Why Albert Pujols May Not Resign

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Albert Pujols is a machine. Everybody realizes that. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest hitters to play the game and deserves to be paid that way. If it was up to me, I would make sure that Albert Pujols is a lifetime Cardinal. Unfortunately, I’m not so sure the Cardinals can resign him. I invite all St. Louis fans to do the math… it scares me.

The Cardinals payroll is currently $87.7 million but you would think they should be able to sustain a payroll around the $100M mark. With that in mind, get out the calculator. In 2011, Matt Holliday is set to make $17 million, Chris Carpenter is down for $15 million, Kyle Lohse will get $12 million, Adam Wainwright will make $6.5 million, and Yadier Molina’s $5.25 million rounds out what the team has already spent for the 2011 season. Now, from the information I have gathered, Pujols is a lock for a $20-30 million/year contract. Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman says, “Pujols will get his $30M a year, give or take a few pennies.”

Only including the five players that already have contracts through 2011, the Cardinals payroll is over $55 million. If you add in Pujols’ predicted salary for 2011, that mark is already at $75-85 million… I would love for somebody to explain to me how the Front Office plans to build the rest of the team with only $10-20 million left to pay 34 other players.

I’m not saying that the Cardinals cannot afford to sign Pujols. They absolutely can. What I am saying is that we cannot afford the rest of the team if we do resign Albert. Crunch the numbers people, because the organization has a problem that needs to be figured out before they lose an icon.

- Jay