MLB Rumors: Albert Pujols Playing for the Chicago Cubs in 2012 and Beyond?

It would seem like an impossibility in the mind of any St. Louis Cardinals fan for Albert Pujols to be a member of the hated Chicago Cubs franchise.  But as the February 16th deadline approaches, a deadline Albert Pujols himself set for the end of contract negotiations with the Cardinals, we grow closer to just such a possibility.

Pujols has made it clear that, with the beginning of Spring Training on February 16, he will turn his mind completely to baseball and the contract talks will be at an end.  He has also made it clear that he will veto any attempt at a trade. So one would think that the Cards would want to get a deal done before then and not leave anything to chance by letting Prince Albert become a free-agent at seasons end.

But with only about one day to go, all reports coming out of St. Louis say that negotiations are going nowhere fast.  Pujols is apparently asking for A-Rod type money, which is perhaps understandable in that Albert is considered the best player currently in the Major Leagues.  And while the 14.5 million dollar average yearly salary Pujols has been paid, during his eight year contract, is a large sum by most anyone's standards, it would be considered below Pujols' "market value" as determined by the salaries currently paid to other top players.

Like it or not, when any player signs a big contract, that contract becomes a reference point for future contracts.  And since Albert Pujols is the games best player, his agent will undoubtedly argue that Pujols should naturally be baseball's highest paid player as well.  And its likely he will be the games highest paid player before all is said and done.  But the question is, what team will be paying that record salary? 

It's obvious that the St. Louis Cardinals have no intention of rushing into a contract that could potentially approach 30 million dollars a year.  Perhaps they are thinking that the bidding wars that are sure to develop, if Pujols becomes a free agent, may turn in their favor if no other franchise is willing to take on such a huge contract.

Perhaps the Cardinals are figuring that the Red Sox and Yankees, the two teams with the deepest pockets, have already filled their needs at first base.  The Yankees, of course, signed Mark Teixeira to an eight-year, 180 million dollar contract in 2009.  And, just a couple months ago, the Red Sox signed coveted slugger, Adrian Gonzalez.

So the Cards brass might be thinking that, with the Yanks and Sox not involved, the rest of the league will balk at the kind of money for which Pujols is reportedly asking.  But, you can never be sure what the Yanks or Red Sox will do.  They could both still get involved in the bidding just to insure the other doesn't get Albert. 

But there are other teams that could potentially have the cash to go after Pujols.  And unfortunately for Cardinal fans, one of these teams is the Chicago Cubs.  They have a chunk of payroll coming off the books for 2011 and only signed Carlos Pena to a one year contract.  So they could be in a good spot to try and land Pujols.

But I hear Cardinals fans saying that Pujols wouldn't go to the Cubs, they're the Cards most hated rival.  But I believe that if the truth were told, we would find out that Pujols has no hatred for the Cubs, or any other team.  I think that most players, while perhaps recognizing the rivalries that exist, don't have any feelings of hatred toward other teams.  In fact, they often feel a camaraderie or kinship with their rivals, born out of the mutual respect they share.  Any feelings of "hatred" usually exist only among fans.

There are certainly other teams that could make a serious push for Albert Pujols.  Among them are the Anaheim Angels who seemed to get shut out of any big signings they were looking for this off season. They may look to make up for it by going strong after Pujols.  They have a good first baseman in Kendry Morales, but he has had injury problems.

Maybe the Texas Rangers might consider Pujols after their hopes of signing Cliff Lee didn't materialize.  But it was the Rangers who signed the huge contract with A-Rod that became a problem for the club.  But that was under different ownership.

Maybe a team that has shown a desire to spend big, like the Washington Nationals have lately, could get involved. The Nats did just sign Jayson Werth to a huge contract.  If they really wanted to make a statement, what better way to do it than with the best player in baseball and, potentially, the biggest contract ever as well.

Could the Dodgers ownership get their financial issues sorted out and make a bid for Pujols?  They have a large market and have shown, as with Manny Ramirez, that they are willing to pay when they really want a player.  But they do have the money to spend?

Could the World Champion San Francisco Giants make a play for Pujols.  They're riding pretty high after their World Series win. And they've been willing to pay big money for players like Barry Zito.  Could Pujols represent the piece of the puzzle that would allow the Giants to repeat?  Would Giant brass see the huge investment as being worth the plunge? 

Could a smaller market team decide that they will scrape together all their spare change and make the big financial leap that signing Pujols would require. After all, it isn't everyday that you get a chance to acquire the best player in baseball without having to give up any of your existing talent. The Minnesota Twins came up with some big cash to sign Joe Mauer long term.  Why couldn't a team like the Toronto Blue Jays do the same with Pujols.  They've cut their payroll almost 20 million since last year.

And back to the thinking of the Cardinal ownership. Might they be considering letting Pujols go to another team and using their payroll to acquire other talent to take his place?  Maybe they are thinking they can sign two top players with the amount of money Pujols wants.  But there is a real problem with trying to make up for one great player's production by signing two or more players in his place.

First of all, Pujols is the picture of consistency.  He is always at the top of the league in batting average, RBI's, home runs, on-base percentage, and hitting with men in scoring position.  Any two or three players trying to make up for his production would all have to be consistent and reliable.  A weak link or two would shoot down the whole thing.

Plus there are only nine spots in the batting order.  Pujols contributes 100 plus RBI every year and only takes up one spot in the order. Attempting to replace him with multiple batters would displace someone else from the order, thus removing their production as well.  So know you'd have to make up for Pujols production as well as the production of any other batters being displaced.

Pujols had 118 RBI last year.  Matt Holliday also had a huge year with 103 RBI.  The rest of the starters averaged about 50 RBI.  So if you try and replace Pujols with any other two players, you will have to make up for around 170 RBI, which would be Pujols' RBI and the RBI's of whatever other player is replaced in the batting order.

One thing you will not be able to make up for would be Pujols plate presence.  Pitchers know that he is the most dangerous hitter in the game.  That alone gives Albert a mental edge at the plate.  Pitchers have to be very careful in how they pitch to him, and how they pitch to the batters that are before and after him.  All the hitters that surround Pujols, in the batting order, benefit from that.

And let's not forget that having Albert Pujols on your team will guarantee that fans will be in the seats.  Having the games best player is quite a draw.  And in coming years it is very likely that Pujols will be approaching historical milestones. And at some point, perhaps he will be looking at the all time home run record.

Furthermore, with so many of baseball's biggest names falling under the shadow of steroid use, Albert Pujols has come to represent greatness in baseball, and perhaps it's greatest hope. 

So, unless there is a dramatic change in the negotiations with the Cardinals, Albert Pujols will be a free agent after this season.  Teams will have a chance to acquire the best player in baseball without having to trade away any of their existing talent to do so.  But that is only if they can scrape together enough cash.

In the end, I think Pujols and the Cardinals are likely to come to an agreement.  I think Albert Pujols really loves St. Louis.  And it's obvious the fans love him.  I think, though, that no agreement will be reached by tomorrow's deadline and the season will be played with the shadow of Pujols free agency, and possible departure, hanging over the team.

Will that prove to be a distraction or a problem?  I guess we'll see. I thought the Cards should have just agreed to the monster contract and gotten it over with before the season started.  But then I don't have to pay any of Pujols' salary, and, to date, none of the Cardinal brass have phoned me for my opinion anyway.