MLB Free Agency: Why LA Angels' Mega-Signings Won't Work out

The signings of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been the most talked about acquisitions during the 2012 MLB free agency period. However, neither of these mega-signings will work out for the Angels, especially when talking about the long-term success of the organization.

To put it simply, Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball. He's the player that this generation will grow up idolizing due to the numbers he is putting up in an age where steroids are potentially nonexistent.

So why would signing the best player of this decade be a bad move?

For starters, a 10-year contract for a player who is on the wrong side of 30 is a bad idea, especially when the steroids age is in the past. Steroids allowed players to be productive into their 40's, as oppose to the normal player whose productivity starts to decline around age 35.

Albert is 31 years old at the moment and will be 32 when the season starts. That means that he'll be 42 when his 10-year contract us up. The details of his contract haven't been released yet, but it's not outrageous to claim that he'll be making over $20 million a year when he's technically over the hill.

Sure, you can say that the Angels can simply trade or release him when the deal is up, but it's not that simple. A team won't be willing to take on a contract of a player who's 40 years old and making $20 million a year.

If it was so easy to rid oneself of a massive contract like that, why is Barry Zito still in a San Francisco Giants uniform? The Giants weren't able to sign the big bat in free agency this year solely because Zito was still on the books for $40 million over the next two years. 

The fact is that the Angels will be stuck with Pujols' contract throughout its entirety. That won't be a bad thing at all for at least the first five years. It will actually be a great thing having Pujols in the middle of his prime. However, it's the latter part of the contract that will cripple the Angels' organization financially for at least a few years.

In the short term, who in the Angels lineup will be there to hit behind Albert Pujols? Torii Hunter? Mark Trumbo?

Trumbo had a fantastic rookie by campaign smacking 29 home runs and driving in 87 runs. However, a rookie who hit only .254 and struck out 120 times surely had some holes in his swing. Unless he finds a way to fill those holes quickly, Trumbo is a player who is primed for a sophomore slump.

Secondly, the C.J. Wilson was another classic example of a team overpaying for the top pitcher on the market. Wilson is nothing more than a No. 2 pitcher in a starting rotation, yet the Angles are paying him like an ace.

His contract is back loaded, which means he'll be making $20 million a year in 2016. I wouldn't want to be paying a 36-year-old pitcher $20 million a year who was nothing more than a solid starting pitcher during his prime.

Any way you look at it, signing Pujols and Wilson will inevitably make the Angels a much better team. It will make them a legitimate World Series contender for years to come. However, there will come a day when the Angels will be stuck with those two contracts with no willing parties to take them off of their hands.