Dodgers: Albert Pujols’ jersey number revealed and we should’ve guessed

The Los Angeles Dodgers officially welcomed Albert Pujols to the organization on Saturday in a head-scratching move that didn’t get any more normal-seeming when they revealed his jersey number to the world on Monday.

Where will Pujols play? We’re not sure, without the DH. He’ll likely be a roving power bat who’ll be deployed off the bench against lefties specifically.

What would Pujols look like? Would he take advantage of Corey Seager’s unfortunate injury to swipe No. 5 from him in the dead of night? He wouldn’t do that, would he?!

No, obviously, he did not do that. We certainly should’ve seen the alternative he chose coming from a mile away.

Albert, meet Orel Hershiser and Russell Martin.

They can tell you a little something about what it means to rock the double nickel for the Dodgers.

Dodgers star Albert Pujols got a new jersey number.

Rebranding the whole “PUJOLS 5” thing that dominates all his social handles just for a strange end-of-career stint with the Dodgers would’ve been a lot to ask. Luckily, that crisis appears to have been mostly averted.

Well, that answers that question! Now all we have is 5,000 more questions.

Pujols snuck onto the roster thanks to a procedural move with our pitching depth; Tony Gonsolin, expected to be a ways away from ramping up in full to help this team, has been transferred to the 60-Day IL to grant the slugger a roster spot.

When that becomes an issue, the team will address it. Gonsolin, currently working his way towards pitching five consecutive innings, wasn’t ready yet.

Thus far on the season, Pujols is hitting .198 with five homers in 86 at-bats, the type of offensive production that’ll make you yearn for Gonsolin…at the plate.

The expectations for the remainder of the season are minimal, though. Pujols had no interest in playing a bench role, even for a contender…until the league’s foremost contender came calling.

Though his bat has slowed, he remains a more intimidating late-inning power threat than Sheldon Neuse. Los Angeles is in the midst of a worst-case scenario stretch where every healthy bat counts, and it’s hard to discount Pujols’ expertise when you’d truly take anyone.

Add in the mentorship factor (Mike Trout swears by him) in a locker room stricken by unexpectedly difficult times through mid-May, and we understand why the move was made.

Hopefully, he’s got a little Russell Martin left in him, with Hershiser’s Bulldog swagger to boot.

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