6:29pm: Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch heard that the two sides are "nowhere close" according to someone in Pujols' camp. He says the Cardinals remain reluctant to counter the ten-year, $300MM structure Pujols' side presented last year and are "leery of setting Pujols' market for fear their proposal could be rejected and eventually shopped should he reach free agency."
1:06pm: Contract talks between the Cardinals and Albert Pujols are headed in the wrong direction, major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The clock is ticking as there are less than two weeks until the first baseman’s self-imposed deadline for an agreement. The Cards' position players report to Spring Training on February 18th.
Even though talks between the two sides are fluid, the Cardinals are balking at the 31-year-old’s asking price. The slugger is seeking a contract that will reflect his status as the game's top player, meaning that he's likely looking to top Alex Rodriguez's ten-year, $275MM deal.
If Pujols does hit the open market after the 2011 season, Rosenthal writes that the Cubs, Rangers, and Angels are among the teams that could pursue Pujols. The Mets and Dodgers also could jump into the fray provided that their financial situations improve. The Yankees and Red Sox are obviously set long term at the first base position but Rosenthal posits that either team could get creative in an attempt to land Pujols.
my guess is Pujols has his eyes set at 10/300 and the cards aren’t biting. Good for them.
I agree.
He’ll agree at 9/240 is my guess.
10/280. He has to break the $275M mark
I highly doubt he ends up a Cub, or anything other than a Cardinal, but please make this as frustrating as possible for the Cards.
Please no posts on why Pujols would join the Rebuild-a-Cubs.
Because they have new owners and are willing to spend more money now. Yes even for the extraordinary amount of ten years for three hundred million dollars and still have about one hundred million dollars or so left
i’d like to know who these “major league sources” are
Those who know anything(the cardinals brass) are not talking. Those who know nothing(reporters) are just speculating. He is doing his job making us all get excited.
The best friend of the girlfriend of the guy who delivers sandwiches to Mozeliak’s assistant’s secretary’s assistant.
secretaries have assistants?
In this sarcastic rant they do.
george costanza was the assistant to the traveling secretary for the yankees
I’m betting it’s the years that’s the problem, not the dollar amount. Even with a future baseball immortal like Pujols the last 3-4 years of a 10 year deal are risky.
I’d guess they’re probably not thrilled about the dollar amount, either.
Why do you sign anyone into their 40s? Pujols is going to decline significantly around 36-39 just like every other player and that is best case scenario. I totally think he is worth 30 million/year. just 5/150 not 10/300.
No way in hell he takes 5 years at 30. It’ll cost much more. Eight would be realistic.
i don’t think he’s suggesting that he’ll take 5/150. he’s just pointing out that Pujols is may be worth $30 mil for about 5 years, but will be worth significantly less for the remainder of the 8-10 year deal he will sign.
exactly.
You are right, but based on previous players, even that is too many years.
You definately hit the nail on the head there… I am a Cardinals fan and 1) I don’t like the idea of 1/3 of your payroll going to one player [cause I really don’t think anyone is worth that] 2) I could live with 5/150 but 10/300 is rediculous and will put the Cardinals organization in trouble for a long time… I don’t think he will end up with the cubs but if he did I wouldn’t mind seeing them spend 10/300 for a declining Pujols after age 36 like u said.
yea i think that the cards are having trouble putting up a decent supporting staff around their stars like pujols, holliday, wainwright and carpenter as it is. when pujols, wainwright and carpenter are all extended and signed to even market value deals, those 4 can cost up to 70 or 80 mil a year, maybe more. pretty soon you will see players like rasmus, westbrook and berkman (lol) become too rich for their blood. you will have the big four stuck in a AAA lineup and pitching staff, even worse than it is now.
Uh-oh.
Good luck getting 10/300, or even 10/275m. Boston will soon have a 1B for the next 7 or so years and the Yankees have a roster full of long term 1b/DH types and have no qualms about signing about anybody they have as it is to absurd contracts when their time has past, so they have no place for him.
Got a feeling St. Louis might be better off letting him walk and then getting him back when Pujols finds the market is flat, with only maybe Anaheim and the Cubbies with a little cash next year in the market.
Fielder is going to be the real hilarious loser next year.
Market won’t be flat. At the very least the Sox could shift AGon to DH to accommodate Pujols, The Yankees could do the same with Tex, although that would mean they would be stuck with ARod at 3rd, not pretty considering his range is already diminishing thanks to his hip. As TheBunk said, the Blue Jays also could make a splash.
1. that would never happen both players are 30 yrs old no ay they’re DHing. 2. I’ve said it a number of times; Pujols will not be a Red Sox because he is on pase to break the all-time homerun record and playing in Boston would diminish his homerun totals.
I’m not saying it will happen, I don’t expect it to at all, but that’s what Rosenthal must mean by getting creative. Unless we really want to start Pujols to LF rumors….
Agon will be locked up well before Pujols hits FA. Boston would likely have to give Pujols the 1B job to sign him. We’ve seen that great hitters can put up 50+ HR’s playing their home games at Fenway, so I’m not sure where you’re coming from with your second point.
fenway is a great hitter’s park… what are you talking about?
Gonzalez might not WANT to DH, and in that sense it’s a good idea to try to keep him happy. But we saw with Soriano in Washington that if your team tells you to play somewhere, you play there — or you find yourself on the restricted list, not getting paid, not accruing service time, not able to touch baseball at all.
The bottom line is, Pujols is the kind of player you do things like this for. It’s a bit convoluted in Boston, but they COULD do it (and of course there are any number of hypothetical trade scenarios to open up spots). It’s even easier in New York. The Cubs will have the money if they wanted to spend it that way, Anaheim should be getting desperate, and you can’t even rule out somewhat dark-horse candidates like Toronto or Washington; not for a player of Pujols’ caliber.
Ultimately I think he ends up a free agent, but he re-signs with St. Louis. But either way, it will be fun to watch.
You do realize that not all RH power hitters have fared well at fenway right? Only ones that are adept at “lifting” the ball very high, others like Jim Rice were severely punished by the wall and Pujols falls into that category, plus the pressbox being build years ago no longer has the “draft” helping balls be blown to LF either.
Fenway is no longer the RH HR park that it was, but yes.. The wall doe allow far more extra base hits.
Since when did Fenway become second fiddle to St. Louis for homers? Reason # 1 why drunks shouldnt be allowed to post!
Couldn’t agree more….Who are the best defensive in all of MLB? I would have to say Albert Pujols, Mark Teixeira, and Adrian Gonzalez all make the top five. No way any of them find themselves DH-ing.
Could you imagine the Red Sox long term lineup with Pujols:
Jacoby Ellesbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Carl Crawford LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Adrian Gonzalez DH
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Jarod Saltilamacchia C
Jed Lowrie SS
Ryan Kalish RF
The Yankees would be older, but it would still be a force.
Derek Jeeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Albert Pujols 1B
Mark Texiera DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF
Russell Martin C
The Sox would need to extend Gonzalez and both teams have a question at catcher, and age is always a question, but those could scare the you-know-what out of the rest of the league. I think the Sox would be a little scarier just because they would be younger, and it probably won’t happen, but it’s fun to hypothesize.
Aside from catcher, the other big concern is 3B defense for both teams. Although we know what to expect with ARod 9which isn’t pretty), we haven’t seen Youk play 3B full time in years, although we would have a sense of this by the time Pujols was a FA.
For Boston, no way Crawford would remain in the 3 spot, same with the Yankees and Cano. Still those are both ridiculous.
Ridiculous is why Theo and Cashman would sign PUJOLS! They are both in it to win it and Pujols would play lf/dh AND sing Sweet Caroline if the Sox offered him the most cash! What position a player plays is irrelevent to his paycheck in most situations!
First of all, I meant ridiculous in a good way, so chill. Second, paychecks are highly related to positions (check out the DH market). Also, signing Pujols long term to DH (or moving Tex to DH) would hurt the Yankees more defensively than it would hurt teh Red Sox given their 3B situations. We’ll see how Youk does this year at 3rd, but we know ARod’s range is on the decline thanks to his hip and he should only get worse, to the point of being a serious liability in 5 years.
Also, Lavarnway should be ready to catch for the Sox, and one of the yankees catching prospects would likely take over as starting catcher as well (I’m not sold on Montero in the field).
lavarnway is just as bad as montero at catcher and his bat isnt nearly on montero’s level to make up for the defensive suckiness
While I disagree, about the defense (Lavarnway has made a lot of progress, and is more likely to continue to improve based on his relative inexperience at catcher) that isn’t central to my argument. The Yankees have better defensive options at catcher in their minors, while Boston doesn’t. Based on that, barring trades, Lavarnway is more likely to stick at catcher than Montero.
That’s not true. While Lavarnway is certainly not good defensively there is still reasonable hope that he improves to the point that he is acceptable behind the plate, the same isn’t generally believed to be true about Montero. Lavarnway also only started learning the catchers position 3 years ago so his defensive development is behind where it would otherwise be.
The only problem is that the Yankees line up you proposing would be wasting Texiera’s ability in the field. You would be paying $20 million dollars for a 31 year old DH that has won a couple of Gold Gloves.
The Yankees would probably want to swap Pujols for Texiera. The Cardinals could still field a good team. The only problem is that the Yankees need starting pitching. Any chance that can get Carpenter in that deal?
But why would you DH the two best fielding first basemen in the game?
I do not understand why everyone puts Pujols at number 4, is that what all American League Teams do. You traditionally put your best power hitter at 4 and your best hitter at three, and with a DH have him hit 3 makes perfect sense, not four. Dropping him down to 4 would make him lose out on about 20 to 30 at bats, wouldnt you want your best hitter getting those at bats, no offense Cano.
Uhhhh…Blue Jays?
Definite possibility. Didn’t they say they expect their payroll to go much higher in the next few years?
potentially up t0 150 million if it makes sense.
So then it could be Blue Jays with Pujols=Rangers with A-Rod?
Pretty sure the jays have a lot more financial flexibility the rangers. I’m going to guess that you probably aren’t familiar with the Rogers corp.
I highly doubt they’ll suddenly identify themselves with baseball’s big money teams. Doesn’t seem realistic.
I highly doubt you know what you’re talking about. While I doubt Pujols ever comes to Toronto, The Jays have a massive media company as an owner as well as an entire country as their primary market.
They have spent a lot in the past and will again in the future if the team is doing well.
You clearly haven’t been paying attention to what Toronto ownership has been saying lately.
You obviously don’t realize how ridiculously much Rogers is charging me for my phone, cable and internet right now. They have tons of money and I think they are the second richest owners in the league behind the Nationals owner so they definitely have the money if it makes sense, and they have emphasized that.
The Jays can sustain a payroll around $150M. That’s about $90M more than where they are right now according to Cot’s, although closer to $80M more after Bautista signs.
The Card’s better wrap him up before the Cubs can make a run at him or they are going to have to face him 18 times a year.
As a Red Sox fan, it kills me to see Rosenthal say the Red Sox and Yankees could get creative to land him. Personally, I’m content with Adrian Gonzalez. I would rather have AGon at 7-8 years/150-60M rather than having Pujols at 10/275-300M. I’m not saying AGon is better than Pujols, but he’s one of the top first baseman in the game and there isn’t a HUGE upgrade between him and Pujols.
That’s kinda been my question about Pujols v.s. Gonzalez. One player will top out at around $20M+ a year and the other at $30M a year. Pujols is easily the best player in the game, but is worth the extra $10M when you already have a solid power hitter?
Yeah. I mean, of course I’d LOVE for them to have Pujols but I think Gonzo is just as good a fit. It doesn’t seem like the extra 10M a year is worth it at all. Pujols is the greatest, but so was ARod, now look? They eventually decline and for 150M less overall, I’m taking Gonzo anyday.
Of course if this was a video game would could always sign both and move one to DH. Ah fantasy. Also we are leaving out that Boston hasn’t actually signed Gonzalez yet. I fully expect a deal to go down sooner or later.
My bet is if Pujols hits the open market then the Red Sox and yanks will both check on the price possibly make even a token offer but ultimately they’ll just make sure the other team doesn’t get him.
Yes, that’d be nice. And I expect a deal sooner than later, also. Theo finally got his man and it’s clear him, along with ownership (who gave him the green light to acquire two superstars this offseason) are not about to let him walk away.
If it was a video game, and that was the team, that has 162-0 all over it, maybe even on Hall of Fame difficulty
MLB 11 The Show, 1 month away 🙂
Honestly, Yes! Getting Pujols with that current Sox lineup would just about guarantee( if there is such a thing) 3 championships in the next 5 years! Talk about loaded and they have Paps 12, Papi 12.5, Drew 14, Cameron 8, Scutaro 6.5, and lesser players for a minimum 53 million coming off the books! Factor in around a 15 million raise to AGonz still leaves 38 million to play with with and factoring in arb raises to Bard, Buchhloz and Ells( who could be traded in this scenario with Crawford taking over in cf and Kalish in rf and either Lowrie or Iglesias at ss) the Sox could easily add Pujols at 30 million per without paying a luxury tax!
It’s about locking up the talent we do have, though. It wouldn’t make sense to shell out the extra money and make it harder to help the team in the future years when Pujols is older.
As i explained above,(forgot Wakes 3 mil) 56 Million minimum coming off the books will extend AGonz at an extra 15 million, make it possible to sign Pujols at 30 per, and STILL leave 8 million to pay in arb raises for Ellls, Buch, and Bard! Plus 10 million comes off the books in 12 when DiceK is up! Everyone is pretty much in their prime and locked up! This is so simple, even a Caveman could understand this or do I need to write a Ross Perot graph for everyone to understand this!
Crawford refuses to play CF…you should know this…he’s on your team
Source please, I have not heard him say those words
Hes never said this and for 20 million, he’ll play wherever the hell Tito tells him!
As a Sox fan, I agree. Though he’s not Pujols, Gonzalez is good enough. I don’t wanna be stuck with a declining Pujols being paid $30 mil a year towards the end of his contract.
I’m a Sox fan as well, but I’m guessing that Rosenthal thinks the Sox can put Pujols in the outfield (Didn’t he come up as an outfielder?). Youk and A-Gon at the corners, Crawford, Ells, Pujols in the outfield, and let’s not forget Pedroia at second. Sounds like a plan, except for the fact that I don’t feel the Sox will shell out 300 mil for any player.
Yes, he came up as a LF. I see the outlook on that but in all reality, they need that 30M a year for the young players they haven’t locked up yet. It’s an interesting decision but it would kill me to see them cripple themselves with that big a contract.
The Sox and Yanks will spend whatever it takes to win. Thats why they always sell out and have the best cable deals with YES and NESN in the game! WINNERS make more money than losers and you have to spend to win. And when Theo and Cashman are doing the spending the results is oftentimes championships!
Pujols can’t play anywhere other than first because of his bad elbow. He can’t handle throwing the ball much more than first base necessitates.
came up as 3B, then moved to outfielder, yes, but hurt his throwing arm. thats the reason he moved to 1B, and that arm still gives him problems, if you remember he actually had arthroscopic surgery to clean it up last year or 2.
being creative could just mean moving a current 1B to DH. The Sox have an opening after this season (and should have AGon already locked up), so they could move AGon to DH and sign Pujols for 1B. Yankees could move Tex to DH, but then they’re stuck with ARod at 3rd where his range is already decreasing thanks to the hip injury. I’d say the odds are better that the Sox would get him than the Yankees getting him, but I also think there’s less than a 2% chance of the Sox getting him.
You just don’t move a guy with a great glove to DH. It’s more complicated than that…
And Pujols doesn’t have a great glove? I’ve said this won’t happen, but I have a feeling Pujols wants to field a position and if that’s what it takes to bring him into your line up, you at least entertain the idea.
To me, it’s a waste to pay Gonzo and extension and have Pujols. The market for Fielder will not shape up the way he thinks. If you think Pujols is a logical option, AGon doesn’t stay. Taking a great fielder and sticking him at DH makes no sense. Fielder is an “okay” fielder, so get them two if that’s going to be the case.
AGon/Pujols is going to age much better than AGon/Fielder.
I said, if you think Pujols is a more logical option at 1st, take Fielder to DH. Not AGon/Fielder.
My bad, I assumed since AGon was already on the team that he would be in the mix. Should have read that more carefully. Pujols/AGon still ages much better, and the SOx have shown a willingness to move great 1B gloves recently (see Youk). Admittedly, moving to DH takes the glove work out of the equation completely, although they could split time at 1B and DH to stay fresher. Also, IMO money is not really a problem for Boston going into 2012, and say $30M for Pujols won’t look as bad in 8 years once contracts begin getting larger again.
It’s okay, it was a lot of info jammed into one small response. But ya, I get what you’re saying. And it’s not that I believe moneys an issue it’s that I believe they’d be better off financially keeping it to lock up their own young talent, spend on the draft/international free agents etc. I know it’s there, and I know if they spend it they’ll still have money to spend but they’ll have a lot more if they don’t sign him. I guess we both have differing opinions, but just know I respect yours.
I completely respect yours too. I’m just not convinced (based on recent years) that player salaries impact what Boston allocated to scouting and signing prospects. We certainly have players we will need to lock up (Bard, Buchholz) as well as others who may show that they should be locked up (Kalish, Iglesias, Ranaudo, Lavarnway). I think I just value known commodities more and you value young, cheap talent more. Realistically, we should be able to have some of both, which is why I suspect the Sox will extend AGon, check in on Fielders price (if less than $17.5M a year I think they consider him for DH on a 5 year deal). This would give us an extra ~$12.5M compared to signing Pujols, plus only half of the commitment in years. Personally, I think Fielder will sign for around $125M over 5 years, so I doubt this will happen as well.
Overall, I guess your view is more realistic, while I long for the days a Papi and Manny in their primes in the 3/4 spots. I’m just not convinced of Boston’s ability to produce power hitters from the farm. Hopefully this will change with Lavarnway, and to a lesser extent Kalish. I’d even be happy seeing Rizzo flourish in SD, since it would at least mean we can identify power hitting prospects.
Well we can agree 100% on one thing, THIS SEASON NEEDS TO START! Going to see them at the Fens a couple times and I cannot wait.
Completely agree. I need to set up my annual trip to Boston for this summer (I’ve had to move down to CT for work, I used to go up to Boston every other weekend or so). Way too many unintelligent Yankees and Jets fans around here (I don’t mind the intelligent ones).
Ah, get on that! I live in RI, so, mostly intelligent Red Sox and Pats fans, lol.
RI, they literally are home to some of the dumbest sports fans in general
Championships make sense!
your clearly not a red sox fan because your talking like the Red Sox dont have all the money in the world and can’t land any player they want. But you can rest easy, I assure you Pujols will not be a Red Sox.
When did I say “they don’t have the money”? I said it would be harder to help future Red Sox teams because that’s a lot of money tied up with SP and 3 main players. Sir, I’m a die hard Sox fan. I just believe adding Crawford at 142M over 7 years, and Gonzo who is due for an extension then adding another 250-300M is useless. For the betterment of the teams future, you do not sign him. You stay away and save your money. I know we have the money, but we also have a first baseman who is not far off from Pujols. I’m a fan who thinks rationally. Sorry I don’t live in fantasy land.
I can totally see the Jays bidding on Pujols next year
They would have the money for it, but i doubt they give a guy 300 mm for 10 years , specially if Lind bounces back, they likely would just stay the course with him for much cheaper.
i suppose. The cost is retardedly high right now, but if it goes down to 8/250~260 I think he’s worth it
I Agree on the worth, i mean just having Pujols would be insane for toronto, i just dont see AA thinking that Pujols is worth it considering he will likely decline in 4-5 years. As a fan though, id love for him to give pujols 300 m lol
The only way Pujols won’t be a cardinal is if someone significantly outbids the Cards which means it will take a 300 million dollar deal to get him.
I agree and disagree at the same time on the same point, if that makes sense. I also doubt them giving him 10-300 but I could also see it too. If they show a showing in the right direction that they are ready to compete in 2012 why not? All AA has to do is go to Rogers and tell them that they have a chance to get the best player of the generation and it would make them an automatic contender with the other pieces they have and would put butts in the seats. I think it could make sense but it also could not make sense at the same time.
I hope they do, only so I know that one of Votto’s preferred places to play is taken out of the equation when he hits free agency in 2014
He’ll be our DH then!
Votto might want to go LA , he is a lakers fan, I doubt pujols goes to toronto but anything is possible ,
Only thing is, playing on turf will destroy his legs.
Meh. It’s said the new turf the Jays have feels much more like grass than it used to. I don’t think that’s a legit excuse anymore.
I’ve played soccer for a long time, and I will tell you from personal experience, turf is a pain in the @$$. I’ve had multiple sprains, etc, and when I played on turf, the areas quickly became inflamed. While it’s not an excuse, it’s certainly proven fact that turf does in fact affect previous injury areas, etc.
Quoted from The Star:
That surface strives to combine the best elements of modern FieldTurf and the old-school AstroTurf rugs that were once so common in North American sports. It grips like the original AstoTurf, but its base –a mix of sand and tiny rubber pellets – makes it as soft underfoot as FieldTurf.
Fair enough. Turf just isn’t the same as grass. No matter how good it is. I’ve played on good turf, and it’s still not grass.
I can understand him giving them a slight team discount but if hes not one of the top 1-2 paid guys in the league then the team needs to come up
keep dreaming toronto fans, but it will never happen.
well jeez, really?
If I’m the Cardinals I do anything possible not to let him hit the market. It’s gonna get really ugly for them. I’m no GM, but this seems obvious…
I think they should just trade him
Lmao, talk about impossible.
Team: what do you want?
Cards: EVERYTHING!!!
I’m pretty sure Pujols has said he’ll exercise his no trade clause.
“…but Rosenthal posits that either team could get creative in an attempt to land Pujols.”
Red Sox? DH will be open but after that A-Gon extension, I doubt they’ll increase payroll by that much. Yankees? Where would he play? Move Teixeira? Who would take him? What position would Teixeira play? I doubt he’ll accept a trade, since he has a no trade clause.
What about the Nationals ? They have money and they need a gate attraction. Forget about Adam LaRoche, you can send him to the Cardinals as part of the package.
Pujols is way better than LaRoche
If the Yankees want him that bad. I think Tex will move to Left or right.I say right because its a shorter distance to the cutoff man and he played outfield and actually played thrid base,but outfield corners or more likely if they want Pujols that bad.But suprise contenders for him would be the Nationals and the O’s since they bothed pushed for Tex and also the Mariners and Giants..if I’m the Yankees I go fter Prince Fielder if they want a perment Dhhe would launch 45 50 homers a year in that park
Everyone wants to throw the Rangers into discussions like these, but unless Greenberg overrules Ryan, they won’t do long term contracts like Nim-rod’s again. 5-7 years would be their top offer, but I doubt that would be good enough. I like the idea of Pujols and Hamilton and Cruz in the same lineup, but I doubt it will ever happen. I see him becoming a Yankee because Teixeira is on a decline and they have the money obviously.
One off year does not make a player in decline!
I think it will be the sox , they bought everybody this year , why not next year too. my thought is Hal isnt George and wont just open checkbook , seems like new management might be more concerned about profit rather than victory
i love how the angels are somehow connected to every FA
And they wind up with none.
yes, they did. Vernon Wells. He was a free agent right? :p
Probably because, Angels = Low ball offer , and everybody out there needs a bottom bid to start with
If they got Pujols they would be a contender again. If they don’t send Kendry Morales to St. Louis as part of the trade, they can move him to the outfield or 3b.
Also Pujols used to play 3b a few years ago.
If Pujols was still capable of playing 3B, he would be the starting 3B for the Cardinals this year. With his elbow issues, why risk his health when he’s a gold glove 1B?
Also, he stated he will use his NTC to veto any and all trades. So sorry, but Angels aren’t trading for him.
I’m a Cardinals fan in St. Louis, and even we’re tired of him. Great player, sure. But he also has a big head. If he thinks he’s going to ruin this team and our financial situation just so he can prove to everyone that he’s the best, good riddance. We have plenty of great players here in St. Louis like Carpenter, Wainright, Holliday, and Molina, and Garcia, Rasmus, and Freese are great young guys. We have a great foundation from which to work regardless of whether Pujols is here or not. And let’s not forget that Buehrle is going to be here next season, too (99% certainty). If he wants to walk, let him.
Pujols has an agent, his agent is doing his job.
That looks like a .500 team.
Speak for your self. Pujols does not have a “Big Head”. He has always respected the game, his team mates, the organization, the community. Pujols is not a “Money Ball” player. No one knows where / what the negotiations are. Pujols is the best player on the planet, and will go down as one of if not the best player to ever play the game. I am sick of St. Louis Cards fans taking this factor for granted. He has always been appreciative of the situation that God has put him in.
The Cardinals are screwed without Pujols, don’t kid yourself.
screwed with him too at 30/yr
yep…its a win/win for cardinals haters like me
what’s that about buehrle?
Buehrle stated a few years back he wants to play at least one year as a Cardinal (his hometown team growing up). Most Cardinal fans expect him to follow through on this at some point….whether it be next year or not. So there is some truth to the statement of him playing for the Cards, just no truth to it being next year
What’s funny is I had a dream last night that I woke up and he was signed. Then I wake up to the polar opposite….smh
I miss the days of sleeping until noon on Saturdays…
i tell ya, it’s pretty awesome. however, I finish my masters in May and then it’s on to the real world. I probably won’t be able to enjoy these kind of saturdays too much longer 🙁
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jon_heyman/…
Sports Illustrated says Orioles may be a possible destination as well
…Hey, a delusional fan can hope, can’t he?
If the Yanks miss the playoffs this year, they are in on this. Big time.
That’s what I was thinking.
Haha. I was actually speaking to a friend about this. I told him “Be scared if the Yankees miss the playoffs.” They will pull something out their @ss and the rest of MLB will be crying “NOOOO FAAAAIIIIRRRRRR!!!”
actually good point. after they missed out on the playoffs in 08, they paid 160 to CC, 180 to Tex and 80 (something like that?) to AJ. if they end up sucking this year, they may be inclined to spend big. unfortunately, there is no place for pujols. tex is a good fielder, but i suppose you can make him DH. then Arod has to play 3rd till his contract is up, which will eventually get ugly. and then where does jeter play? he has to be moved off SS eventually, and the outfield must be a joke. the downgrade from gardner to jeter in LF would be something like 20 runs (2wins), and swish will play right because a) he can’t play anywhere else and b) he’s actually a good player so he won’t be blown off.. and jeter in CF… don’t make me laugh. so basically, you either sign a big 3B and move arod to DH, or a big SS and move jeter to third and arod to DH. either way, tex stays on first and there is no room for a 1B/DH type. what they really need is a starting pitcher. idk who is a FA after this season, but if the yanks miss the playoffs, they might make the equivalent of CC and AJ signings, especially with how good their lineup is already and how thin the pitching is.
Actually the Nationals wanted Tex, were willing to sign him for more then the Yankees actually did. Trade him to the Nationals plus some money. Get some quality players in return (probably not top shelf). Then the Yankees sign Pujols.
The Nationals could try to sign Pujols but I doubt he goes there unless they are the only team willing to pay him $30 million a year.
that seems like a lot of work for not much upgrade. tex is good fielder and a great hitter, just not the best ever like pujols. sure you can eat 80mil of tex’s deal and trade him to sign pujols for another 300mil… but thats just ridiculous. will never happen. they are committed to tex, unless he turns into 2010 versions of mark reynolds or carlos pena for good. but then no one would want to trade for him and his contract if he inexplicably started sucking. nah the yanks and red sox (assuming they extend gonzalez) are out of it. the nats, orioles, cubs, cards, blue jays, and maybe dodgers, angels, rangers and mariners can bid on him.i have a feeling he won’t sign for less than 240mil and 8 years and won’t sign for anyone that’s not guaranteed to get him to the postseason nearly every year. so that means no nats, orioles, cubs, cards, blue jays, mariners… oops the only ones left are those without the money (dodgers, rangers) or those without much room but with the money (angels). i think he will find his market is not what he thinks it will be without the big spenders.
Good points…
If they miss the playoffs due to pitching failure, I don’t see how Pujols helps, unless they use him as a starting pitcher
I see your point, but I’m assuming you haven’t looked at the 2011 free agent starter list. Nothing available.
Yes, they would need to get some quality arms in this scenario… but this would not preclude them from jumping in on Albert. My opinion.
I see your point, but I’m assuming you haven’t looked at the 2011 free agent starter list. Nothing available.
Yes, they would need to get some quality arms in this scenario… but this would not preclude them from jumping in on Albert. My opinion.
Score 1100 runs a season. Screw pitching.
He’s gonna get 30 million a year from someone
So if no deal is done by ST (hypothetically) …
(a) Do the Cards offer Albert arbitration?
(b) Does Albert accept?
(at first, I thought the answers were definitely YES, and NO … but I’m not sure now)
(c) If yes, what are the numbers submitted by each side?
he’s going for a 10 year contract…why would he agree to sign a 1 year deal..which is what accepting arbitration would mean
That’s what I was thinking originally; but I can’t think of a team (nor can anyone else here apparently) that will offer him 10 years beginning 2012. If he accepts arb for a possible $25M+, it also gives him and the Cards time to negotiate a more practical multi-year deal before any settlement or hearing. If not, he can go for another long term contract in 2013 when more teams might be in the picture.
The Sox originally drafted Pujols in the later rounds of the draft and they couldn’t agree on money and I think they would have an interest in him. By being “creative” what’s stopping them from signing both Gonzalez(which I believe is already done) and Pujols and platooning the two between 1st and DH. 81 games each at first, keep them both fresh and the damage that they would do at Fenway… oh my!! Ortiz’s 12 million and Drew’s 14M(replace with Kalish) are coming off the books next year so technically your paying him 4M above what the two of them make if he signs for 30M per year.
Imagine this line up for years to come….
Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Crawford LF
Pujols DH/1B
Gonzo 1B/DH
Youkilis 3B
Drew RF to be replaced by Kalish
Salty C
Lowrie/Scutaro SS
Looks great on paper.
**My bad. I thought I had read before that the Sox had drafted him. It was this article I read a few years ago. boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/10…
Not gonna happen though. 😛
“The Sox originally drafted Pujols in the later rounds of the draft”
Since when does the MLB draft work that way.
It has always worked that way. It happens all the time. Player A gets drafted in lets say the 10th round.. decides he doesn’t like the offer goes back in the draft has a great year and gets picked higher. The Sox drafted him, couldn’t sign him so he went back in the draft and the Cards took him. The Sox also drafted Texeira in a later round the year before he went in the first round to Texas.
I’ve never seen anything to suggest that Pujols was in the draft more than once. And a player as talented as Pujols, there would be plenty of documentation that someone dug up.
he was 402nd overall pick i believe. totally under the radar
Except they never drafted him, in any round. He was drafted just once….by the Cardinals….in 1999….in the 13th round.
Red Sox did not draft him, they passed on him because of signing issues and Cards got him in a later round and rest is history. But I only found this out after reading your first post and checking on his Wiki page references. So thanks.
boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/10…
yea and the indians drafted lincecum but couldnt sign him. imagine if at one time they had lincecum, sabathia, lee, carmona… just wooooow
too bad that never happened with Pujols. Get your facts straight.
actually they came close to drafting him in the first round, but passed because they could not reach him and tell him that he was going to need to be a fast sign
No they didn’t. He was drafted once, in 1999, in the 13th round by the Cardinals. That is the only year he was drafted by ANY team.
interleague play would really suck having to sit pujols or gonzo
Anyone care to do the math about how a 10/280 contract would look in inflationary terms? The US is screwing over the dollar like crazy, so it might not be so bad long-term.
I don’t think Albert would have no value at the end of the contract; either it runs out year 7 and we sign him for 35 mil/year in 2 year deals until he retires, or we have him signed for those years already at a friendly 28.
Better yet, give him interest in the Ballpark Village construction. The Cardinals gave Ozzie a Bud distributorship back in the 80s.
First of all, I have trouble imagining Pujols playing for another team. But if he is looking to top A-Rod’s figure of 10/275, I would not want him on my team even if Dimitri Young is my starting 1B then. A-Rod did not deserve that much money and as great as Pujols is, he does not deserve that kind of money either. This is sickening. Some one has to say no.
I wonder if Mo remembers the “bidding against yourself” criticism he received after the Holliday signing and is thinking “Albert, if you want 10yrs/300mil, find someone willing to pay something remotely close to that before we give in and pay it.”
If so, that’s a risky move – because there may very well be teams that are willing to do the big contract (which wasn’t the case with Holliday). If Albert hits free agency, he probably is gone, and all we get is a draft pick after he turns down arb.
Please Mo, don’t sign this SOB.
Why not?
Pujols to the Nats for Espinosa, Norris, Clippard, and Chris Marrero.
I’d still put the odds at Pujols staying in STL at something like 1:15.
Pujols has a full NTC and stated last week he will revoke any and all trades
Throw in strasburg, Harper, and Storen and maybe you have a deal lol
The Nats wouldn’t give up one of those 3 for the opportunity to pay Pujols $30 mil a year for his declining years…
question for cards fans: do you want him that badly? does he draw fans single-handedly? if he does, do you consider trying to unload the other big contracts within next week (if that’s even possible)? holliday, carpenter, lohse and berkman are the biggest ones aside from albert. on one hand, you free up money. on the other hand, the team gets weaker and less appealing for albert.
i’m not a cards fan, but this is really a bad place to be in for st.l.
I personally want him to be a Cardinal for life. He doesn’t draw fans single handedly…even if he wasn’t a Cardinal, they would draw 3 million a year. St. Louis is a baseball city. No, they would not unload any other contracts. You would just build around Holliday, Molina, Wainwright…still tons of stars in that lineup. St. Louis would survive withouth Albert; but they would not blow up the entire team to rebuild.
Molina’s contract is up after 2012. Wainwright’s after 2013. The Cards better start the ‘win now’ plan….
why? if pujols is gone, that means they extend there current guys. I can see pujols’s would be 28mil ish salary getting spread out for extensions to Garcia/Rasmus/Wainwright eventually.
For 2011 the trio of Wainwright/J Garcia/Rasmus will cost around $7.5 mil. The same trio in 2014 will cost around $40 – 45 mil. Unless the Cards also expect Wainwright will accept pennies on the dollar on his FA contract. Cliff Lee’s contract is the market for aces. It will only get higher in 3 years…
um how you seen what they trot out there behind those big 4? stars? more like scrubs. some of them are good, but most of the non-big-four players are replacement level guys.
garcia, wainwright, carpenter, holliday, rasmus and a few high ceiling BP guys in Motte and McClellan. That is a strong core without pujols Then there is good mlb players like Westbrook. Lohse will be gone soon, pujols and his 16mil along with whatever we would have offered so like 28mil will be gone. I find it hard to believe we couldn’t compete with roughly 40mil in spending money after 2011(pujol’s would be salary+berkman) and after 2012 with Westbrook and Lohse gone filled in by minor leaguers. We will be fine without Pujols.
The Cardinals would not do well without Pujols, and you and I both know that.
some people are in panic mode. I’m not. We would be fine depending on how we allocate his funds.
the problem is that you have allocate the funds correctly. you can see by examples like the marlins that they can be an ok to pretty good team with next to no payroll. but you have to have lots of very talented young players making the minimum for that to work. jaime garcia looks like the real deal and rasmus is good (even though LaRussa inexplicably hates him) and cheap, but wainwright and carpenter are going to get real expensive soon. holliday is already very expensive. the problem with counting on prospects is that for every jaime garcia there are 3 or 4 busts like alex gordon or jeff clement or even just guys that never quite get there like matt laporta or someone. you have to really hope that your prospects turn out to be stars with this strategy and it usually doesnt work out that well. sure you can make it without pujols… but you probably won’t.
I’m a die hard cards fan and I can tell you I would rather watch a mediocre 85 to 90 win team with Pujols than a 100 win team without him.
Even if someone the Cards could lose pujols and pull a mariners and win over a 100 games I won’t be there to watch it. The thought of watching the cardinals with Pujols on another team is unfathomable
The Cardinals are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
They can not give him 300 mill for 10 years, and they also can not let him walk.
Wait…Did the Red Sox actually sign A-Gon yet ???
Im thinking if Pujols passes the spring training deadline w/o resigning…the Red Sox hold off on resigning A-Gon
Really? After giving up the prospects they did just to get AGon, you really think the Sox would be content with one year service of him?
Good point. If they traded for Pujols they would have to give him alot more then they did for Gonzalez. So essentially when they sign Pujols as a free agent it is just like they traded for him except without as many hits to their farm system.
How can they not consider it for just about $6=7 million a year more? AGONE will get at least $23 million a year. They have the whole season to wait it out. Plus there is no guarantee that AGone is 100% healed.
Since the Cardinals are definitely in the World Series discussion, do you think if they win the whole thing, Pujols would take a paycut after the season?
The Mets will sign King Albert Pujols, end of story!
yess a line up of
reyes
pagan
wright
pujols
beltran
bay
murphy
thole
pitcher
Amazing line up
Let’s chill with the Mets signing Pujols thing right now. With the financial hoopla going on right now, who knows if they’ll even be able to bring Pujols here. Beltran’s not coming back after this season. End of story. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s traded during the deadline. I really hope they’ll bring back Jose Reyes. Also, I’m sure Murph is not gonna be a starter and Emaus may win the 2nd base spot. Yes, Pujols to the Mets would be amazing, especially with guys like Cory Vaughn, Darrell Ceciliani and Reese Havens (if he can finally get over injuries) coming up in the next year or two, but let’s not count our chickens before they hatch.
I don’t want to make it sound like the Red Sox, but I really think that’s where he will end up. Scutaro is coming off the books and JD Drew will be gone (unless they get a decent extension, 3/30 type deal), Sox will have the money available and the position open. The speed and power in the lineup would be unreal.
Ellsbury
Pedroia
Crawford
AGonz
Youk
Willingham (DH/4th OF)
Reyes
Kalish
Saltalamacchia
The scary thing is they could do this with a payroll Less than this year.
I thought you said they were signing Pujols and Willingham was going be their catcher? Why not just add Reyes to that lineup?
60 million dollars coming off the books, let go Mets! Get Pujols to the Big Apple!!!
CF – Ellsbury
RF – Crawford
DH – Fielder
LF – Pujols
1B – AGonz
3B – Youk
2B – Pedroia
C – Willingham
SS – Lowrie
Funny Joke, Just put anyone at any position, Willingham is not currently a catcher genius, and stop pretending to be the Yankees. Who is gonna pay for Fielder, Pujols, and Gonzalez, your dad?
No, Henry just spent $440 million on a soccer team. He can easily afford it.
I will pay for it, I have so much money I don’t know what to do with it. Just tell me where to sign the check for the $200M payroll. My dad definitely won’t pay for it, he just bought a $400M soccer team.
LOL keep dreaming. No management is that crazy. Adrian will ask for lot, Pujols’ 300 plus Fielder’s asking price is going to be high too. Add Willingham, Crawford, and all other salaries.
My favorite part is that Willingham is catcher LOL
Being a Sox fan I would take Willingham out at catcher and trade Kalish for Mauer. Then you deal Darnell MacDonald and Scutaro for Hanley Ramirez THEN and ONLY THEN do you have our future line up.
Please note the sarcasm before replying!!
Thank you to those who can understand sarcasm! I tried to make a blatantly unrealistic lineup of all the best free agents.
The Nats aren’t going to contend this year, why not just wait and sign him in free agency.
I could see the Nats offering 10/$330 with no hesitation. Possibly more if they had to. Place would see a huge huge huge jump in season ticket sales.
Signing a player like Pujols will also make it easier to sign other free agents for market rate instead of market rate +15%
You don’t actually think the Nats will give him 33mil a season for 10 years do you?
If you do you should probably go back to wherever you came from, and that lineup was equally funny.
“Signing a player like Pujols will also make it easier to sign other free agents for market rate instead of market rate +15%”
Well they would have just overpaid for Pujols, by 30 million, and will have no money to spend on other FA.
If the Nats can make $33.1M back on the salary expense why wouldn’t they? How many thousand seats would they sell with Pujols? Look what they do on the days Strasburg pitches….now do that every night.
When Strasburg pitches about 19,000 more fans attend the game. Say Pujols brought in half of that. 9,500 tickets x $40 x 65 game Strasburg isn’t pitching = $24.7M. Now if you can get $13.50 from each ticket in concession profits they are at $33M….and this is at 75% attendence.
The argument you can make is they won’t sell out 75% of the stadium. I think Washington could build a huge season ticket base and a bunch of bandwagoners transplanted from other cities or even just vacations.
Since I believe they would at worst break even with Pujols, it shouldn’t impact any other free agents.
I don’t know about 10/$330, but I wouldn’t be surprised a couple of teams (Nats,Cubs) jump in and at the very least jack up the price on the Cards. Regardless of the actuall figures, the guy is going to be paid extremely well.
If Pujols isn’t making the money, the owner is.
The next two weeks are going to be very interesting. I still don’t see him ending up anywhere but St. Louis, even if he hits the open market.
I think Pujols will be wearing Red Socks for a long time………..in St. Louis. The Cards have locked up all of their other star players in recent years. I would think they’d take care of the Albert as well.
300 Million to play baseball for 10 years is OUTRAGEOUS.
Did you know when baseball first became an organized sport the idea of a man getting paid to play was considered outrageous? I can’t remember the number but during the Great Depression Babe Ruth signed a one-year deal with the yanks that was considered outrageous. When the first 8 digit contracts were first handed out, they were outrageous. When Kevin Brown signed the first $100M contract, that was outrageous. Each time ARod signed his $200M+ contracts, they were outrageous.
Point being, this is a free market (or at least close to that) economy. The price will be set based on the market. So get over it.
So that makes it right? Sorry…. I don’t buy it and no I won’t get over it. Just because they got paid peanuts back in the day doesn’t make it right that they get paid stupid money today.
Is Pujols aware that in 10 years he’ll be 41…. c’mon man he can’t really think a team is going to want to pay the guy 30 million a year when he’s in his late 30’s??? Don’t buckle Cardinals. Giving him that much money will be bad for baseball.
The Yankees 10 year contract with A-Rod lasts until he is 42. Pujols is a superior player to A-Rod and wants an even better deal. Someone is going to pay this. If the Cards want to keep Pujols they are going to have to step to the plate and show the best player in baseball the money or they can kiss him good bye.
Now Cards Mgtm is in deep trouble. Okay, I don’t want to keep this really expensive ballplayer even if he is great but I can’t trade him because he is going to use his NTC so all I can hope for is couple of draft picks if I lose in the off season. I think this NTC is unfair in this situation. One scenario, they could have earned multiple top prospects and other is they draft some unproven talent and then wait.
unfair? The players earn their 10 and 5 rights, given their loyalty to one team, they should probably get some say in whether they want to be shipped off.
if the mets sign him, they could move davis to rf.
reyes ss
pagan cf
wright 3b
pujols 1b
davis rf
bay lf
thole c
havens 2b
Amen to that brother
that’s an expensive 7 hitter.
He isn’t going anywhere. I’d just let this go to the offseason. You gain nothing by signing him now.
You maintain the advantage of being the only team bidding.
Boy for someone that says it’s not about the money seems to be letting the money stand in his way of wanting to be a Cardinal for life because “he loves this city and he loves the fans”. I am suddenly believing that Mr. Pure Baseball is no different than any other major league money grubber. I hope he is ready for the “Lebron Treatment” because that is the chump he is portraying himself to be.
LeBron received the treatment he did by basically rubbing his decision in everyone’s face, because the sports media had been dancing around the question of his impending free agency for more than 2 years, and if you believe him: because he’s black.
I remember the day when James announced where he was signing better than I remember my last birthday. I remember for 2 reasons: 1) I was incredibly drunk on my last birthday. 2) It was advertised on almost every major channel, including non-sports channels, that it was “decision day.” In other words it ceased being about the game and it was a three-ring circus where James was the ringmaster.
Mets fans, get crazy and spread the word about the Mets signing Pujols, If we get Pujols and Bautista next year in free agency, we can trade Ike Davis for a good pitcher.
Here’s the lineup:
Reyes SS
Pagan CF
Pujols 1B
Bautista RF
Wright 3B
Bay LF
Murphy 2B
Thole C
This lineup is balling!!!! Best lineup in baseball, remember guys we got 60 million to spend!
haha. good one
Dude, you’re really hallucinating. First off, that lineup isn’t close to being “balling”. Why do the Mets need Bautista when they have a kid by the name of Cory Vaughn who’s gonna fly through the Mets system? Next, you really think Murphy is gonna stick at 2nd after being tossed around in LF & 1st base? Brad Emaus has a better shot IMO. Like I said before about Pujols, who knows if they could afford him given the financial hoopla they’re going through right now.
No they don’t, the team is being sued and on the hook for 300 million, unless they are completely sold, maybe, but doubtful.
Hey Mr Walt Jocketty since your always trying to rebuild your old cardinals team how about we Sign Big Albert Pujols that will definte boast our attendance BoB Castenalli, Not only money from tickets to have a bigger payroll you could rebuild the big red machine cinnci deserves it.8 years 250-280 million he could get some revenge on the red bird and have his old 3d basemen and one of the best defense to ever play.And for everybody asking where does Votto play we Left Field he has experience there and I’m damn sure he would move there for the future homerun king ( between him and A-Rod) and he would prolly wanna stay here for his career.If there was a shot in hell of us landing him I would overjoyed.He also fits that right handd power be have been needing for I don’t know how long.Drew Stuubs batting first second Brandon Phillips 3RD joey Votto,Cleanup Albert Pujols,5th Jay Bruce 6ith *cot Rolen. 7th and 8th is depend who’s starying at SS and Catcher.Now I know this will never happy for the reds I’m just saying imgiane that
Two things. You get pujols and the second Votto hits FA he’s gone. Also you probably want to have Pujols hit third and Votto fourth.
uh…what?
why not the orioles.. they shud get interested
if the nats gave werth that kinda of deal then they’d have to be willing to offer pujols at least 15 years 400 million
I’m not surprised by this at all, if true. I just said Pujols is better than A-Rod in the other thread and he should get 300 because he’s better. If someone is stupid enough to do it for A-Rod they’ll be stupid enough to do it to a guy who is even better.
I can’t see how any team can truly afford that, but if the market is based on the other players in baseball…Pujols is the best and should be paid accordingly.
See the Yanks were stupid enough to overpay A-Rod but in the process, have made it difficult for other teams to retain their best players.
Agreed. And it’s not just A-Rod and the Yanks. Zito got that huge contract and now every pitcher who is better than him wants/gets more.
Why not make it 8 years 260mm with 60mm deferred over 10 years and 2-5 mutual option years, where if St Louis picks up the option it’s 30mm, and if St. Louis declines but AP exercises his option he gets 15mm.
30 years 30 billion. get it done
10/300 and let him manage!
No way in hell do I give him 10/300. ARods deal was a joke, and stupid reaction by the Yankees after ARod hosed them by opting out. He wanted to be in NY more than NY wanted him. They should have let him walk…and the Cards should let Pujols walk too. Nobody is going to give him 10/300. Who cares how many people stop coming to games. When the team payroll is limited to what they can spend on others, and they start losing, nobody will come anyway…Pujols or not.
Yeah bro, A Rod will be making $20 million when he is 40-41. Now that’s fair.
a kazillion is a totally reasonable amount. if the cards dont offer a kazillion over 10 years they arent showing their fans their willingness to invest in a winning team, talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place…
He is going to the Nationals!
How many thousand seats would they sell with Pujols? Look what they do on the days Strasburg pitches….now do that every night.
When Strasburg pitches about 19,000 more fans attend the game. Say Pujols brought in half of that. 9,500 tickets x $40 x 65 game Strasburg isn’t pitching = $24.7M. Now if you can get $13.50 from each ticket in concession profits they are at $3M….and this is at 75% attendence.
The argument you can make is they won’t sell out 75% of the stadium. I think Washington could build a huge season ticket base and a bunch of bandwagoners transplanted from other cities or even just vacations.
Since I believe they would at worst break even with Pujols, it shouldn’t impact any other free agents.
leave it to that damn Joe Strauss to post the negativity
The sad reality is that, if the Cards don’t give Pujols what he wants, another team will.
which team tho? i think he hits FA, and realizes that the yankees and sox aren’t there to set the market, and he retreats. i cant hardly believe pujols is acting like this.
I have a hard time believe the big teams wouldn’t be in it, even if they don’t “need” him. He’s Pujols!
give him $300 mill for 10 yrs then next season it will come out that he took steroids like he obviously did. lets be real folks. Take a look at his stats and tell me how a 13th round pick that played for a junior college becomes one of baseball’s best hitters of all-time over night. We’ve seen this happen before, it’s time we all stop ignoring the obvious with this guy. I would be shocked if he isn’t using HGH right now. Of course we can never know for sure because the players union still won’t allow testing. Sure, MLB wants us to believe that performance enhancing drugs are an issue of the past but the fact remains that one of if not the most effective PED is still untestable in MLB.
definitely a possibility. look what happened with arod… we all thought he was an amazing natural power hitter. wrong.
I know it is a possibility but this will be disastrous for the game, if not anyone else for me then. After Ichiro, I hold Pujols in the highest regard. He is not one of my favorite players but I know how good he is. I hope he is clean.
cards should just let pujols walk, collect the two 1 round picks, then sign fielder next year as the market wont be there for him. they’d have a young power hitting 1B still and be able to afford other pieces.
I agree if Pujos wants 10 yrs at $300 million. I mean, why should this guy be gettin paid more than 30 mill at age 42. He may not even be able to play that long. Signing Pujos and making runs at other players to form a solid team is way better than throwing a king’s ransom at this juice head. let him go somewhere else and realize how good he had it in STL. My biggest fear is the Red Sox getting him. I just wanna keep A-gon.
Guys, this is all about business, not loyalty. The guy has an agent, who’s on commission, and is going to squeeze all the money he can from the Cards, like all agents do. Now, if you want to think AP has a big head then go ahead. I would give him 280/10. I know 30M per year is a lot of money for a player, but how much money did he make for his team the past 8-10 years? A LOT A LOT. The guy is still in his prime, and to think he wont bring revenue to the team for the next 10 years is stupid.
This guy is going to break the HR record, and that my friend will make them recoup about 20% of whatever he signs once his on his 39-40 years of age. Why do you think the Yanks signed AROD for so long? cuz he was gonna hit 40HRs at 40 years of age? NOPE.
Pujols and his agent also need to understand the team’s financial position. I think AP would rather make a bit less money and win championships, than make more and be miserable for the rest of his career. They might not win anyway, so it’s a gamble.
The reality of the situation is if you aren’t in the front office of the Cardinals, or the Pujols team, you don’t honestly know one way or another. This is just baseball writers trying to drum up interest in baseball during the super bowl. He might stay he might not, but no matter what the Cardinals are going to survive. Their fans are better than to quit the team over one palyer.