Albert Pujols: 10 Possible Moves If St. Louis Cardinals Talks Break Down
This is going to be an interesting season for the St. Louis Cardinals and their first baseman Albert Pujols. The team has a lot of money invested in a lot of players, and they have stretched their budget pretty thin as it is. Pujols is poised to hit free agency after this season, and he is going to get paid A LOT of money by someone.
Pujols has said that if a deal doesn't get done before the start of the season that he will not negotiate during the season, and will likely end up testing free agency. It's understandable why he would take that stance since he would be hounded by questions about negotiations after every game. This way the focus can stay on baseball, for a little while anyway.
The Cardinals can ill-afford to have Pujols hit free agency. They know that once he does, he will be the most coveted player in the history of free agency. That doesn't mean every team will bid on him because his price will be far too high, but almost everyone will make an inquiry. The team can't afford to lose the face of the franchise and the best player in franchise history.
It almost becomes a catch-22 because if the Cardinals pay Pujols the $25-30 million per season that it will take to keep him, they won't be able to do much of anything else. They are paying Matt Holliday a ton of money for the next six years. In fact, between the two of them they would take up nearly $50 million per season. That leaves roughly another $50 million to fill out the other 23 spots on the roster.
One way or another, it's going to be an interesting season in St. Louis.
Assuming the Cardinals and Pujols can't get a deal worked out, here are 10 teams that could make a serious play for the three-time National League MVP.
Baltimore Orioles
1 of 10
The Orioles are on a major youth movement, as they should be. They have a ton of young talent on the roster right now and are just waiting for it to develop. However, one thing that they are searching for is a first baseman of the future; Derrek Lee is a stop-gap player and prospect Joe Mahoney has had one good year in the minors.
They have spent money on free agents in the past, and if attendance gets bad enough this year they might feel compelled to do so again.
Baltimore is one of the great baseball cities in America, and they are starved to see a winner. It won’t happen in 2011, but if their young guys continue to develop they could be on the cusp in 2012. When a team is close to contention, the front office is more inclined to pay to bring in a missing piece to get them over the hump, like Texas did last year with Cliff Lee.
Plus, when you are competing against the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees, you have to take drastic measures. Pujols could be the Orioles' drastic measure.
Los Angeles Dodgers
2 of 10
This move would be more contingent on the Dodgers getting their ownership situation under control. Frank and Jamie McCourt just went through a bitter divorce, and are still trying to figure out who will control the team.
If that situation can get resolved before the start of free agency next year, why wouldn’t the Dodgers make a play for Pujols?
They play in one of the biggest media markets in the world. They haven’t won a World Series since 1988. Meanwhile, the arch-rival San Francisco Giants just won a championship. That had to strike a deep nerve with the Dodgers organization and their fans.
A lot of things have to be resolved before the Dodgers could even think about making a serious offer to Pujols, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Detroit Tigers
3 of 10
The Tigers are going to be really good in 2011. They will compete with the Twins and White Sox for control of the American League Central. They made a pretty good move signing Victor Martinez, though I don’t like him to be their everyday catcher.
Miguel Cabrera is their first baseman right now, but let’s face it: His defense sucks. Signing Pujols would give them a mini-murderer’s row in the heart of their order. He would upgrade their defense at first, which would make them an even better team moving forward.
Tigers owner Mike Ilitich has shown that he isn’t afraid to spend the money to make sure that his team is at least competitive. They draw a ton of fans every year, despite not being a playoff team since 2006.
Don’t put it past the Tigers to make a strong pitch to Pujols, and get Cabrera off first base.
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New York Mets
4 of 10
The Mets are starving for something, anything, to excite their fans. Like the Cubs, the Mets have a lot of money tied up in some bad investments. (Hello, Oliver Perez.)
But they have to compete with the Yankees for relevance in New York, and they haven’t been in the spotlight since 2006. Injuries and poor performance have derailed this team every year since that NLCS appearance.
The Mets have been quiet ever since they acquired Johan Santana from the Twins prior to the 2008 season.
Desperate times could call for desperate measures, especially if they have another disappointing season in 2011.
Texas Rangers
5 of 10
I would like Pujols to the Rangers even more if they hadn’t blown a ton of money on Adrian Beltre. He’s a good player, but only reaches his full potential when he is playing for a contract.
The Rangers lost the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, but this team is stacked with really good, young talent. They traded their first baseman of the future, Justin Smoak in the Cliff Lee trade last year.
The new ownership group, led by Nolan Ryan, has shown that they aren’t afraid to take bold steps to ensure that they have a championship caliber team.
Imagine what Pujols would do in that Texas ballpark in the middle of the summer, when the ball just flies out of there. He could hit 60 homers every year.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
6 of 10
The Angels made the worst trade of the offseason when they sent C Mike Napoli to the Blue Jays in exchange for CF Vernon Wells and the $80-plus million he has left on his contract. Sure, they have had a rough offseason missing out on Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre, but who in that front office thought this was a great idea?
That said, the Angels are still one of the more profitable teams in baseball. They regularly draw three million fans every year, and have increased their exposure by claiming to be from Los Angeles.
Many people thought that they were offering these free agents contracts, but when they missed out they should have saved all their money and thrown it at Pujols for 2012. They can still throw a ton of money his direction, but probably not as much because of the Wells deal.
Washington Nationals
7 of 10
The Nationals proved that they aren’t afraid to spend crazy money on players this winter. They gave the worst free agent contract of the offseason to Jayson Werth, which proves my earlier point about players and money.
They reportedly even made an offer to Cliff Lee. They are no longer afraid to get involved in the free-agent market. They may have felt that they had to do something this offseason to placate to their fanbase. In my opinion, they should have stood firm and used some of that money on their future, not their present.
The Nationals already have the most exciting pitcher in baseball, Stephen Strasburg, most exciting young hitter, Bryce Harper and the most underrated player in baseball, Ryan Zimmerman. Why not add one more piece to that holy triumvirate?
They don’t have anyone lined up to play first base. Imagine all the tickets this team would sell in 2012 with Strasburg on the mound, Pujols at first, Zimmerman at third and Harper in the outfield. They would be one of the most talked about teams in baseball.
Boston Red Sox
8 of 10
This move will only happen if the Sawx fail to lock up Adrian Gonzalez long term, something that almost no one expects to happen.
On the off chance that things do break down between Gonzalez and the Red Sox, what’s to stop them from taking a run at Pujols?
We know that they aren’t afraid to spend, as evidenced by the wheeling-and-dealing done this winter by Theo Epstein & Co.
Plus, if the Red Sox and Yankees were to get in a bidding war, Pujols could end up being the first and only player to ever get $40 million per season.
Again, I don’t think that this will happen because Boston wouldn’t have made the trade with San Diego if they didn’t believe they were going to re-sign Gonzalez. Still, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.
New York Yankees
9 of 10
A lot of people may scoff at the notion that the Yankees would go after Pujols since they have Mark Teixeira at first base and a stud DH waiting in the minors in Jesus Montero.
But let me throw this scenario at you: What if the Yankees don’t win the World Series this year? Better yet, what if the Red Sox do win the World Series this year? Everyone in Yankee-land will go into full panic mode.
This team has unlimited funds, and they aren’t afraid to use those funds in any way possible—look at the absurd Rafael Soriano contract. One thing that we know is that if the Yankees want somebody they won’t be outbid.
Hank Steinbrenner is exactly like his father: shortsighted and very impatient. If he even thinks that the Red Sox are better than the Yankees, he will spend as much as he has to so that isn’t the case.
Chicago Cubs
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This would be the best thing to ever happen. That’s a bit hyperbolic, but it would still be pretty interesting. The Cardinals and Cubs have one of the most intense rivalries in sports, and the Cubs could pull off the coup of the century by swiping Pujols away from their nemesis.
It would fit, too, because the Cubs signed Carlos Pena to be their first baseman for one year, and they will have a need going into 2011.
One major sticking point is that the Cubs have a lot of money tied up in some very bad investments—Soriano, Fukudome, Zambrano to name a few—but when you haven’t won in over a century, you are likely to spend more than you should.
For Cardinals fans who want to believe in loyalty and all that crap, forget about it. There’s no loyalty in sports anymore. Players want the most money that they can get, and owners want the most bang for their buck and if you don’t give it to them they will walk away from you faster than Charlie Sheen walks away from rehab.
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