Orioles' unexpected connection could help pry Albert Pujols away from Angels

There’s a reason Albert Pujols suddenly feels less like the Angels’ inevitable hire and more like a true free-agency battle. The Baltimore Orioles have quietly stepped into the ring, not with the biggest checkbook, but with something that can matter just as much to a first-time skipper: trust.

The Orioles’ pitch isn’t only about a surging young core and an AL East stage — it’s about a clubhouse onramp that already fits Pujols’ sensibilities. If you’re choosing your first dugout, familiarity and credibility are currency, and the Orioles can spend both. 

Orioles’ quiet St. Louis tie could tilt Albert Pujols sweepstakes

The unexpected accelerator here is a St. Louis thread that stretches straight into Camden Yards. Matt Holliday, Jackson’s dad, shared a Cardinals clubhouse with Pujols from 2009–11, when “accountability” and “standards” were daily habits, not slogans. That history isn’t nostalgia; it’s a working relationship Pujols trusts, and it connects directly to the Orioles’ present through Jackson Holliday and a front office led by Mike Elias, who also has Cardinals roots. If Baltimore wants to pry Pujols out of Anaheim’s orbit, this is the lever: surround him with people who already speak his baseball language.

Baltimore’s interest is real. Multiple reports indicate the Orioles are expected to interview Pujols for their managerial opening after moving on from Brandon Hyde earlier this season. That puts them in direct competition with the Angels, who’ve been deep in conversations with Pujols about their vacancy. The headline: this isn’t a one-team courtship anymore, and the O’s can offer both a winning timeline and a softer landing into the big chair. 

Why the Orioles? Fit. A first-time MLB manager inherits as much development as strategy, and Baltimore’s roster is built around that. Promising young talent that can benefit from Pujols’ blend of presence, preparation, and hitting-room knowledge. 

If you’re trying to maximize Jackson Holliday’s early years, align Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson’s primes, and keep the rest of the lineup buying into professional at-bats, there’s obvious appeal in a voice players grew up watching carve out a Hall of Fame career. 

The Angels can counter with their own comfort factors. Pujols spent a decade in Anaheim, knows the hallways, and even rejoined the organization as a special assistant after retiring. They can also dangle staff-building latitude and a promise to let Pujols shape the culture his way. That’s a real offer — and it’s why Baltimore needs every edge it can stack, including the Holliday connection and Elias’ Cardinals fluency, to make the choice genuinely difficult. 

Zoom out, and the race is simple. The Angels are selling home, familiar faces, familiar owner, familiar market. The Orioles are selling belonging, an elite farm that already graduated into a contender, a front office aligned on development, and a built-in trust bridge through Matt and Jackson Holliday. If Pujols prioritizes environment and impact over comfort, Baltimore’s unexpected connection could be the quiet tiebreaker that swings the decision east.