Albert Pujols to LA Angels: How the Angels Shot Themselves in the Foot

Just a short while ago, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown, free-agent first baseman Albert Pujols made headlines. Rather than stay with the St. Louis Cardinals, the team on which he became a legend, the future Hall of Famer signed a 10-year, $250 million deal with, of all teams, the Los Angeles Angels.

It is one of two deals the Angels have completed today, having also signed lefty C.J. Wilson to a five-year deal worth $75 million, according to reports by both Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.

I'm sure that Angels fans are freaking out about both signings as both players were two of the most coveted free agents on the market. However, and I hate to burst the fans' bubbles, but these two signings don't spell out a World Series championship in Southern California. If anything, they've crippled the franchise.

Let's start with Wilson. Sure, he's been decent as a starter the past couple of seasons, going 31-15 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Yet, it should be noted that he was playing for the Texas Rangers, a team known for its strong offense in a hitter-friendly park.

In Los Angeles, he'll be on a team that features two other great pitchers in Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, but leaves something to be desired on offense. Save for Pujols, the rest of the team is very hit or miss when it comes to scoring runs, having relied on pitching and aggressive smallball to win in the past.

More importantly, Wilson has not proved himself to be reliable in the postseason, going 1-5 with a 4.82 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 10 games (nine starts). Also, he led the AL in walks in 2010.

Now, moving on to Pujols, I'm honestly shocked at the length and value of the deal. I didn't even know the Angels had that much money to spend. Still, as good as Pujols is, he has become the LeBron James of baseball in the fact that he basically abandoned the city that made him a legend just for the bigger money.

Sure, Pujols is one of baseball's all-time greats, with a .328 lifetime batting average to go with 445 career home runs and 1,329 RBI. Yet, is he really worth $250 million over 10 years? I mean, the man is 31 years old and has been battling various nagging injuries for years. Last year was the first time in his career that he didn't hit at least .300 and he also drove in less than 100 runs for the first time.

That being said, Angels GM Jerry DiPoto may have bitten off more than he can chew. As great an athlete as Pujols is, the Angels are stuck with him until he turns 42 and there's no telling how much his skills will decline over that stretch.

In the short term, this is a good signing for the Angels. Yet, given the price tag and length of the contract, this is going to be a deal that has the team's front office potentially shopping Pujols at least five years from now, if not sooner.

At that point, karma will have caught up with Pujols and he will regret not staying in St. Louis.