto said when asked to describe Pujols as a manager in translated Spanish, per an X post from Master Flip (@Masterflip_).

Juan Soto on how he describes Albert Pujols as manager;

It’s truly incredible having a legend like Albert in the clubhouse, leading every single one of us as our manager. He’s been in our shoes and truly understands how we feel, how the pieces move on the field, every swing we… pic.twitter.com/mkwd9HAN34
— Master Flip 🇩🇴 (@Masterflip_) March 3, 2026

Soto and Pujols' Dominican team will have a tough task on March 3, as they're scrimmaging against the Detroit Tigers. Their first actual game arrives on March 6, when they face Soto's Mets teammate Mark Vientos and Team Nicaragua.

The Dominican Republic didn't advance out of group play in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and Pujols is surely keen to rectify that this year.

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