Albert Pujols will miss the rest of the season to rest his injured left foot, the Los Angeles Angels announced Monday.
The $240 million slugger gave up his hope to play again next month when the team’s medical staff and front office advised him to avoid rushing back to the lineup late in the Angels’ dismal season. Pujols partially tore his left plantar fascia last month, and only recently got his foot out of a walking boot.
“It’s not an easy decision, as competitive as I am,” Pujols said at his locker before the Angels opened a series against Cleveland. “But I also understand that we (need) to look beyond the season.”
The three-time NL MVP hasn’t played since July 26, when he partially tore his troublesome plantar fascia while running in Oakland. Pujols had been rehabilitating the injury with hopes of playing in September, but the struggling Angels’ inability to get into playoff contention made that plan increasingly pointless.
Pujols, who has 492 career homers and 1,498 RBIs, consulted with owner Arte Moreno and general manager Jerry Dipoto before agreeing to shut himself down for the season. Moreno still owes Pujols $212 million over the next eight years in the third-biggest contract in major league history.
Pujols also had more than 150 hits in each of his first 12 seasons, ending the third-longest streak in modern history.
Information from Espn.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
