The Dominican Republic has a new manager for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and it stands to be a popular hire.
Albert Pujols has been chosen to take over the D.R.’s dugout as it attempts to win its second WBC title, according to ESPN. Nelson Cruz, the team’s general manager, reportedly plans to make an official announcement by the end of March.
Pujols just finished his first stint as a manager, leading the Leones del Escogido to their first title in more than a decade in the D.R.’s LIDOM this winter.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2025 MLB season]
On the national team, Pujols will take over for Rodney Linares, currently the Tampa Bay Rays’ bench coach. The team is coming off a disappointing 2023 WBC in which it failed to make it out of group play due to losses to Venezuela and Puerto Rico.
In the five WBC events since 2006, the international baseball powerhouse has won once, with an undefeated run in 2013. That was also the last time the D.R. reached the semifinals, which it has done only twice.
The 2026 team has plenty of potential players who could try to break that slump. The 2023 team featured Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez, Willy Adames, Rafael Devers, Manny Machado, Sandy Alcantara and Cristian Javier, and there are more Dominican players who could compete, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., José Ramírez, Elly De La Cruz, Luis Castillo, Framber Valdez and Emmanuel Clase.
Some of those players play the same position, but part of Pujols’ job will be to get as many of them on the field as possible for the WBC.
Pujols was a member of the D.R.’s first WBC team in 2006.
