Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Albert Pujols contradicts what Angels said about his release

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 5/17/21

Albert Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels can’t quite get their stories straight when it comes to the circumstances of Pujols’ release.

The Angels were publicly adamant that Pujols wanted to be an everyday player, and said their inability to give him that was a factor in the decision to release him. When being introduced by the Dodgers, Pujols disputed this, stating that he never made that demand to the Angels. He even added that he’d been pleasantly surprised at the number of at-bats he had been receiving.

Albert Pujols said he never told the Angels he wanted to play every day.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) May 17, 2021

Albert Pujols on his playing time with the Angels: "I have 80 or so at-bats this year. I never thought that so early in April I was going to have that many bats. I was excited with the playing time I got there."

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) May 17, 2021

It seems like someone is not telling the truth here. Pujols is accepting a bench role with the Dodgers, and sounded enthusiastic about doing so. It’s hard to square that with him pushing for a departure from the Angels for that reason.

There was said to be some discontent with how the Angels handled Pujols’ release. This probably won’t help that go away.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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