I hope you are sitting down when you read this because it might shock you: The Cardinals picked up their option for Albert Pujols.
The fact that this "no-brainer of the century" transaction even made the headlines on ESPN.com made me laugh. After all, what are they going to tell us next, that we're in an economic downturn?
The AP story off the wire is as follows: “The St. Louis Cardinals have exercised a $16 million club option for 2011 with three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols.”
I may faint.
But in all seriousness, the real worries for the St. Louis Cardinals are just beginning. Mainly, what is Albert’s worth beyond this season, and what will it take to keep him in a Redbirds uniform for years to come?
Well, you can take a look at the contract of the Phillies’ Ryan Howard just for grins. The big man will be making an average of $25 million per season. And while he plays the same position as Pujols, he is in no way his equal.
Then there is the matter of the Alex Rodriguez contracts over the years. He owns the highest annual average salary in MLB history at $32.5 million. By the way, even with steroids, he can’t hold a candle to Pujols.
In fact, the problem is that there is no modern day equivalent to The Machine. Guys like him were named Ruth, Williams, and Gehrig, and they played in times when there was no free agency, so players didn’t have the leverage that Albert will have after this season.
Now, there’s no reason to expect that Pujols wants to go anywhere else to play. He wants to remain a Cardinal and the Cards feel the same way. So a deal is inevitable, right?
But it’s not that easy because those damn economics always get in the way. For Albert to average, say, $30 million over seven years, for example, would mean that he would likely consume more than 30 percent of the total payroll.
And that’s a problem if you want to win.
But if you don’t sign him, you incur the wrath of the rabid fan base in St. Louis. Meanwhile, you continue to pay the man through 2029.
That’s right, no typo there. Here it is from Cots Baseball Contracts: “$3M/year (2007-11) deferred without interest, to be paid in 10 installments of $1.2M from 2020 to 2029.”
OK, so you trade him for prospects. But who could afford him? The Yankees already have a very expensive first baseman in Mark Teixeira. The Angels, Red Sox? Perhaps, but Albert has a limited no-trade clause to further complicate matters.
No, if you’re the Cards, you have to re-sign him. This will probably happen either before the 2011 season starts, or at least before he becomes eligible for free agency to avoid a bidding war for his services.
Between Pujols and Matt Holliday, conservative estimates would have the team paying a combined $45 million per season.
Mind you, this is a team that has never had a $100 million team payroll. Two guys would take up almost half of the entire payroll.
Keep in mind, also, that Albert turns 31 in January, assuming that is his real age. We have no reason to believe it is not, but many Dominican players have lied about their ages, so it is not beyond the realm of possibility that he is even older than his listed age.
But even if his age is correct, he will turn 32 before his new contract even starts and has had lingering injury concerns. Remember, in this age of steroid testing, the days of players continuing to perform at their usual levels well into their late 30s and even early 40s may be over.
So the Cards are damned if they do, damned if they don’t when it comes to the contract status of their greatest hitter of all-time, no disrespect to Stan the Man.
Invest wisely, St. Louis. Your future competitiveness may depend on it.
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