This is going to be an interesting season for the St. Louis Cardinals and their first baseman Albert Pujols. The team has a lot of money invested in a lot of players, and they have stretched their budget pretty thin as it is. Pujols is poised to hit free agency after this season, and he is going to get paid A LOT of money by someone.
Pujols has said that if a deal doesn’t get done before the start of the season that he will not negotiate during the season, and will likely end up testing free agency. It’s understandable why he would take that stance since he would be hounded by questions about negotiations after every game. This way the focus can stay on baseball, for a little while anyway.
The Cardinals can ill-afford to have Pujols hit free agency. They know that once he does, he will be the most coveted player in the history of free agency. That doesn’t mean every team will bid on him because his price will be far too high, but almost everyone will make an inquiry. The team can’t afford to lose the face of the franchise and the best player in franchise history.
It almost becomes a catch-22 because if the Cardinals pay Pujols the $25-30 million per season that it will take to keep him, they won’t be able to do much of anything else. They are paying Matt Holliday a ton of money for the next six years. In fact, between the two of them they would take up nearly $50 million per season. That leaves roughly another $50 million to fill out the other 23 spots on the roster.
One way or another, it’s going to be an interesting season in St. Louis.
Assuming the Cardinals and Pujols can’t get a deal worked out, here are 10 teams that could make a serious play for the three-time National League MVP.