The Cardinals did not extend Albert Pujols by Wednesday's deadline, but it wasn't for a lack of creativity. The team was open to outside-the-box deals with the slugger, though talks have now been tabled until after the season. Here are the details on some of the deals the team proposed:
- Pujols will likely sign a deal worth at least $25MM per season, as Tom Verducci of SI.com points out. A source close to Pujols tells Verducci that the first baseman isn't about the money. "He has enough and his charitable work is amazing. He has flown doctors and dentists to the Dominican to give kids there access to health care. But he is someone with intense pride. He has worked hard to turn himself into the best hitter in baseball and he's earned the right to be treated that way in negotiations. It's not about greed with Albert. I think it's pride."
- The Cards offered a deal that was "slightly better" than Mark Teixeira's eight-year, $180MM contract, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter).
- Jon Heyman of SI.com reported yesterday that the Cardinals offered Pujols a nine-year extension worth more than $200MM and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported Wednesday that they offered Pujols a deal worth roughly $19-21MM per season.
- Pujols was interested in owning part of the Cardinals and the team explored the possibility, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Players cannot "directly or indirectly, own stock or have any financial interest in the ownership or earnings of any Major League Club," unless the Commissioner approves the agreement, but Bud Selig could be open to allowing such an arrangement between Pujols and the Cardinals.
- Goold lists some players, including former Cardinals great Rogers Hornsby and current Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, who have gone on to own teams.
$19-21MM per season? Bahahaha. Good luck with that, Cards.
He “isn’t” about the money? The other day I read he wants to be a “lifelong Cardinal”. Am I the only one who sees right through the BS in this? Ok, I’ll say it. Hey Albert, if you’re not about the $$
…then why did you turn down St Louis’ offer that was more then Mark Texiera’s?
The Cardinals are crazy. To not offer the best player in baseball the biggest contract in history is ridiculous. Pujols gave what $35 million could have bought on the open market last year according to WAR. And that was a down year. Pujols should not ask for anything less than $30 million per.
Also, for my two cents on a potential destination for him, I would chose the Toronto Blue Jays. They have taken so much money off the books in the last couple seasons, and could basically give him a blank check. If he has any interest playing there, it would be a cookie-cutter fit. Pujols, along with Bautista, Snider, Lind, Hill, Arencebia, and a great young pitching staff that will continue to improve, that Blue Jays team would be a World Series contender without a doubt.
Pujols shouldn’t take anything less than $30 million per year, and the Cardinals shouldn’t offer him something that will cripple the organization for the next 10 years. Just because somebody will offer it doesn’t mean the Cardinals should.
Completely agree. Even though Albert wants to be there and the Cards obviously want him there doesn’t mean that it is a fit that will help the team out. If they think that 30 mil a year for 10 years is going to hurt their chance at winning and maybe hurting the franchise in the long run, then they can’t do they deal. The bottom line is that baseball is a business and you have to make business decisions that is going to help your long term investment.
I guess the Cardinals actually DID make a good decision not to re-sign Pujols for a ridiculous sum of money. $30M a year? His contract is an albatross some 8 years later. Sometimes clubs do in fact know what they are doing.
He’s gonna go to Atlanta.. jk.
I want to see him finish in STL, but they need to get their head on straight. Maybe they shouldn’t have given Matt Holliday that many years or amount of $$. Stupid move IMHO.
I think hindsight will prove that Holliday’s contract was well merited… think about it. If he would have taken that 1 year 22 million contract offer (I can’t remember which club it was… sorry), then he would have hit the market with Werth and Crawford. He’d be making a lot more money right now…
How can anybody offer Pujols 19-21MM/yr when Howard is getting 25MM/yr. Do the Cardinals want to lose him on purpose? I don’t get it.
Yeah it seems completely stupid, but if you add in the fact that he would be a part owner of the team for the rest of his life that contract could realistically be 200 mil just from the contract, and it could add up to double that with him being a partial owner. I mean if he makes 5 mil as an owner your looking at 24-26 mil a yeah and when then contract is up he could make a good amount of change every year.
Even so, if they offer him at least 25MM/yr, it’s ONLY 9MM/yr more than what they are paying him now. So if they didn’t pay the likes of Berkman they’d be fine and slide in some rookie or someone on league minimum. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want the Cardinals to win really, but it’s baffling how they are balking at Pujols rate of pay.
Yeah, Howard’s contract is ridiculous though. I think market value for Pujols, throwing out Arod and Howard’s contracts, should be about $24-$25M per year. A couple Mill more than Texeira and Gonzo (assuming he gets $22M) I think is reasonable. Besides those absolutely stupid contracts, He should be the highest paid position player by a couple mill, right around $25M per
Best comment I have read in days. The Cardinals are now suffering from the ridiculously moronic moves made by the rangers, yankees, and phillies now. I know once those deals are over the Yankees and Phillies will regret them if they don’t already. It would still shock me if the Cardinals some day do not get him for the range of 24-27.5, mainly because I think they do end up giving him some type of ownership that would technically make him the highest paid and would continue to pay him throughout his life.
I am hopeful he can stay with the Cards…. If he does turn down anything in the 8 year/$200Mill range then I just think he is lying when he says he wants to be a Cardinal for life. If he wants more money than that from them, then he wants to be on a losing Cardinals team for life.
The ownership thing is pure fantasy. Way more hurdles than it’s worth. There’s other ways they can satisfy his demands without the hassle.
His demands are most likely based around stature and respect, not the money (if Pujols’ words are to believed, and I guess I’m one to believe them). What better way to show a player he’s important to the team than to give him a portion of it, especially if he asks for it?
Low balling the best player in franchise history with plenty of good years ahead does not make any sense.
Not making any offer at all, but asking for the right to match or beat whatever offer he gets would be the best way to go. St. Louis has smart people running the show, but I don’t get it either.
I wouldn’t buy the 19 to 21 million dollar guess by rosenthal because that’s all it was was a guess. The post dispatch confirmed that it was deal worth over 200 million and when it comes to cardinals news they are really about the only source that can be trusted.
My best guess is the cardinals have not made their best offer to Pujols yet because they understood that unless they met Albert’s demands he wouldn’t be signing an extension. This way their offer doesn’t get shopped around, and they can come back and counter any offer made by other teams.
$25MM for 5 years is a lot different than $30MM for 10.
$175MM difference in fact.
If I were the Cards, I’d front load the contract. Sure it lowers the AAV, but can still make him the highest paid player in baseball for the first 5 years or so.
i cant wait to see this offseason’s madness to begin, just imagine what kinds of crazy deals we’re gonna see flying around.
Me too, but I especially want to see how the Cubs go about things. I mean they really can’t go wrong, by that I mean they can make a huge offer to drive up the price on Pujols or even snag him from the Cards.
As much as I think it would be best for baseball if they find their common ground, I have to admit, I’m dying to see what would happen with him on the open market.
if pujols owned part of the cardinals now, wouldn’t he then be paying himself?
Like working for the government and paying taxes on that income…
And create a very big mess in regards to MLBPA membership. In the what-ifs category this is about as likely as Albert agreeing to be paid in goats.
Over under on how many goats it would take to sign him?
30 million goats every year for 10 yrs. wheres he gonna put em all…
He’s just gearing up for this career as a Nat haha
I think the Nats have a good a shot as anyone, really. I mean, both the Cubs and Nats are in the same boat. They’ve got the money, they just need to prove they can be competitive with the core group of guys they have.
Why wait until the last minute to do all this. Wouldn’t a month ago have been better but that’s just my opinion.
well, the Cards did make an attempt last offseason, but the price was too high and Pujols really has no reason to settle for anything less than he wants.
AND the Cards pitched their initial offer around the first of the year, so roughly 6 weeks ago…
At some point the Cardinals have to decide what’s financially feasible for them. They are not the Yankees, Red Sox or Phillies. They made an offer. Period. If Cardinals go any higher, then they won’t be able to put anyone around Pujols. If they were to give him 30+ mill a year, then Pujols may as well say goodbye to any chance at another WS ring. Which is supposedly what he wants more than money. But judging by his actions the last month, he wants to get paid more than he wants to win.
Isn’t Hornsby the reason why MLB doesn’t allow players to have an ownership interest in the team?
Both sides have said the numbers the media is reporting are wrong, so take all of this speculation with a grain of salt. Albert’s agent wants Cardinals’ fans to think the owners are cheap so we won’t blame Albert. Any takers on who’s behind the leaks?
No one has reported Albert moving off the 10-year/$300 million figure either, and that’s as ridiculous as these reports. Just because other teams are willing to sign Pujols to a stupid contract doesn’t mean the Cardinals should follow suit.
I guess the Dewallet name really fits for the Cards owner. Cards fans would be shocked and outraged if they knew how much money he and his ownership group have been socking away this past decade. I hope Albert goes to the Cubs just to spite Dewallet.
They’ve been paying for the stadium they built with their own money. They got tax breaks, but no money from taxpayers, to build the stadium. Now, they’ve been paying more than they need to each year, but that’s just to avoid paying so much interest, just like paying a mortgage off faster. Maybe you should provide examples so we Cardinal fans can be shocked instead of just making claims you can’t back up.
For all you people sayn there is NO WAY he goes to the SOX, I got some news for you.
Would the Red Sox have room for Albert Pujols? [David] Ortiz’s contract comes off the books after the season. So does the $14 million being paid J.D. Drew, the $12 million being paid Jonathan Papelbon, the $7.5 million being paid Mike Cameron, the $5 million being paid Marco Scutaro and the $2 million being paid Jason Varitek. That’s more than $52 million right there. … The starting rotation is set for the next four years, which leaves a ton of money left over to invest in another big bat. That’s where Pujols comes in. Ask yourself this: When haven’t the Red Sox gotten involved in the bidding for the biggest name out there?
52 million coming off the books!! Now tell me they wont be a player for Mr. Pujols? As a Cards fan this scares the crap out of me but at least he wouldnt be a CUB right? The hangup would be If he would split time at DH and 1B w/ Gonzo. But if the Cards dont meet his number and he wants to WIN, what better place to go! Plus he would be treated like a GOD in Beantown. Something to think about
Pujols has expressed many times that he has no desire to DH, or split time at DH. He plays 1B, and considers his defense his key above offense.
If the money is good enough, he might think twice, but he takes a lot of pride at playing a gold glove caliber position.
As a Sox fan, I don’t see this happening. It looks good in the short term, as in your example, but the Sox will be paying Lester more in 2012 than this year, and Pedroia’s contract will escalate also. Then, presumably, they will be paying Gonzo $14M more in 2012 than this year. They will probably look to lock up Buchholz and Bard to 4-5 year deals to avoid the arbitration years. The Red Sox aren’t the Yankees, and will NEVER have that type of revenue stream. They won’t spend $200M on payroll, at least not in the next few years.
Add to this the fact that Papelbon could very well remain a RS after exploring the open market, they would probably be paying him about the same ($12M) in a three year deal, or $13M per in a two-year deal. I really don’t see any team being willing to throw Rivera money at Paps.
You are right though… he would be treated like a God in Boston 🙂
Thanks for the insight, I was only thinking short term but its good to get a Boston perspective! BTW it would suck to lose him but if he leaves I want him to go to my AL team which is Boston.
The contract escalations don’t matter for tax purposes, so that’s something of a mute point. I also don’t see them extending any reliever, no matter how good they may be. Although I would love to see theme extend Bard as he seems to be the exception to the rule.
You guys are crazy. I really don’t think he is gonna be that greedy to go for a 10 year 300 million contract. I think he is a better guy than that. I don’t think he is gonna want a history making contract. He wants to win the World Series more than get money. If the Cards do good this year then he will stay and if not…well we might be out of luck unless he loves his team as much as his team loves him.
You guys are crazy. I honestly think he isn’t that greddy of a guy to ask for a 10 year 300 million dollar contract. It all depends on how well the Cards do this year. He wants a a team who can compete so if we get close to the World Series if not win it then he will stay, but if we don’t then we might be SOL…unless he loves his team as much as his team loves him.
Greedy*
His team may love him, but ownership doesn’t. Or rather, only to the extent that he gives them a HUGE hometown discount. The player doesn’t need to always be the one to give, ownership can too. Doesn’t make Pujols greedy. Were the Cardinals F/O greedy at his below market value last contract?
And, if he “just wants to win the World Series,” he signs with the Yankees or Red Sox. Not a team with a very thin farm system and tight budget restraints even if Pujols settles at 22 a year. Pujols signing with the Cardinals period, regardless of the money he gets, is him being generous to the team as they are: 1. Not going to be the highest bidder (Cubs/Nats), 2. Do not have the best chance of winning the series (see: Phillies).
Don’t make Pujols the bad guy. He just wants fair market price.
Maybe the Rays can dump their entire time and just have Pujols.
I think their attendance would rise in this scenario!!! Keep Longoria, Price, and Pujols and fill the holes with minor leaguers!
If Agon signs [probably], then the Sox and Yanks have their 1st base position locked up. However, if either team makes a move on Pujols, watch the other team get involved. Pujols would ramp up the Sox or Yankee offense so much the other team couldn’t just sit by and watch. The bidding war would get almost silly.
Someone suggested, the Yanks trade Texiera and the 5 years 110 mil remaining on his contract to ST. Louis for Pujols contingent on signing an extension.
St. Louis stays w/i their 21-23 mil range for only 5 more years…
The Yanks only bump payroll up 7 mil more and can afford Pujols’s 10 year contract.
Except has anyone ever heard of a trade like that outside a video game? Forget Pujols no trade clause, Tex also has one and I’m guessing he’s exactly where he wants to be.
I would love to see Albert owning part of the Cardinals and becoming their President once he retires. It’d be the best for the organization and it might allow to both give him contractual reward worth over 300 millions, ensure his financial future once he retires, and keep the current payroll at a similar level as it is right now. I’m really glad that DeWitt and his group are open to this kind of deal.
Seeing as every analyst that has sources is saying something completely different, it’s logical to assume they’re all just guessing.
It would be nice to be able to attend a home game for once. Not gonna change anytime soon, not with these bloated salaries. Baseball has been out of control for a long time. I’d love to see some of these players’ egos knocked down a few notches. Let’s start with Pujols.
With all the talk about partial team ownership and 300 million dollars, it looks like we can forget about the “hometown discount” Albert was going to give the Cards.
It’s a rude dose of reality for those who thought St. Louis is so wonderful, how could he even consider another city.
the Cards need to stop low-balling Pujols. Albert has made them so much money and brought them a championship while being the best player in the league setting a # of different records. offering him and I quote “slightly better than mark teixeira” is a disgrace. The Cards better get serious because it is possible Albert gets intreaged by another teams offer and potential; Lebron did.
Pay Pujols 225MM over 8 years. Gives him more money per year than A-Rod and it’s not too long of a contract.
Pujols is in control here. If he doesn’t receive an offer that is to his liking, then he will walk and get a lot more on the open market. Offering Albert less than what Vernon Wells makes doesn’t bode well for St.Louis. If they want to keep him, they have to make him the highest paid player in baseball.
The bidding in the off season will start at $30 Mill per season. The Cubs would pay that over in a heartbeat to not only get a great player but to screw over a division rival at the same time. To Cubs fans, that will be money well spent.