Not playing in October will never stop grating on Pujols, who begins the new season with 662 homers along with 2,100 RBIs, third-most in baseball history. Last season, Pujols batted .224 with a .665 OPS — both the worst marks of his two-decade career — while playing in just 39 of Los Angeles’ 60 games. Pujols says he's fine with whatever role he gets in 2021 from Maddon, who praises the veteran slugger for his maturity and leadership. Regardless of the role we put him in, I know he’s going to react to it well." … He just makes any team that he’s on better, and he’s going to make this bullpen better."

Source: Fox News February 27, 2021 19:41 UTC