Albert Pujols Drama

If you are Major League Baseball fan you know who Albert Pujols is. For those of you who don't, he is arguably the best player in the game. In his 10 year career, all played as a St. Louis Cardinal, he has had incredible stats hitting over 400 home runs, almost 2000 hits, and has a career batting average of .331. Add to his resume 3 MVP's, and he is a sure to be future hall of famer. Pujols is now entering the final year of his current contract with the Cardinals and will become a free agent at the end of the season. Shouldn't he get the biggest contract if he is the best player then?



I believe so. Albert and his agent Dan Lozano set their negotiating deadline for a new contract to be February 16. The Cardinals had up until this date to try and renegotiate a contract with the star and failed to do so. Albert has said that he will not be bothered with contract talk during the season, so the Cardinals along with every other team will have a shot to sign him after the season ends.

The reason there was no agreement reached between the two parties was because of Pujols's demands. It has been rumored that he is asking for a 10 year $300 million contract. At $3o million a year, it would make him the highest paid player in baseball. That seems like a fair deal for having the best player in baseball on your team right? Well that is where it gets tricky. Pujols will be 32 next season and a 10 year deal would take him to 41 years old. In question now, is how well he will play at such an old age. It is not likely that he will be putting up the same numbers he is now, in 10 years. But he will still be paid an incredible amount of money for a potentially average performance.



The Cardinals tried to offer him an 8 year deal with a little less money but Pujols wouldn't budge. The Cardinals will not have enough cap space for a 10 year $300 million contract. Although Pujols has expressed that he "wants to be a Cardinal forever" he is not showing signs of loyalty to the club. It seems as if he is only interested in the money and will go to the highest bidder. Which teams would have the best chance of getting him then?

The Cardinals are the obvious front runner, but lurking behind are their division rival Chicago Cubs. The Cubs do not have a 1st baseman signed for next year and have the money to agree to the terms. When money seems to be the top priority the Yankees are always in the mix. With the team valued at $1.6 billion, they will have enough money to sign him, but to make room on the roster the Yankees would have to drop Mark Teixeira the current 1st baseman and pay the rest of his lucrative contract. The team has enough money to do so and would gladly do it to put Pujols in Pinstripes. Other teams amongst talk are the Blue Jays, Rockies, Giants, and Angels. Under the new MLB rules, Pujols will be free to negotiate as soon as the world series ends. Arbitration must be offered to Pujols by midnight on Nov. 23 if a club wants to keep its right to Draft-pick compensation. Draft-pick compensation is when a player signs with a new team and is classified by Elias Sports Bureau and a Type A player, the team that signs that player must give compensating draft picks to that players previous team. This, would be the only immediate downside to signing Pujols. We will just have to wait and see what happens at the end of the season to find out where Pujols will end his spectacular career.