MLB Free Agents: Cardinals' Desperation Won't Keep Albert Pujols in St. Louis

When you think of the St. Louis Cardinals, you have to think of Albert Pujols. He has been the face of the franchise since his first game with them in 2001. The team is starting to panic at the thought of losing him, but their latest offer won't be good enough to keep him in the mix. 

According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the Cardinals have put a 10-year contract on the table for Pujols to sign worth $220 million. But there is no timetable for him to sign a deal, despite the Miami Marlins' insistence that they want a resolution soon.

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"Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak confirmed the team's new bid Tuesday afternoon. He indicated the bid was not necessarily the club's final offer but acknowledged that the defending World Series champions control neither the pace nor the outcome at this point."

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Pujols had a nine-year contract offer from the Cardinals last offseason worth $198 million and didn't sign it. So is one more year for the same average annual salary really going to be enough to get him to change his mind?

The problem for the Cardinals in this negotiation is not the length of the deal—though it will become an albatross for them down the road—rather the money that they are offering him is what is holding this up.

Philadelphia's Ryan Howard signed a five-year contract for $125 million in 2010 that finally kicks in next season. He is making $25 million per season—for you non-mathletes out there, that is $3 million more per year than the deal the Cardinals have on the table for Pujols. 

No one in their right mind thinks that Howard is a better player than Pujols. Therefore, he should be making more money per season. 

The Cardinals are trying everything they can to convince Pujols that St. Louis is the place that he needs to be, but they are going about it the wrong way. 

If they were smart, they would knock a few years off the contract and up the average annual value of it. As things stand, it is hard to envision the Cardinals doing enough to convince Pujols to sign with them. 

These are negotiations, and anything can change in an instant, but the Cardinals are not the favorites to win the Albert Pujols sweepstakes right now.