Six months ago I correctly predicted that Albert Pujols would sign with the Los Angeles Angels. I know, I’m an oracle.
On Thursday, Pujols became the second highest paid player in Major League Baseball when he inked a 10-year, $254 million deal with the Angels.
The headline at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch read “Pujols Turns His Back On St. Louis,” but the fact is the Cardinals allowed this to happen.
When the club offered Pujols a nine-year, $198 million deal prior to spring training, anyone with a modicum of common sense knew he would reject the offer.
Even when the Cardinals reportedly sweetened the deal to nine years and $210 million, Pujols was never going to accept.
The Cardinals made the mistake of insulting Pujols with offers that would have paid him less per year than Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard.
When Howard signed his five-year, $125 million extension with the Phillies last year, the handwriting was on the wall. If St. Louis was going to keep Pujols, the club would have to pony up a little more than what Howard is earning.
But the Cardinals never made an offer than was better than the one Howard received. Simply put, St. Louis had every opportunity to resign Pujols and they dropped the ball.
Admittedly, the Cardinals aren’t big spenders like the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Angels. But given their financial limitations, the club never got creative in trying to resign Pujols.
Perhaps had they offered him an ownership stake in the club or maybe a huge lump payment at the end of the deal, Pujols might still be wearing a Cardinals uniform.
I’m not suggesting St. Louis should have paid what the Angels did in an effort to keep Pujols, but they certainly could have done more.
The Cardinals most assuredly should not have tried to sign him to a deal that paid him less than Howard and what Prince Fielder is likely to get.
It’s doubtful anyone will argue that Pujols shouldn’t be the second highest paid player in baseball. He should actually be the highest paid player in the game, but no one was willing to sign him to a deal that exceeded Alex Rodriguez’ contract with the Yankees.
Pujols received an amount of money from the Angels that is proportionate to his worth in the market place. He’s more valuable than any player in the game and he should be compensated accordingly.
All this talk among St. Louis fans who believe Pujols turned his back on them are raving hypocrites. No one among us would turn down an offer to work for another employer who was willing to pay a lot more for our services.
That’s exactly how the Pujols’ negotiations break down. The Angels, be they right or wrong for paying what they did, were willing to give Pujols a lot more money than the Cardinals.
As a lifelong Cardinals fan I’m sad to see Pujols will finish his career with another team. But I’m happy for him being smart enough to wait on a better offer than the one he received from St. Louis.
In the end, St. Louis owner Bill DeWitt only has himself to blame. Sure, he can put the money towards signing other players now. But name another player that would be as good as Pujols and do what he did for the Cardinals.
Moreover, is there anyone the club could sign that can be called the greatest player of our generation?
Nope.
The Cardinals got what they deserved and so did Pujols. The club’s lack of creativity and their apparent belief that Pujols would never leave St. Louis cost them dearly.
When Pujols’ 10-year deal concludes with the Angels, we can look back on this day and debate how well it turned out.
But one thing is for certain: when we discuss the merits of this deal, we’ll talk about the Los Angeles Angels and not the St. Louis Cardinals.
