Having already undergone season-ending knee surgery, Angels first baseman Albert Pujols is slated for another procedure. As Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet, Pujols will have bone spurs removed from his right elbow.
It is not clear whether the new procedure will really alter the timeline for recovery that Pujols was already subject to by virtue of the work to his problematic knee. The esteemed veteran says he expects to have a mostly typical offseason in terms of preparation for the 2019 season.
Be that as it may, it’s hard not to wince at the emergence of another malady for the once-feared slugger. Pujols, 38, has been a shell of his former self — even of his reduced, early-Angels-period self — over the past two seasons. In that span, he’s carrying a meager .243/.287/.397 batting line through 1,134 plate appearances.
While he has swatted 42 long balls since the start of 2017, that hardly makes up for the anemic on-base percentage. Indeed, it makes it difficult to utilize a MLB roster spot on a player who’s limited to first base and DH duties. Needless to say, the remainder of his contract — $87MM for the next three seasons — does not appear to represent an appealing commitment.
Nevertheless, Pujols has as much talent as any hitter in baseball history, so perhaps there’s still a glimmer of hope that he can find a way to contribute late in his career. Plus, this isn’t really an entirely new problem for Pujols, though that’s a fact that perhaps cuts both ways. He underwent a similar clean-up procedure in the 2009-10 offseason and ended up turning in his final truly epic offensive season in the ensuing campaign.
For his part, the surefire future Hall-of-Famer says he’s optimistic about being able to line up at first base a fair bit in 2019. On the one hand, that would create space for him to get in the lineup, given that Shohei Ohtani figures to command much of the time as the DH. On the other, it’s arguable that Pujols ought to be utilized in a much more limited role than he has been in recent years. Carrying both of those players will be particularly difficult with Ohtani unlikely to take the mound for the entirety of the 2019 season, but perhaps the Halos will find a creative way to get a left-handed-hitting corner infielder into the mix to help make it work.
Skip the surgery and just retire.
And forfeit $57m? Yeah, I’m gonna go with “no.”
I think pujols won’t retire to give that money, but if this is true he also has a deal once he retires the angels pay him 1mil a year for 10yrs to help mentor or be a coach for the players.
*up
Pujols has three years $87 million left. That is the money he’d forfeit, retiring before contract expires
You’re right. Major math fail on my part. But it being $87m instead of $57m proves my point even further.
No math fail, dude, it was a typo!
I knew I’d further make your point, made it even more worth it, to correct the $$ #. Angels in a difficult situation with Pujols. I’m a non-Angel fan, but hope he rebounds, in 2019.
Point being, I think you too hard on yourself lol. You clearly meant to type “8” instead of 5.
For what it’s worth… think if you count 2018 remaining games, Pujols’ owed $~90M? Might be off on that one, less than a month remains.
Wow this is the nicest group of posts about a typo I’ve ever seen.
However the thought of him retiring won’t happen. I’m 100% no one has ever given up that much money in a contract. I’m not an angles fan but am a fan of Pujols. I thought he would shatter every record for a time with the numbers he put up early in his career. It’s really unfortunate this is where he’s ended up. Looks like St. Louis was pretty smart after all
Julbuc, you forgot a period at the end of your post! 😉
Mark McGwire retired with $30 left on his contract when he could no longer catch up with the high fastballs. Pujols was on that team and witnessed it. I think Pujols might be reasonable and retire if he sees he is no longer an asset but a liability. He could transfer immediately to his 10-12 year after retirement contract with the Angels. All it would take is the owner to have a meeting with Pujols regarding his status and future.
Again, $87. over 3 years. That’s gotta be at least 3 of his grandchildren that he’s setting for life.
Not true… McGwire never signed the agreed to extension when his knee wouldnt heal.
Would you forfeit $87mil over 3 years?
King Angel sold his legacy for that contract/respect. Mrs. King Angel would never allow the family to not collect that cash.
“ . . . with Ohtani unlikely to take the mound for the entirety of the 2019 season . . . “
You assume that Ohtani will have TJ surgery, Jeff, as do most others. I don’t see it as that much of a slam dunk. He is productive with the bat and one of their few current stars. Gotta be some temptation on both his and the team’s part to make him a full time DH, at least for now.
He still is full time DH next year if he has the surgery at end of season. What reason would he have to not do it and give up pitching?
If he has TJS after the season ends he’ll likely be able to swing a bat before the season starts. TJS has a far shorter time for position players opposed to pitchers. It’s possible he would start the season on the DL but he wouldn’t miss much time. If he doesn’t have TJS he would never pitch again.
(This is in response to both sully51 and bigkempin)
“He still is full time DH next year if he has the surgery at end of season.”
“If he has TJS after the season ends he’ll likely be able to swing a bat before the season starts.”
Let’s slow down a bit. We don’t really know what the effects of playing DH full time would/will have on recovery from TJ surgery, do we? Doctors may say that he should be able DH without hindering his recovery but that’s still just theory.
If it were Max Scherzer, for example, with the same injury he’d already have had the surgery. If the Angels think of Ohtani as primarily a pitcher he would have done the same. Even though they expect him to recover enough to DH by next year wouldn’t it have been prudent to do the surgery right away and allow for extra recovery time if needed?
“TJS has a far shorter time for position players . . . “
Yes, Gleyber Torres is an example. But Gleyber still isn’t throwing 95 mph fastballs, most of the time it’s a short toss from 2B. The question is what impact swinging a bat will have on Ohtani’s ability to recover and pitch again. As of now that appears to be very much a question.
Ohtani is currently excelling as a DH (AL Player of the Week!) with the injured UCL. He is not doing this by gritting his teeth through immense pain and creating larger tears. He is doing it because the motion of swinging the bat does not engage/affect/is not affected by the injured UCL.
Post-TJS, he’d be cleared to resume swinging a bat. The motion of swinging the bat would go back to not engaging/affecting/be affected by the now surgically repaired UCL and not impeding its efforts to recover to the point of being able to execute the motion of throwing/then pitching a baseball. Two different, almost mutually exclusive, motions with two different typical recovery timetables,
“If the Angels think of Ohtani as primarily a pitcher he would have done the same.”
They don’t. The whole 2-way player thing is his whole deal.
“Even though they expect him to recover enough to DH by next year wouldn’t it have been prudent to do the surgery right away and allow for extra recovery time if needed?”
Doctors said that, and I’m paraphrasing, whether he gets the surgery tomorrow or at the end of season, he would not be pitching in 2019. It is Ohtani’s call as to when he’ll consent to the surgery and he made it known that he wanted to finish out the season DHing. Shutting him down in the middle of this white-hot stretch he’s on to allow for this hypothetical “extra recovery time” that hasn’t ever been mentioned as a probability, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
“The question is what impact swinging a bat will have on Ohtani’s ability to recover and pitch again.”
Again, two different independent motions, Swinging the bat is not currently affecting/exacerbating the injury, There’s nothing to point to it affecting/impeding recovery of the ability to pitch.
“Again, two different independent motions. Swinging the bat is not currently affecting/exacerbating the injury. There’s nothing to point to it affecting/impeding recovery of the ability to pitch.”
I understand that you are repeating what the doctors have told the Angels (and, presumably, Ohtani). What I am saying is that there is little to no experience with someone trying to do what you (and the Angels) suggest Ohtani will do. It could work out exactly as you state, he DHs in 2019 until his arm is ready to pitch in 2020.
But there is also the non-zero chance that there is some unforeseen complication, something which the Angels and their medical staff didn’t anticipate. You/Ohtani are risking an awful lot based on medical advice.
As a Cardinal, fan I’m so glad he didn’t re-sign with us, all those health problems and that back loaded contract. We wouldn’t be a competitive team if he had stayed. Couldn’t have paid anyone else to play here.
Another reason contracts are changing. Next step is to front load them. Pay for current performance. Will be interesting to see the length and terms of Machado’s contract.
Why does current performance matter for pay anymore than past? If it’s all guaranteed that is.
Easier to find a taker in trade or eat the contract if it’s less money in the last year or two.
You should be paying for expected future performance and present performance is normally a big factor. Contract should theoretically match those expectations recognizing business decisions can have an influence.
Teams should be more wary of contracts that stretch into a player’s 36+ age range. That is why I like the Rays & Cardinals. The Cardinals allowed Pujols to walk than be in this same predicament.
If Jack Clark said he was on PED’s, then he was…But really, does anyone who’s followied MLB closely for the last 20 years not think Pujols used PED’s during his time with St. Louis?
“ . . . does anyone . . . not think Pujols used PED’s during his time with St. Louis?”
He was with the Cards through 2011. That means he was subjected to routine drug testing, just like every other MLB player, year after year. MLB suspended ARod, Braun and Cano, had Pujols failed a test he would also have been suspended. So how did Pujols manage to “fool” years worth of testing?
What makes you think players who were caught cheating, didn’t elude a positive test for years prior?
What makes you believe MLB, who, for a while, silently encouraged players to use. Bud Selig still denies being aware of an issue during most of his time as commissioner.
Robinson Cano just started using PED’s at age 34, putting in jeopardy a Hall Of Fame career?? Come on.. The risk versus reward would have been astronomical to start so late in his career.
MLB can test as much as they want but what specific drugs are they testing for..
Good point. While I have no idea if Pujols used PEDs or not. You’re 100% right. There are players using PEDs that manage to get away with if. If there was 100% guarantee that a player would be caught, nobody would use them. But they do which logic tells me that some players are getting away with it and some get caught. I just have no idea what percentage is in each bucket.
“MLB can test as much as they want but what specific drugs are they testing for..”
If there were a way to beat PED testing why would anyone ever fail a test? Even players making MLB minimum can afford the latest and greatest chemistry has to offer; certainly stars on long term deals like Braun and Cano can.
You are suggesting that Pujols had a “source” who both kept him ‘roided up and enabled him to pass all his drug tests while in St. Louis. Well, why didn’t that source follow him to Anaheim? Pujols is making $25-30M per annum on his current deal, surely he can afford the occasional plane ticket for an old friend.
“What makes you think players who were caught cheating didn’t elude a positive test for years prior?”
The fact that so (relatively) few players test positive suggests either that few are in violation or, if many are in violation and testing isn’t picking it up, that’s on MLB. And I’ll agree with the thought expressed above, MLB owners do not care whether their players use PEDs. This is just a PR issue for them. If they could reap the benefits of PED use without the associated negative publicity, like they did in 1998, they would/will gladly do so.
“Robinson Cano just started using PEDs at age 34 . . . ?”
So when did he start using? And why, if he had figured out how to beat MLB drug testing for the first eight or so years of his career, did he suddenly fail a drug test? Forget any potential HoF ramifications, a half season suspension cost him roughly $15M. You’d think he’d make it his business not to fail a test, were it possible.
“The risk versus reward would have been astronomical to start so late in his career.”
But you can make the same argument either way. Even if he had used PEDs, and managed to get away with it, every single day of his MLB career up to this year, even if he believed that stopping usage would immediately crater his performance. He already signed his big deal. No amount of poor performance can take that away from him. See Pujols, Albert. So why would he risk all that money as well as his reputation to either start or continue using PEDs?
Re: Cano. An 8x All-Star 2B entering his age 35 season smack dab in the middle of a huge contract seems like a textbook example of a player that could be tempted to seek out/begin using PEDs.
Steroids and steroid-like PEDs aren’t Popeye pills. What they do is aid/speed up muscle recovery: literally the most helpful thing for a someone in their mid-30’s feeling the weight of fan/his own expectations, and under the pressure of being paid $144m to be All-star caliber Robinson Cano ’til he’s 40.* The risk of getting caught is overridden in his mind by the reward of “hopefully not becoming Albert Pujols,” the cautionary tale right in his own division.
*Incidentally, Cano’s suspension came from testing positive for a banned diuretic that isn’t a PED, but can be used as a masking agent for other banned substances. He says he was prescribed it by a doctor in the DR. Maybe it’s legit, maybe not.
Remember, ARod never failed a test.
He has been tested time and time again and he has always said that he is willing to be tested anytime he is asked. Speculation is not Proof. Remember when ORTIZ almost got released by the Red Sox and he talked himself into another chance? What were the results? He finally retired at 41. Pujols’ religious beliefs would not allow him to cheat. Envy by others will not deter him from fulfilling his contract. Except for this year, in the previous 4 years he had more RBI(102 per season) and Home Runs(31.5 preseason) than Joey Votto(71.5 RBI PER SEASON) and 25 Home Runs per season). The main job of Run Producers is to hit Home Runs and Drive in Runs, not to get on Base.
The reason he is having an elbow operation is because he was having trouble extending his right arm when swinging due to the bone chips. Ask a pitcher who had the same operation how difficult it was for him to extend his arm when pitching.
Leaving aside whatever you think a “Run Producer” is, if what you’re saying about their “main” job is true, you’d expect that given a choice between having ’14-’17 Pujols or ’14-’17 Votto as your team’s 1b/dh, most folks wouldn’t hesitate to choose Albert.
If you can find one person who would actually want him over Votto during that span, then congratulations: you’ve just met Albert Pujols’ mother!
Votto was better than Pujols in those 4 years by suuuuuch a significant margin. This “what’re you doing getting on base so much? yer ‘sposed to hit dingers and ribbies, that’s it!” is weird, quasi-old timey nonsense.
Why not make Ohtani a postion player and reliever when he’s ready yo again pitch? Baseball is fast becoming a video game and fantasy sport anyway. Imagine Ohtani pitching in the 6th, then again in the 8th, makes a key fielding error in the 9th but then hits a walk off…
You sir might’ve just revolutionized baseball
God I hope not…
Arte Moreno = dumb $$$
DFA him please. Teams playing better without him.
Albert Pujols, 40* most likely.
He needs to lose 25lbs. He’s fat a slow.
He’s also almost a middle aged man who’s played a professional sport for almost 20 years. Losing some weight will help, but it won’t be career changing for Pujols at this point.
This late in a career, is suggest he hire Bonds as an instructor…as long as no test are involved.
Sign him to a 10 year extension, Arte!
Pujols needs to DH full-time, probably drop 15 pounds and hope he can hit .270 with 30 bombs next year. Ohtani needs to play the OF. Having Valbuena, Ohtani along with Pujols was a bad fit. Plus Upton. You pay Albert a ton of money. He needs to remain at DH.
As for PEDs….we have to face facts that guys are using, guys have used and most guys have beat the system. Some haven’t for a variety of reasons (not staying on-top of masking agents, upgrade in testing to find your masking agent and/or drug etc….)
Assuming Ohtani opts for TJ this off-season he would be relegated to DH for 2019 on account of OFs have to throw the ball.
Yes. No kidding. Hence the “bad fit” portion of my comment regarding Ohtani.
They need Ohtani to have the surgery, take the year off and then the Angels can consider a buyout before 2020. Now is too soon.
Sorry, missed the “bad fit” thing.
You think, given Ohtani’s performance as a hitter so far, that the answer is to sIt the league-minimum-earning 24 year old phenom for 2nd to last season of Trout’s contract, and cross fingers that 39 year old Pujols (coming off two surgeries) produces a stat line he hasn’t sniffed in 3 years? Because he makes a lot of money? Please tell me I missed or misread something ’cause that sounds bonkers to me.
Fat Albert needs to drop 40# and work out PERIOD.
isn’t j d martinez limited to one position and dh?
If this team wants to move forward and win, then this guy needs to be let go. This team is better off paying him to sit at home, then in a uniform.
If this was the NBA, the Angels could offer the Royals or Marlins two first round picks to take on the reminder of Pujols’ contract lol
What about the fact Puljols might be actually older than he says he is? There are rumors he’s really 40 or even older. That would explain his decline over the last four years more than PED use. Power hitters usually start really fading after their mid-thirties, and bodies do start breaking down a lot in your late thirties.
It would be awesome if he reached 700 hr without peds unlike bonds but it’s 67 hr away and where do you play him? Obviously when his glove was ripped off his hand, he has lost grip strength. He really get into a good work out program this off season and if the results next year are the same he should walk away with dignity the money has been made the dignity is still in play.
He’s a shell of a former player and isn’t putting people in the seats quite yet, but if he’s able to be healthy and somewhat productive over the next few years, he could conceivably chase 700 homeruns which indeed would fill seats.
And that’s the 87 million dollar question.