One of the greatest MLB players of the last era will interview for yet another open managerial job. St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols will reportedly meet with the Houston Astros to discuss the team’s managerial vacancy, according to The Athletic.

It’s not the first time Pujols has interviewed to be an MLB manager. He interviewed for both the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres vacancies last season, though was not picked for either position.

The Padres opted to hire Craig Stammen. The Angels may have been interested in Pujols at the time, but reports suggested the two sides couldn’t agree on contract terms, resulting in the Angels turning to Kurt Suzuki, who took a one-year deal with the team. The Angels declined to bring back Suzuki for 2027, and will search for a new manager again this offseason.

While Pujols has not managed in the major leagues, he does have experience as a skipper. Following his retirement from baseball after the 2022 season, Pujols was named the manager of the Leones del Escogido, a professional baseball team in the Dominican Republic, in 2024. He helped lead the team to victory in the Serie Final during the 2024-25 season and the 2025 Caribbean Series.

Pujols also managed Team Dominican Republic to a third place finish at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Pujols should have a friendly audience when he attends his interview, as he was teammates with new Astros general manager Randy Flores. The pair spent four seasons together with the Cardinals, including the team’s World Series championship year in 2006.

Flores was asked about the possibility of talking to former teammates about the Astros’ managerial opening when he was first introduced as the team’s general manager. At the time, he declined to get into specifics, saying he would lean on “network, experience and expertise” when considering candidates. In addition to Pujols, the team is also expected to speak with Luis Urueta — the Texas Rangers’ bench coach — and Brad Ausmus — the New York Yankees’ bench coach — for the position, per The Athletic.

The Astros are in the market for a new manager after parting ways with Joe Espada in October. Espada spent three seasons as the team’s manager, putting up a 256-229 record.

Despite his regular-season success, Espada went into the 2026 MLB season in the final year of his contract. The Astros signaled they weren’t bringing the manager back in October, allowing him to interview for the Seattle Mariners’ open managerial job despite Espada still technically being under contract in Houston.

The Mariners opted to hire Jason Kanzler instead.

Whoever the Astros hire will likely face high expectations in Year 1. While Houston won just 81 games in 2026, that was good enough for the team to reach the postseason, where it lost in the wild-card round to the Chicago White Sox. It was a disappointing result for the Astros, which have made the postseason in 10 of the past 12 seasons.