Slugger Albert Pujols Sells Mansion in Irvine for $8.8M

Albert Pujols has sold his 9,200-square-foot mansion in Irvine’s Shady Canyon for $8.8 million, after initially asking $9.98 million.

The retired first baseman and 11-time MLB All-Star sold the Mediterranean-style villa at 25 Cactus, in gated Shady Canyon, Realtor.com reported. The buyer was undisclosed.

The slugger known as “The Machine” bought the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom house in 2012 for $5.55 million after he signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

Pujols initially put the L-shaped mansion on the market in 2016 for $7.75 million, but it never sold, according to Realtor.com.

He then listed the half-acre estate in January last year for $9.98 million and found a buyer that didn’t close the deal, according to Zillow.

The property was relisted and removed for that price in March, June and August, with a contingent deal in October, then removed in February at $9.98 million. It sold on March 5 in an apparent off-market deal for $1.18 million less.

The two-story, red-tiled mansion, built in 2010, has a double-height foyer with a curved wooden staircase and white tiled floors. There’s a luxury kitchen, multiple living rooms, a formal dining room and a laundry room.

The home comes with two offices, a movie theater, a wet bar and a meditation room. There’s also a bonus room that could be turned into a wine cellar, kid’s playroom or home gym, according to Realtor.com.

The kitchen has a marble center island, wood cabinets, a walk-in pantry and a breakfast nook. A formal dining room has a coffered ceiling and doors that open to the backyard. Sitting areas have stone fireplaces, beamed ceilings and wooden shutters.

The master bedroom has a wall of windows, a spa-style bathroom with a center tub, two walk-in closets and a laundry room.

Outside, there’s a resort-style pool with a Baja step, a rock slide grotto and a waterfall, plus a Jacuzzi, fire pit and patios surrounded by gardens, with a four-car garage. The monthly HOA fee is $725.

Brokers Charisse Okamoto and Carrie English of Caliber Real Estate held the listing.

Shady Canyon features 300 homes on nearly 1,100 acres. The large lots coupled with a sense of privacy has prompted athletes, executives and others to call Shady Canyon home, including best-selling author Dean Koontz and Alteryx Executive Chairman Dean Stoecker.

Pujols, a native of the Dominican Republic, was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999, and went on to play for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the L.A. Dodgers before retiring as a Cardinal in 2022, having won two World Series, two Golden Glove Awards and socked 703 home runs.

— Dana Bartholomew