Albert Pujols

Cardinals Outright Johan Quezada

By Steve Adams | March 30, 2022 at 5:07pm CDT

MARCH 30: St. Louis announced that Quezada has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Double-A Springfield (h/t to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). He doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization.

MARCH 29: The Cardinals have designated right-hander Johan Quezada for assignment, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His roster spot will go to Albert Pujols, whose one-year deal to return home to St. Louis is now official.

Originally an international signee with the Twins back in 2012, Quezada didn’t surface in the Majors until 2020, after he’d signed with the Marlins as a minor league free agent and found himself selected to the MLB roster that summer. He tallied just three innings of work and yielded three runs — all coming on one swing of the bat from Rafael Devers. He’s since bounced to the Phillies and the Cardinals via waivers.

Although it’s been nine years since the now 27-year-old Quezada signed his first professional contract with the Twins, he’s been limited to just 207 innings between the minors and the big leagues. That’s partly due to his work in short relief stints but also due to various injuries and the absence of a 2020 minor league season. Quezada averaged better than 97 mph on his heater in his brief Major League look with Miami, but command issues have plagued him throughout his minor league career, where he’s walked more than 16% of his opponents.

Last season, Quezada split his time between the Cardinals’ Triple-A, Double-A and Rookie-level affiliates while spending considerable time on the minor league 60-day IL. He logged 24 innings when healthy but posted just a 6.38 ERA in that time. That said, Quezada fanned a quarter of his opponents, walked a much-improved 8.0% of them and posted huge ground-ball rates that generally align with his career mark of 56.7%. The Cardinals will have a week to trade Quezada, place him on outright waivers, or release him.

Albert Pujols Planning To Retire After 2022 Season

By Anthony Franco | March 28, 2022 at 4:38pm CDT

Albert Pujols is back with the Cardinals, and he’ll wrap up his career where it began. Speaking to reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) at a press conference announcing his return to St. Louis, Pujols confirmed he’s planning to retire after the upcoming season. “This is it for me. This is my last run,” he told the group.

Pujols is headed into the 22nd season of a Hall of Fame career. He has spent a bit more than half that in Cardinal red, breaking into the big leagues with a Rookie of the Year-winning 2001 campaign. The slugging first baseman finished fourth in NL MVP voting his debut season, and he’d remain among the top five finishers in that balloting for all but one season in St. Louis ( a 2007 campaign in which he finished ninth).

During that run, Pujols claimed the MVP award on three separate occasions. He led MLB in OPS+ in four of the five seasons between 2006-10, claiming the Silver Slugger Award in each of the latter three years. Pujols went to the Midsummer Classic in nine of his first 11 seasons with the Cards and helped the club to a pair of World Series championships. Over his time in St. Louis, he posted an incredible .328/.420/.617 slash, averaging more than 40 home runs per season.

Of course, the second half of Pujols’ career wasn’t close to the otherworldly heights he reached during that time. Pujols posted above-average offensive numbers for each of his first five seasons in Orange County after signing a ten-year pact with the Angels during the 2011-12 offseason. He only put up excellent numbers during his first season with the Halos (.285/.343/.516 with 30 homers) as his batting average and on-base numbers sharply declined, although Pujols twice more eclipsed 30 longballs in Anaheim.

As his production continued to wane towards the end of that deal, the Angels released Pujols last May. He landed with the Dodgers and served as a righty platoon/bench bat before hitting the open market again this winter. In a full-circle moment, the 42-year-old agreed to head back to St. Louis for one final run last night.

Pujols has already racked up a laundry list of career accomplishments. His name dots the all-time leaderboards in most major categories. He’s 12th with 3,301 hits, and he’s just 18 knocks away from supplanting Paul Molitor in the top ten. Barring injury, he’s sure to get there this year. It’ll be harder — but not impossible — for Pujols to set another pair of achievements in the home run department. Already 5th all-time with 679 big flies, he needs 18 more to pass Alex Rodríguez for fourth-place and 21 homers to reach the 700-mark plateau. Pujols is 64 RBI from Babe Ruth for second-place in that category, and he has a chance to leapfrog both Willie Mays (38 away) and Stan Musial (92 away) on the total bases leaderboard.

Obviously, Pujols won’t shoulder the kind of workload he did early in his career. Paul Goldschmidt is the regular first baseman with the Cards, leaving the designated hitter role as the cleanest path to at-bats for Pujols. In recent seasons, he hasn’t hit well enough that a win-now St. Louis team will be committed to playing him everyday in that capacity, but he figures to pick up some pinch-hit work and starts against left-handed pitching. Cardinals fans will get an opportunity to watch Pujols chase those various milestones for a final six months, and he’ll go out alongside the two other players most synonymous with the past two decades of Cardinal baseball.

Yadier Molina has already announced plans to retire after this year himself. Adam Wainwright, who turns 41 in August, returned for a 17th season on a one-year deal over the offseason. There has been plenty of speculation over the past few seasons that Wainwright could soon step away himself, although he has yet to commit one way or the other. The three-time All-Star starter again demurred on his future this afternoon, telling reporters he’s “not crossing that bridge” at the moment (via John Denton of MLB.com).

To Wainwright’s credit, he has remained highly productive deep into his 30’s, showing even less of a drop-off in performance than either of his legendary teammates. All three players have been iconic members of the organization, and they’re now officially reunited for one last run. Whether Wainwright will join Molina and Pujols as outgoing stars remains to be seen, but the trio will be together this year in hopes of bringing a third World Series to St. Louis.

Cardinals Sign Albert Pujols

By Darragh McDonald | March 28, 2022 at 4:35pm CDT

Albert Pujols’ career has come full-circle, as the Cardinals announced Monday afternoon they’d agreed to a deal to bring him back to St. Louis. The MVP Sports Group client will reportedly be guaranteed $2.5MM. St. Louis will announce a corresponding 40-man roster move later this week.

Pujols, 42, spent the first 11 years of his career with the Cardinals, playing at an unfathomable level and enshrining himself as a future Hall of Famer. In that time, he hit 445 home runs and put up an incredible .328/.420/.617 for a wRC+ of 167. He was a key reason why the club was a continual competitor in that time, making the postseason in 7 of those 11 seasons and winning the World Series in 2006 and 2011.

Based on that otherworldly run of success, he was signed by the Angels to a ten-year, $254MM deal covering the 2012-2021 seasons. Pujols continued to hit at a level above the league average for the first five years of that deal, though a few notches below what he did as a Cardinal. From there, things only got worse, as he hit just .242/.291/.406 from 2017 to 2020, producing a wRC+ of just 84. After 24 games last year, with just a few months remaining on the contract, the Angels released him. Surprisingly, he was picked up by the Dodgers, who planned to limit the veteran slugger to a bench/platoon role, primarily facing lefties. The strategy worked out fine enough, as Pujols hit .254/.299/.460 as a Dodger, a wRC+ of 101.

The earlier report from Katie Woo of The Athletic indicated that the club was interested in bringing Pujols back for a reunion, but in a similar role to the one he had with the Dodgers last year. Now that the National League will have the designated hitter this year, it will be easier for the club to implement Pujols in this way, being used as a pinch hitter or in the DH slot, trying to limit his exposure to righties. Woo noted that that the club has traditionally shied away from platoon strategies in the past, but that new manager Oliver Marmol is planning on changing that. Paul Goldschmidt is firmly entrenched as the club’s regular first baseman, meaning Pujols will be in the mix for DH/pinch-hitting duties alongside Corey Dickerson, Lars Nootbaar and Juan Yepez.

For Yepez, he seemed poised to make the team after a tremendous year in the minors. Between Double-A and Triple-A last year, he hit .286/.383/.586, for a wRC+ of 154. Then there’s Nolan Gorman, who also spent last year between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .279/.333/.481, wRC+ of 115. However, Woo reports that, given that Yepez is just 24 and Gorman doesn’t turn 22 until May, the club is considering a plan wherein they each spend a bit more time in the minors getting regular reps, waiting for an opportunity to open up as the season progresses.

While Yepez and Gorman will surely get their opportunities down the line, the narrative of the moment is that one of this generation’s greatest hitters is returning to where he started his career and flourished. He will also reunite with Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, long-time Cardinals who were alongside Pujols for his greatest seasons, including those two World Series championships.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Pujols and the Cardinals were finalizing a one-year deal. Katie Woo of the Athletic had first reported there was “growing interest” in the organization in bringing him back. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the sides were in agreement on a one-year, $2.5MM deal.

Cardinals Have Growing Interest In Albert Pujols

By Darragh McDonald | March 27, 2022 at 6:33pm CDT

The Cardinals “have had increased conversations” with Albert Pujols, reports Katie Woo of The Athletic, who also says that “interest is growing in bringing back the former Cardinal for the 2022 season.”

Just two weeks ago, it was reported that the Cardinals were considering such a move. But club chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. seemed to throw some cold water on that idea, saying “we’ve got most of our club pretty well set.” However, it seems the club may have warmed to the idea of bringing Pujols back to where he started his career and had his best seasons.

Pujols was drafted by the Cardinals in 1999 and made his MLB debut with the club in 2001. Over 11 seasons from 2001 through 2011, he hit 445 home runs and put up an incredible .328/.420/.617 for a wRC+ of 167. He was a key reason why the club was a continual competitor in that time, making the postseason in 7 of those 11 seasons and winning the World Series in 2006 and 2011. Based on that otherworldly run of success, he was signed by the Angels to a ten-year, $254MM deal covering the 2012-2021 seasons. Pujols continued to hit at a level above the league average for the first five years of that deal, though a few notches below what he did as a Cardinal. From there, things only got worse, as he hit just .242/.291/.406 from 2017 to 2020, producing a wRC+ of just 84. After 24 games last year, with just a few months remaining on the contract, the Angels released him. Surprisingly, he was picked up by the Dodgers, who planned to limit the veteran slugger to a bench/platoon role, primarily facing lefties. The strategy worked out fine enough, as Pujols hit .254/.299/.460 as a Dodger, a wRC+ of 101.

As per Woo’s report, the Cardinals would be considering a reunion with Pujols to implement his skills in a similar manner to how the Dodgers did last year. She notes that the club has traditionally shied away from platoon strategies in the past, but new manager Oliver Marmol is planning on changing that. Paul Goldschmidt is firmly entrenched as the club’s regular first baseman, meaning Pujols would be in the mix for DH/pinch-hitting duties, alongside Corey Dickerson, Lars Nootbaar and Juan Yepez. For Yepez, he seemed poised to make the team after a tremendous year in the minors. Between Double-A and Triple-A last year, he hit .286/.383/.586, for a wRC+ of 154. Then there’s Nolan Gorman, who also spent last year between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .279/.333/.481, wRC+ of 115. However, Woo reports that, given that Yepez is just 24 and Gorman doesn’t turn 22 until May, the club is considering a plan wherein they each spend a bit more time in the minors getting regular reps, waiting for an opportunity to open up as the season progresses.

Regardless of how the roster machinations play out, the move would surely have its biggest reverberations in the public relations department. It was in St. Louis that Pujols established himself as one of the greatest hitters of his generation and more or less guaranteed himself a future plaque in the Hall of Fame. A return to where it all started for the 42-year-old would surely be a tremendously popular storyline with Cardinals fans and baseball fans in general.

NL Central Notes: Castellanos, Reds, Reynolds, Cardinals, Pujols, Kim

By Mark Polishuk | March 12, 2022 at 4:26pm CDT

The bullpen, a fifth starter, bench help, and backup catching were cited by Reds GM Nick Krall as possible target areas, Krall told The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters, and the Reds could turn to either Major League or minor league free agents to address any of those needs. In regards to one particular prominent free agent, Krall seemed to close the door on the chances of Nick Castellanos returning to Cincinnati, saying “we have not been engaged with his representatives.”

It doesn’t count as any big surprise that Castellanos will be moving on, since he was looking for a hefty new contract pre-lockout, and the Reds’ offseason moves have thus far been geared towards cutting and managing payroll (while still making some effort to contend for a playoff spot). Since Castellanos rejected the Reds’ qualifying offer and because Cincinnati is a revenue-sharing recipient, the team stands to receive an extra pick after the first round of the 2022 draft should Castellanos sign elsewhere for more than $50MM.

Three Teams Interested In Albert Pujols

By Mark Polishuk | March 11, 2022 at 2:53pm CDT

Future Hall-of-Famer Albert Pujols is looking to continue his career, and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter) reports that three teams have shown some interest in signing the 42-year-old.

As Pujols prepares for what would be his 22nd Major League season, the slugger showed last year that he still has something to offer a roster. After being released by the Angels in May and then signed by the Dodgers, Pujols finished the 2021 campaign with a scorching .294/.336/.603 slash line against left-handed pitching (in 146 plate appearances). The Dodgers largely limited Pujols to platoon and pinch-hitting duties, and he responded with some of his most productive numbers in some time.

Feinsand notes that Pujols’ market has been expanded by the official installation of the universal DH, as now National League teams have a greater need for extra hitting pop. The flexibility of the designated hitter slot allows for less concern from NL teams about how Pujols would physically manage getting regular playing time as a first baseman.

Beyond the on-field help Pujols can still provide, teams could also be intrigued by his reputation as a clubhouse leader, and any potential ticket sales that could be drummed up by Pujols’ march up the all-time leaderboards. Pujols’ 679 career home runs puts him 17 homers behind Alex Rodriguez for fourth on the all-time list, and over a full 162-game season, it certainly seems possible that Pujols can become the fourth player to ever reach the 700-homer plateau (Pujols had 17 home runs over 296 PA with the Angels and Dodgers last year). Pujols also needs 68 RBI to pass Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time RBI list.

Have Certain Free Agent Former MLB Stars Already Played Their Last Game?

By Tim Dierkes | December 27, 2021 at 2:32pm CDT

This year, we’ve seen former quality MLB players such as Joakim Soria, Daniel Murphy, Cody Allen, Nick Markakis, Hector Rondon, Jordan Zimmermann, Welington Castillo, and Nate Jones decide to retire. All current MLB free agents are experiencing the first work stoppage of their career right now. Should the lockout end sometime in February, there could be a burst of concentrated free agent signings and trades unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

While that will likely work out just fine for the likes of Carlos Correa, Kris Bryant, and Freddie Freeman, a free agent frenzy could also include a cold shoulder toward former MLB stars nearing the end of their careers. Instead of putting the finishing touches on rosters with a sprinkling of February or March one-year MLB deals and minor league deals, front offices will be working to acquire many significant star and mid-tier free agents and trade targets when the lockout ends. It stands to reason that many veterans with declining skills will be told they need to wait even longer before a team is willing to commit. That could leave former stars without jobs. Rich Hill has a deal with the Red Sox heading into his age-42 season, but let’s take a look at eight elder statesmen who may at least consider retirement.

Albert Pujols: 42 in January, Pujols mashed lefties and gave the Dodgers a veteran presence off the bench this year. Back in October, he said, “I don’t think my time to retire has come. I don’t want to sit in my house next year, knowing that I can still keep playing.” Pujols is 21 home runs shy of 700 for his career, and he’d be aided by the addition of the NL DH.
Ryan Zimmerman: Zimmerman, 37, had an October send-off at Nationals Park but hasn’t publicly made a decision about retirement. At a press conference, he said, “Do I want to keep playing? I think I can keep playing. I think I had a really good year with the role that I was supposed to do, and now it’s a decision of whether I want to keep doing that, or do I want to be around my family a little bit more. I think the only thing I kind of told Davey is I started the season around 50/50 and it hasn’t gone up.” GM Mike Rizzo said Zimmerman has an MLB contract with the team as long as he wants it.
Brett Gardner: Gardner, 38, scuffled with the bat this year but wasn’t much worse than he was in 2016 or ’18. He wants to return to the Yankees in 2022, but chose a $1.15MM buyout over a $2.3MM player option.
Nelson Cruz: Cruz, 41, has been defying age for many years but managed only a 96 wRC+ in 238 plate appearances after a trade to the Rays. Before the season, Cruz said “retirement is not on my mind,” and now he might have the chance to DH in the National League. Cruz is tied with Jeff Bagwell and Vladimir Guerrero at 40th on the all-time home run leaderboard with 449. It’s easy to see Cruz striving for the 500 club, which currently has 28 members.
Jed Lowrie: Lowrie, 38 in April, played only nine games from 2019-20, encompassing his contract with the Mets. This year, surprisingly, he played 139 games for the A’s. Lowrie struggled in the season’s final two months, but thus far he’s given no indication he’s looking to retire.
Zack Greinke: Greinke, 38, gave up 20 earned runs over 15 1/3 innings in his final four regular season appearances, ballooning his ERA from 3.41 to 4.16. He battled through COVID-19 and neck soreness, but capped his season by giving the Astros four scoreless innings to start Game 4 of the World Series. Asked after the game if he wants to continue playing, Greinke declined to answer. Back in March, Greinke said, “Hopefully, I’ll pitch a lot longer still, but a lot of things come into play on whether you’re allowed to pitch as long as you want to and stuff.”
J.A. Happ: Happ, 39, posted a 6.77 ERA in 19 starts for the Twins, but managed a 4.00 mark in 11 outings after being traded to the Cardinals. He’s given no indication about retirement.
Jon Lester: Lester, 38 in January, also pitched better upon a trade to the Cardinals this year. Asked in September about playing in 2022, Lester was reportedly noncommittal. He reached his 200th career win on September 20th.

Albert Pujols Planning To Play In 2022

By Mark Polishuk | October 31, 2021 at 4:15pm CDT

Oct. 31: Pujols himself recently declared his intent to continue his playing career (link via ESPN). He notes that the decision to play in the Dominican Winter League for the first time is a matter of fulfilling a longstanding promise that he’d play there before retirement. However, Pujols emphasized that the timing of his DWL debut doesn’t mean his retirement is nigh.

“My time to retire hasn’t arrived yet,” said Pujols. “Why do I have to retire because someone tells me to? I’m going to do it on my terms and when I feel I can’t play anymore.”

Oct. 28: After 21 seasons in the majors, Albert Pujols isn’t quite done yet, as a source close to the veteran slugger tells Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register that Pujols “for sure” wants to play in 2022. Pujols is already planning to suit up in the Dominican Winter League for the first time, to further show his readiness for any interested big league clubs.

Pujols will be a free agent this offseason, as the ten-year, $240MM deal he signed with the Angels in his last trip to the open market is now up. The Angels paid handsomely for the superstar production of Pujols’ 11 seasons with the Cardinals, though his time in Anaheim was much less successful, as he batted only .256/.311/.447 over his 5053 plate appearances in a Halos uniform.

As his numbers declined, it seemed increasingly likely that Pujols would simply retire after his deal was up, though he found some level of a revival after joining the Dodgers. After the Angels surprisingly released Pujols back in May, the Dodgers signed him shortly thereafter, and he carved out a new niche for himself in a platoon role. While Pujols had only a .500 OPS against right-handed pitching in 2021, he was still very dangerous against southpaws, hitting lefties to the tune of a .294/.336/.603 slash line over 146 PA, with 13 home runs.

While 146 PA isn’t the largest of sample sizes, teams in need of some first base/DH depth could have interest in seeing what Pujols has left in the tank. Though Pujols was able to land with the Dodgers even without the benefit of an available designated hitter spot, soon the entire National League might have need for an extra bat, should the universal DH become part of the next collective bargaining agreement. For a relatively inexpensive one-year contract, teams could have a lefty-mashing veteran whose could also draw some extra fan attention, considering how Pujols continues to inch up the all-time lists in multiple categories. Pujols has 679 career home runs, and after he hit 17 in 2021, Fletcher suggests Pujols might be motivated to see if he can crack the 700-homer threshold.

The first base market is fungible enough that trying to predict a landing spot for Pujols is difficult, though the Cardinals stand out as the obvious sentimental choice. Paul Goldschmidt has first base now covered in St. Louis and the Cards’ lineup is already pretty right-handed as it is, but if there’s a DH spot to work with, more than nostalgia could be involved in bringing Pujols back for Yadier Molina’s last season (and could possibly also be Adam Wainwright’s last season).

Quick Hits: Pujols, Harvey, Bundy, Anderson

By Mark Polishuk | September 9, 2021 at 10:57pm CDT

The idea of Albert Pujols playing one final season in a Cardinals uniform always seemed a bit fanciful, considering that Paul Goldschmidt now occupies first base in St. Louis, and that Pujols’ dropoff in production created doubt that he would even play beyond the 2021 season. However, Pujols has had a bit of a revival as a specialist against left-handed pitching, crushing southpaws to the tune of a .302/.336/.635 slash line and 13 home runs over 134 plate appearances this season.

As Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, signing Pujols in 2022 has some baseball value to a Cardinals team that may have a DH spot to work with in next year’s lineup. That is on top of the natural symbolism of bringing Pujols back for what would be his 22nd — and quite possibly final — MLB season in what Yadier Molina has already announced will be his own final season. If Adam Wainwright also re-signs with the team and decides to hang it up next winter (which is no sure thing given how well Wainwright continues to pitch), the 2022 season will carry a storybook feel for an entire era of Cardinals baseball, as well as a renewed charge towards another title.

Dodgers Sign Albert Pujols

By Connor Byrne | May 17, 2021 at 1:34pm CDT

TODAY: The Dodgers have officially announced Pujols’ deal. Right-hander Tony Gonsolin was shifted to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding roster move.

Pujols issued a statement on the signing via his personal Twitter feed, saying “First, I would like to thank God for the opportunity he has given me to play this game. While this is not how I thought my time in Anaheim would end, I am truly grateful for the memories and friendships that have been created over the past 10 years. Thank you to my teammates and Angels fans everywhere for your support. You will always hold a special place in my heart.”

“While everyone in the big leagues wants to compete every day, I understand roles do change and that is something I’ve accepted for the past couple of years. The role that Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts have presented to me is one that I embrace. I am excited to be part of the Dodger family and want to thank Andrew, Dave and the rest of the Dodger organization for this opportunity. My goal is the same as it’s always been – to help the ballclub win a championship in 2021. I’ve seen up close just how talented this team is and I look forward to contributing.”

MAY 15: Albert Pujols is staying in Los Angeles: He and the Dodgers have agreed to a major league contract for the rest of the season, Jorge Castillo of the LA Times reports.

The Pujols signing comes just over a week after the Angels let the future Hall of Famer go. Pujols then reportedly garnered interest from a few teams, including the Cardinals – with whom he had his greatest success – but the first baseman will join a Dodgers team aiming for its second consecutive World Series championship. He’ll presumably serve as a bench bat for the Dodgers, who have relied on Max Muncy at first base for most of 2021.

Pujols is far from the superstar he once was, but the Dodgers obviously believe the 10-time All-Star and three-time MVP will give them a credible bat in a part-time role. The 41-year-old hasn’t produced much since his stark decline began in 2017, having batted .240/.289/.405 (84 wRC+) with 76 home runs in 1,934 plate appearances over the past four-plus seasons.

Pujols also got off to an ugly .198/.250/.372 start with five home runs in 92 PA this year before the Angels parted with him, but there were some positives during that span. He was the victim of a ridiculously low .176 batting average on balls in play, .110 points below his career mark, and at least a few Statcast numbers suggest he deserved better during his final month-plus with the Angels. For instance, Pujols’ .347 expected weighted on-base average far outdoes his .270 wOBA.

Considering Pujols’ weak bottom-line production over the past few seasons, this signing may not amount to much for the Dodgers. But it’s a low-risk move for the Dodgers, who will pay him the prorated minimum salary, and it gives Pujols an opportunity to chase his third World Series ring as he nears the end of his marvelous career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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