There's a real chance that St. Louis Cardinals fans could end up seeing a franchise icon back in Major League Baseball in 2027.

Cardinals legend and St. Louis Hall of Famer Albert Pujols has been looking for a manager job and came close to landing one with the Los Angeles Angels last offseason. It didn't work out, but he's back in the hunt and reportedly is a candidate to take over as the manager of the Houston Astros, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi. But there is competition.

"Albert Pujols and Brad Ausmus are among the candidates to be the next manager of the Astros," Morosi wrote. "You can see both in this video of one of the most famous home runs ever hit in Houston, 21 years ago."

If Pujols does end up landing with Houston, Cardinals fans will end up seeing him in 2027. The Cardinals and Astros will face off in a three-game series in 2027 — if the season isn't impacted by the looming lockout, of course. St. Louis and Houston have a three-game series scheduled from Sep. 6-8 at Busch Stadium. Wouldn't that be something if Pujols is not only able to land his first manager job, but also come to face off against the Cardinals in St. Louis in his first season in the dugout?

Right now, it's too early to tell. But this is going to be a story to follow throughout the offseason, at least in the short term. We've started to see manager jobs across the league come off the table. On Tuesday, the Seattle Mariners announced that Jason Kanzler has been named the franchise's newest manager. We've already seen other teams across the league fill their roles as well, like the Philadelphia Phillies. The Astros are still searching, as well as the Angels.

Pujols is connected to the Astros' job, as reported by Morosi. There's reason to believe that the Angels job could be an option for Pujols as well with Stan Kroenke replacing Arte Moreno as the organization's owner. Plus, former Cardinals executive John Mozeliak is the interim general manager for Los Angeles right now.

If you're a Cardinals fan hoping to see the franchise icon back in the game and in the dugout of an organization, there's a very real chance that could happen this winter. If Pujols lands with the Astros, Cardinals fans will see him in September. If Los Angeles circles back and targets Pujols, Cardinals fans would see him in August.