Report: Angels' Albert Pujols Paying Team's Staff Members In Dominican Republic

(CBSLA)- The Los Angeles Angels, like other teams in Major League Baseball, have furloughed workers in various parts of their organization in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Among those furloughed were many of the staffers at the team's academy in the Dominican Republic. According to the Los Angeles Times, first baseman Albert Pujols has stepped in to help those staffers in his home country.

The Times reports that Pujols will cover the employees' salaries for five months, which amounts to about $180,000. According to the Times, the move from Pujols comes in the wake of the team furloughing about 90 percent of its staff at the academy in Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic.

The academy is important to the team as most international prospects begin their professional careers there. There is currently no timeline in place for the resumption of minor league operations making it difficult to know when the employees could possibly return from furlough.

According to the Times report, Pujols asked Angels general manager Billy Eppler how much it would cost to pay the salaries of the teams employees in the Dominican Republic at which point he reportedly decided to make the move.

The 40-year-old Pujols is a native of the Dominican Republic. He is not the first Los Angeles player to help an organization's minor league employees. Dodgers pitcher David Price made the move to pay each of the team's minor leaguers $1,000 for the month of June.